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| AST 352K · Stellar Astronomy |
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Background? We do not assume that you have a strong (indeed, any) previous background in astronomy, although many of
the students will have previously either taken other upper-division astronomy courses or at least had an introductory astronomy course
such as AST 307 or 301. If you find that there are gaps in your background, please ask me to explain or elaborate (either in class or during
office hours); you might also find it helpful to consult one of the many fine introductory textbooks that are widely available (I can lend you
one of them).
Overlap with other courses? There is a small amount of overlap between AST 352K and AST 358 (Galactic Astronomy), AST 353
(Stellar Structure), and AST 352L (Positional, Kinematical, and Dynamical Astronomy). We will try to avoid excessive redundancy, but that
is inevitable in some subject areas, since not all members of the present class will have taken these other courses.
Textbook? Nope. This is because I find no single text satisfactory enough to justify asking you to spend $50-100. Instead, I will put various
texts on reserve in the Peridier library, and I will recommend readings from them. In addition, my class notes will be placed on reserve in
both the Peridier and PMA libraries. I will try to get electronic copies posted as well.
Your presentation? Students generally benefit from the experience of researching a specific topic in some depth. Toward the latter part of this
course you will be asked to give a short (10 minute) presentation on a topic that deals with some interesting aspect of stellar astronomy. Your
presentation will be an oral explanation of a poster on the subject that you have prepared for the occasion. Your grade will be determined from
a combination of astronomical content, presentation style and effort, and the quality of the poster that accompanies your presentation. You
will individually prepare and give this small talk on some narrow stellar astronomy topic, but in the context of a broader topic to be addressed
by a group of students. There will be three or four broad areas drawn from the latter topics in the preliminary syllabus given below, each of which
will be assigned to a group of three to five students. The members of the group will work together to decide how to divide up the larger topic into individual
presentations, and will also serve as a pool of informed people in the same general area, and can (ought to!) take place prior to the formal presentation
in class. Groups that work together well and give uniformly high-quality presentations will get "bonus" points added to their grade, giving
students an incentive to help each other. Your work will be posted to the class web site.
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