| Meetings: | MWF 1:00-2:00 p.m., in RLM 15.216B |
| Instructor: | Christopher Sneden, RLM 16.324
Office Phone: 471-1349 Home Phone: 343-0004 E-Mail: chris@verdi.as.utexas.edu |
| Office Hours: | MWF 2:00-2:50 p.m. (subject to change) |
| TA: | Peter Williams, RLM 9.222
Office Phone: 471-74877 E-Mail: petwil@astro.as.utexas.edu |
| Text: | None! This is because I find no single text satisfactory enough to justify asking you to spend $50ish for it. Instead, I will put various texts on reserve in the Péridier Library, and I will recommend readings from them. In addition, my class notes will be placed on reserve in both the Péridier and PMA libraries. |
| Homework Sets | 30 % of the grade |
| Hour tests (3 of them) | 30 % |
| Class Presentation | 15 % |
| Final Exam | 25 % |
Astronomy 352K is a junior/senior-level introduction to stellar astronomy and astrophysics, with emphasis on observational and empirical methods for studying stars via the light they emit. It is designed mainly for upper-division astronomy majors, but is also suitable for students majoring in closely related fields such as physics or engineering. The prerequisites are Physics 316 or equivalent (E&M), and its prerequisite, Physics 301 (Mechanics), as well as the math required for these courses. Astronomy draws on such a wide variety of areas in physics that we cannot expect you to have prior preparation in all of them, and will introduce physical ideas and laws as needed. (Examples include the theory of radiation, atomic structure, and statistical mechanics.) We will usually be interested in applying physical principles, rather than in deep and lengthy derivations, and in general the mathematical manipulations expected of you (e.g., on homework sets) will be pretty straightforward.
We do not assume that you have a strong previous background in astronomy, although most of the students will have previously taken other upper-division astronomy courses or at least an introductory astronomy course such as AST 307. If you find that there are gaps in your background, please ask me or the TA to explain or elaborate (either in class or during office hours); you might also find it helpful to consult one of the many introductory astronomy textbooks that are widely available (I can lend you one of them).
There is also 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.
Students generally benefit from the experience of researching a specific topic in some depth In the second half of the semester you will be required to give a short (15-minute) presentation on a topic that deals with some interesting aspect of stellar astronomy. Your grade will be determined from a combination of astronomical content, presentation style and effort, and the quality of written material that accompanies your presentation (and is handed out to the class when you speak; this is more of an outline or summary rather than a full-fledged term paper; details will be given later).
You will individually prepare and give a (roughly) 15-minute 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 reports, will serve as a pool of informed people in the same general area, and can (ought to!) provide an audience for "practice" presentations that (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.
I regard this course as a vital link between the basic, often elegant physics and mathematics that you have ingested at UT for the past two-three years, and the real, often messy world of astronomical research. Astrophysics combines elements from all areas of physics to offer coherent theoretical models for how the solar system, galaxy, and universe are constructed and how they have and will evolve. If you are looking for that in this course, forget it. Theoretical astrophysics cannot really derive rational models for an object without appealing to observational astronomy. I am not an astrophysicist as the term is usually meant (that is, a theoretician). I am an observational astronomer, and proud to admit it. And observational astronomy is what you will find covered in this course. Not how is the universe constructed, but how does one practically assemble basic data about particular astronomical objects (stars) that can be gainfully used in constructing the story of the universe?
To that end we will deal as much as possible with real data from the literature that have been obtained at various astronomical facilities over the past decades and which now are readily available for study. Many of the homework problems will encourage you to seek data from basic astronomical catalogs. These sources can be found in our Péridier Library, to which we intend to introduce you if you haven't seen it already. However, a serious word needs to be given here. The Péridier Library is NOT part of the general UT library system, but is a part of the department and observatory research facility. It is intended solely for the use of our faculty, staff, and research students. Therefore, you must use this library moderately, quietly, and with respect for others. It is NOT to be used as a study hall, but rather is available to help you by providing materials for this course. Think of your use of the Péridier Library as a guest membership at a club, and please do not abuse this privilege or overstay your welcome.
I also intend to be (perhaps irritatingly) vague in some of the assignments that I give to you. This is admitted at the beginning to be totally deliberate. Real astronomical research usually does not admit cookbook approaches to interesting problems, and I want you to get used to that. Such an approach is also a signal on my part that I encourage interactions with you outside class. Feel free to discuss with me the course material, problem sets, or any other astronomical topic that comes to mind. At the beginning of the syllabus I give the formal office hours, but you of course may set up appointments with me at other rational times of day. Notice also that I give my work number (for which I have an answering machine), e-mail address (to which I attend regularly), and my home phone number. I would not give out my home phone number (OK, I admit that we are the only Snedens in the city of Austin) if I did not want you to call me in the evening whenever you need to. I want to help you do well in this course, but I need you to make contact! Don't be shy: remember that the truly stupid question is the unasked one.
Finally, an apology. About a year ago, I made a commitment to attend a Symposium at the International Astronomical Union General Assembly in Kyoto Japan, in August of this year. I neglected to find out that this meeting would be in very late August. What an idiot! I am truly sorry that I am missing the first two class periods of this course, but will try to make it up to you by being very available the rest of the semester. Never fear: these first two classes are being given by Dr. Harriet Dinerstein, who has taught both this course and AST 358 and knows the subject material better than I do. She will be introducing you to the general subject of "radiation field quantities," and I will take off from there when I see you after Labor Day.