department of astronomy - courses  
home dept of astronomy mcdonald observatory research hobby-eberly telescope directory university of texas  
home
department of astronomy
mcdonald observatory
research
hobby-eberly telescope
directory
university of texas
 
 
INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY
Astronomy 301 - Fall 2003
Unique No. 46515 · MWF 1:00-2:00 · WEL 3.502




Important Announcements

1)
The Final Exam was December 11. Here is the curve for the exam.
  • A 52-60 points
  • B 44-50
  • C 34-42
  • D 26-32
  • F 0-24
2)
To compute your semester grade, add your two best hour-exam scores, final exam score, problem set scores, and extra credit, then look in the correct table below to see the minimum total for each letter grade:

If you dropped Hour Exam #1, the grade scale for the semester is
A  170
B  148
C  114
D  84

If you dropped Hour Exam #2, the grade scale for the semester is
A  170
B  146
C  114
D  84

If you dropped Hour Exam #3, the grade scale for the semester is
A  174
B  150
C  116
D  90



Professor

Dr. Thomas G. Barnes III
Office: RLM 16.228
Hours: T 2-3, Th 10-11,
or by appointment
Phone: (512) 471-1301
tgb@astro.as.utexas.edu

TA

Ms. Agnes Kim
Office: RLM 16.220
Hours: M 2-3, F 11-12
Phone: (512) 471-3447
agnes@astro.as.
utexas.edu


TA

Mr. Michael Yuan
Office: RLM 17.304
Hours: Th 1-3
Phone: (512) 471-1495
juntao@astro.as.
utexas.edu



Syllabus   [pdf]

Course Schedule   [pdf]

Reading Assignments   [pdf]

Lectures

8/29 — Introductory Lecture   [pdf]
9/3, 9/5, 9/8 — The Sky and Time   [pdf]
9/10, 9/12 — Light: Part I   [pdf]
9/15, 9/17 — Telescopes & Observatories   [pdf]
9/19, 9/22 — Structure of the Solar System   [pdf]
9/24, 9/29 — Terrestrial Planets: Earth   [pdf]
10/1 — Terrestrial Planets: Moon and Mercury   [pdf]
10/3 — Terrestrial Planets: Venus   [pdf]
10/6 — Terrestrial Planets: Mars   [pdf]
10/8, 10/10 — Jovian Planets   [pdf]
10/13 — Asteroids, Comets, Meteorites   [pdf]
10/15, 10/17 — Origin of the Solar System   [pdf]
10/20, 10/24 — The Sun   [pdf]
10/27, 10/29 — Light: Part 2 and Stellar Atmospheres   [pdf]
10/31, 11/3 — Properties of Stars   [pdf]
11/5 — Star Formation   [pdf]
11/7 — Stellar Evolution: Low Mass Stars   [pdf]
11/10 — Stellar Evolution: High Mass Stars   [pdf]
11/12, 11/17 — The Milky Way Galaxy   [pdf]
11/19, 11/21 — The Realm of Galaxies   [pdf]
11/24, 12/03 — Hubble's Law and QSOs   [pdf]
12/03, 12/05 — Origin and Evolution of the Universe   [pdf]

Problem Sets

Problem Set #1 — due in class Friday, 9/19   [pdf]  (with answers)
Problem Set #2 — due in class Friday, 10/10  [pdf]  (with answers)
Problem Set #3 — due in class Friday, 11/7  [pdf]  (with answers)
Problem Set #4 — due in class Friday, 11/24  [pdf]  (with answers)

Links

UT Public Viewing
Look here for information on viewing with the 16" and 9" campus telescopes.

Astronomy Picture of the Day
NASA provides a beautiful new image every day.

Mars Opposition
NASA has a URL that tells about the close approach of Mars this year and links to other similar sites.

Mars Exploration Rover Mission (NASA)
Two US missions to Mars that will arrive in January 2004.

Mars Express (ESA)
A European mission to Mars that will arrive in December 2003.

Stardate
McDonald Observatory's StarDate radio and magazine have an extensive site for the public. Look particularly at Stargazing and at Resources.

NE Blackout
Here is a satellite image of the North Eastern US blackout.


 





15 December 2003
Astronomy Program · The University of Texas at Austin · Austin, Texas 78712
prospective student inquiries: studentinfo@astro.as.utexas.edu
site comments: www@www.as.utexas.edu