PES 106        Spring 2003 General Astronomy II

Lecture Notes

• I. Introduction and History (Preview, Ch. 1 - 2)
  • Astronomy: Introduction, Scientific Method and Observation (1/21)
  • Observations, Constellations and Coordinate Systems (1/23)
  • Orbits and Kepler's Laws (1/23, 1/28)
  • Gravity and Newton's Laws of Motion, orbits (1/28, 130)
• II. Light ( Ch. 3)
  • Light: Properties and Temperature (1/30)
  • Light: Spectroscopy and Atoms (2/4, 2/6)
• III. The Sun (Chapter 11) (2/6 - 2/13)
• IV. Stars (Chapters 12 - 14)
  • Properties of Stars: Distance, Temperature and Luminosity (2/20, 2/25)
  • Spectral Classes and Binary Star Systems (2/25, 2/27)
  • H-R Diagrams and Variable Stars (2/27, 3/4)
  • Birth of Stars (3/4)
  • Stages: Main Sequence and Giants (3/6. 3/11)
  • Typical Lives (3/11-3/13)
  • Final States: White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars (3/13, 3/18)
  • Final States: Black Holes (4/1)
• V. Galaxies (Chapters 15 - 16)
  • Milky Way Galaxy: overview and components (4/3, 4/8)
  • Milky Way Galaxy: structure and formation (4/10)
  • Galaxies: Different Types (4/10 - 4/15)
  • Galaxies: Active Galaxies and Galaxy Clusters (4/17, 4/22)
• VI. Cosmology (Chapter 17)
  • Cosmology (4/29, 5/1)
  • History of the Universe (5/1, 5/6)