Galaxy Cluster MS 0735.6+7421 (NASA, ESA, McNamara)
Astronomy 307 - Fall 2009
INTRODUCTORY ASTRONOMY
TTh 11:00-12:15 · RLM 5.104 · Unique No. 49500
Professor
RLM 15.224 · (512) 471-1402 · email
Courses - Fall '09 | Course Website
Required text. Jeffrey Bennett et al. "The Cosmic Perspective: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology" (2009, 5th edition, ISBN 0-321-55817-0). [Note: there are abbreviated versions of this book, devoted to "The Solar System" or to "Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology" as well as an "Essential" version. We fill use the full version.]
Drop Dates. You may drop a course without academic penalty until September 23. You can then drop courses until October 21 with a Q or F, depending on your performance in class up to that time. October 21 is also the last day to change to or from the credit/no credit basis. After October 21, you may drop the course or withdraw from the University only for urgent and substantiated, nonacademic reasons. Please consult the University's published calendar (http://registrar.utexas.edu) to verify these dates and for further information.
Star Parties. Every Wednesday evening, if the weather is clear, there will be astronomical viewing with the 16-inch telescope on the roof of RLM Hall. These sessions will start about 7 p.m. during standard time and 8 p.m. when daylight saving time is in effect. There is also a 9-inch telescope on Painter Hall that is open to UT students on Friday evenings and to the general public on Saturday evenings. For observing hours, see the Department of Astronomy public outreach Web page at http://outreach.as.utexas.edu/public. You can use the 9-inch yourself if you are checked out on it. McDonald Observatory in west Texas has star parties and public nights (see http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/visitors/programs; phone 471-5285).
About the Instructor: Professor Shields was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Nebraska and Kansas. He earned a B.S. in Physics from Stanford University in 1968 and a Ph.D. in Astronomy at Caltech in 1973. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard, he joined the UT faculty in 1974. He now holds the title of The Jane and Roland Blumberg Centennial Professor in Astronomy, and served as Chairman of the Department of Astronomy from 1990 to 1994. He teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses at UT. His research interests include studies of nebulae, quasars and black holes, and he has published numerous research papers and popular articles.
Other Astronomy Courses. For other courses offered by the Department of Astronomy, see https://www.as.utexas.edu or the UT Undergraduate Catalog or the UT Course Schedule (http://registrar.utexas.edu).
