Professor
Dr. Eiichiro Komatsu
Office: RLM 16.210
Hours: Tu 4:45-5:30,
Th 3:30-4:30,
other times by appt
Phone: (512) 471-1483
Fax: (512) 471-6016
komatsu@astro.as.
utexas.edu
Course Website
Printable course description and schedule
(1st day handout)
[
pdf
]
TA
Elizabeth Jeffery
Office: RLM 16.304B
Hours: MW 11-12
Phone: (512) 232-5641
ejeffery@astro.as.
utexas.edu
Help Sessions:
T 5:30-6:30 at RLM 15.216B. The first help session will take place on September 7.
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Course Objectives
This course provides an overview of Astronomy for non-science majors. This course may be regarded as a guided tour of
cosmos: we will meet on the Earth, and then I will take you to our Solar System, the Milky Way, other galaxies, and beyond.
This is also a tour of the whole history of cosmos: you will be taken to a time-trip to the very beginning of the Universe.
We will spend almost equal time at each stop-over during this trip, but I plan to spend more time at the station, "how the
Universe works"; that is, the history and dynamics of the Universe as a whole (Part VI, "GALAXIES AND BEYOND", of the text).
Prerequisites
No one likes a guided tour with too complicated explanations, which often obscure the fun part of the tour. Since this is a
course for non-science majors, you are not required to be familiar with math and physics. HOWEVER, YOU ARE REQUIRED
TO BE ENTHUSIASTIC TO LEARN ABOUT THE UNIVERSE. You buy a ticket to a trip because you are interested, right? It's the
same. Serious learners only, please. The homework assignments involve some math, but a step-by-step instruction to how
to solve math in the assignments will be provided in the class.
Text
COSMIC PERSPECTIVE, 3rd EDITION
Authors: Bennett, Donahue, Schneider and Voit
If you buy a new textbook, then you automatically get a subscription to their online pages. If you buy a used book, you can
buy an online subscription directly from the publisher (just go to their webpage).
Please note: The organization of the lecture does not always follow that of the text.
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