Syllabus

Ast 309R - Galaxies, Quasars and Universe - Fall 2015

MWF11 - #46730
MWF12 - #46735

Instructor: Dr Derek Wills, Professor of Astronomy (oo7@astro.as.utexas.edu, RLM 13.136, 512-471-1392).

TA: Yao-Lun Yang, PhD student.

Textbook: "Your Cosmic Context" by Duncan and Tyler (Pearson).

Office hours: Yao-Lun's office hours are Mon and Wed 2-3:30; mine are Tues 1-2:15 and Thurs 1:30-3:00. If you can't come at these times, ask us for another appointment.

Grades: There are four in-class tests and an optional final, all of equal weight - only the best four of these five are counted. The final exam (and ONLY the final exam) is: (a) comprehensive, and (b) an open-notes exam, when you can bring your OWN written or typed lecture notes (no laptops, commercial notes, textbooks, homeworks or other aids). The best 4 tests each count 20% of your course grade, and the other 20% comes from the homework assignments. I will use the plus/minus system for final course grades.

Tests: This class is lecture-based, so study your notes when preparing for tests rather than just trying to memorize material from the book. Make-up tests will not be given since you can miss one test and still count the other four for your course grade. I will hold a review session the evening before each test; attendance is voluntary but strongly recommended. The in-class test dates are Sep 18, Oct 12, Nov 4 and Dec 4. The final exam for the 11 am section (#46730) is 7-10 PM on Dec 12, and the final exam for the 12 noon section (#46735) is 9-12 am on Dec 9 (the dates and times are set by UT). I do not tolerate any dishonesty - I report cases to the Dean of Students, and recommend an F for the course. Please bring a photo ID to tests.

Homework: will be assigned at irregular times during the semester - probably a total of 8 sets. Our TA will hold a help session for each set of questions before the HW is due; again, attendance is voluntary but recommended, and to get the best value from these sessions you should try the questions by yourself first. We cannot accept any HW handed in after the due date.

Class etiquette: (1) I welcome questions in class; if you're confused about something, you probably aren't the only person who is! (2) Please sit in the front half of the classroom - it's much larger than the enrollment, and I probably won't use a microphone, (3) If you have a cell 'phone I don't want to see it - EVER!

Mathematics: This is a science course, and you will have to do some mathematics, mainly on the homework questions. The tests are mostly non-numerical, and all the techniques you need will be covered in class.

General comments: Keep up with the material as we go through the course. We'll follow the general order of the topics in the textbook, but quasars are not covered in enough detail there, so I'll recommend other sources when we get to them (the Wikipedia article on quasars is a good start). Class attendance is crucial - IF YOU DON'T PLAN ON COMING TO MANY CLASSES, DROP THIS COURSE WHILE YOU STILL CAN!! You will be tested more on your understanding of the material than on pure memorization.

Disabilities: UT Austin can provide academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities (Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259).

Star parties: Every Wednesday evening the 16-inch telescope on the RLM roof is open for viewing, and on Friday and Saturday nights the 9-inch one on Painter Hall is open; staff and TAs conduct these free events.

Some interesting web sites:

Astronomy Picture of the Day
International Space Station sightings
Current view from the ISS
Iridium satellites - Austin predictions
EarthSky
StarDate

Ast 309R - course description and syllabus

This class addresses some of the major problems facing astronomers these days, and by the end of the semester you should have a better understanding of these problems and of currently-proposed solutions. The field of extragalactic astronomy changes fast, and we don't have all the answers. There may well be important discoveries in this area during the semester and we'll try to address them as they occur.

The textbook we're using does not cover everything that the course does, but we'll try to follow its presentation of the main topics, in the order that the book does. We'll start with some background revision (Chapters 2-4), then Chapter 5 summarizes some of the main topics that are then expanded on in subsequent chapters. Quasars are not treated in enough detail in the book so we'll use other web-based material to discuss them. Tests will cover the material presented in class, not everything in the relevant chapters.