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Announcements Archive
12/12
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Course Grades were submitted on Fri., Dec. 12, and should be available soon. For those who took the optional Final Exam, your exam score is posted on eGradebook and the "GRADE TO DATE" score has been updated. The formula to compute this quantity is still: (A) Exam Average (best three of four exams), (B) Homework Average (best five of seven homeworks), and (C) Participation Total (in points, but no more than 10). Then GRADE TO DATE = (A*75/100) + (B*15/40) + C. The letter grade for a given score is shown on the Table on the Exams & Grading page.
Have a nice Winter Break!
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12/4
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Exam 3 is being graded; we hope to have the grades posted (on eGradebook, as always) by late Mon., Dec. 8. If you are planning to take the final exam, note that it will be given in room Welch 2.308, part of the main building. Prof. Dinerstein will hold her usual office hours on Mon., Dec. 8, and Wed., Dec. 10. T.A. John Jardel will be available on Tues., Dec. 9 from 1 - 3 P.M. or by appointment.
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11/26
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Homework 7 will be graded and returned on Tues., Dec. 2. Also on that day we will re-take the Background Survey administered on the first class day. Those who participate will earn 1 point participation credit (last opportunity for in-class participation credit). The Study Guide for Exam 3 is now posted. The exam will be given in class on Thurs., Dec. 4, with a pre-exam Help Session on Wed., Dec. 3 at the usual time and place.
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11/19
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Homework 7 is now available. It is due at the beginning of class on Tues., Nov. 25. Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, absolutely no late papers will be accepted this time, not even for partial credit. The Help Session will be on Mon., Nov. 24 at 5 P.M. in RLM 15.216B. You should be reading chs. 23, 24, and 26 for the last few lectures of the semester.
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11/13
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Exam 2 is still being graded, and will be returned next Tues., Nov. 18. Homework 6 is due that day, with a help session on Mon., Nov. 17 at 5 P.M. in RLM 15.216B. One last homework will be assigned next week, and will be due Tues., Nov. 25.
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10/31
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The Study Guide for Exam 2 is posted on the Exams & Grading page. The exam will be in the same format as Exam 1, and will cover sections of chs. 7 - 17 as listed on the Study Guide. There will be a pre-exam help session on Wed., Nov. 5, 5 P.M. in RLM 15.216B. Unfortunately, Prof. Dinerstein will not be able to hold her afternoon office hour on Mon., Nov. 3, but she will be available that morning from 10:30 - 11:30 A.M. and again on Wed., Nov. 5 in that time period.
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10/29
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Homework 5 is due Thurs., Oct. 30 at the beginning of class. There will be a help session on Wed., Oct. 29, 5 P.M. in RLM 15.216B. The Study Guide for Exam 2 will be posted by the end of this week. It is expected that Exam 2 will include the material from chs. 7 - 19 discussed in class; see the Readings page or Study Guide for a detailed list of those chapter sections.
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10/24
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Homework 5 has been distributed, and is due on Thurs., Oct. 30 at the beginning of class. This is the last homework before Exam 2 on Thurs., Nov. 6. We have finally moved on to our third unit, on the Sun and stars. By the end of next week we should have covered at least the first 18 chapters of the textbook, leaving 7 or 8 more to go (we will skip a couple of chapters at or near the end of the book, including ch. 28 and ch. 25 or 27).
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10/21
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Problem 4 on Homework 4 was not clearly written. It is necessary to know the mass of the planet orbiting 16 Cyg B in order to calculate a numerical value in part (a). This value is 1.68 Jupiter masses. Alternatively, you may calculate the acceleration of this planet due to Star B. (See if you can convince yourself that the answer to part (b) is unchanged.) You may do the problem either way, but please indicate your choice on your paper.
As usual on homework due weeks, there will be a help session on Wed., Oct. 22, 5 - 6 PM in RLM 15.216B. Please see the Readings for some additional instructions on which parts of chs. 7 - 15 you are responsible for.
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10/17
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Homework 4 is now available. It is due at the beginning of class on Thurs., Oct. 23. We have almost finished our unit on the Solar System. A list of the most important pages or sections of the chapters in this unit is posted as a Supplemental Table on the Readings & Resources page. The readings for next week are (in order) chs. 15, 8-7, and 16.
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10/14
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Be sure to check the corrected version of Homework 3 posted on this website. The wording of Problem 1 has been fixed in this version. (A hint: be careful to keep your units straight - m, km, and A.U. - on Problem 3.) Homework 3 is due at the beginning of class on Thurs., Oct. 16. We have now finished chap. 9 and will touch on only certain subsections of chap. 10 - 15. A detailed listing of these sections will be posted soon.
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10/8
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Exam 1 has been graded and returned; grades are also now posted on eGradebook. The score-letter grade correspondence and a feedback file will be (or is) posted on the Exams & Grading page. We have started our next unit, on The Solar System. For this unit, we will read only selected chapters and chapter sections, as announced in class and on the Readings & Resources page.
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9/29
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We have one more class meeting before Exam 1. On Tuesday, Sep. 30 we will continue to discuss telescopes and astronomical instruments. Homework 2 will be returned. Prof. Dinerstein's office hours on Mon., Sep. 29 have been moved to 1 - 2 PM due to a faculty meeting. There will be a pre-exam Help Session on Wed., Oct. 1, 5 - 6 PM, RLM 15.216B. This will be an opportunity to ask questions, not an organized review.
The Study Guide for Exam 1 is posted on the Exams & Grading link. As previously announced, it will be on Thurs., Oct. 2 and will cover chs. 1 - 6. You should bring a calculator and pens/pencils, but do not need to bring a blue book. You MUST bring your UT student picture ID. In addition, you must arrive by 2:15 PM in order to get credit for this exam, and will not be allowed to leave the classroom earlier than 2:20 PM.
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9/23
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On Thursday, Sep. 25, we will finish one last topic on light, the Doppler effect (ch. 5-9), and move on to chapter 6,
on telescopes. Homework 2 is due at the beginning of class, and there is a help session for it on Wed.,
Sep. 24, 5 - 6 PM in RLM 15.216B.
Exam 1 is coming up on Thurs., Oct. 2 and will cover chs. 1 - 6. A Study Guide for it will
be available by the end of this week, and there will be a pre-exam review session at the usual Wed. 5 PM time
slot on Oct. 1.
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9/17
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In Tuesday's class, we began to discuss light and spectra. We will continue the topics of how to interpret light from
astronomical sources, and the methods and tools used, on Thursday and next Tuesday. You should be reading chapters
5 & 6 in the textbook.
Reminder: Homework 1 was due Tues., Sep.16; late papers will not be accepted at this time. Our second
homework assignment will be handed out and posted on Thursday, and due Sep. 25, with a help session for it on Wed.,
Sep. 24, 5 - 6 PM in RLM 15.216B.
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9/12
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The week of Sep. 15 - 19, we move on to a discussion of properties of light and how astronomers study it: ch. 5 and 6.
Reminder: Homework 1 is due at the beginning of class on Tues., Sep.16. There will be a help session
Mon., Sep. 15, 5 - 6 PM in RLM 15.216B.
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9/5
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We have finished ch. 2, and next week will move on to ch. 3 (Tues.) and ch. 4 (Thurs.). Prof. Sneden will teaching this
week, so the posting of the lecture slides may be delayed.
Homework 1 has been distributed; it is also posted on the Homework link at left. In view of Prof.
Dinerstein's travel, we have decided to postpone the due date. It will now be due at the beginning of class on Tues.,
Sep. 16. The T.A. will still hold a help session on Wed., Sep.10, 5 - 6 PM in RLM 15.216B, but
the following week's session will be on Mon., Sep. 15, same time and place.
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9/2
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Astronomy 307 has now had two class meetings. An abbreviated version of the slides shown in class is posted under
Lecture slides. On Thurs., Sep. 4, we will continue with chs. 2 and 3, and Homework 1 will be distributed.
Thursday's class will be given by Prof. Dinerstein, but next week Prof. Sneden will return for two more classes.
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8/26
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Welcome to Astronomy 307! The syllabus can be accessed from the menu link (above left); hard copies will be
handed out in class. If you are reading this before the first class day and have already bought the textbook, feel free to go ahead
and read chapter 1.
Note that the first class session, on Aug. 28, will be led by Prof. Chris Sneden, due to the fact that Prof. Dinerstein is on travel.
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