Professor
Dr. Harriet Dinerstein
Office: RLM 16.324
Hours: M 10-11, Tu 2-3,
or by appointment
Phone: (512) 471-3449
harriet@astro.as.
utexas.edu
Course Website
TA
Nick Sterling
Office: RLM 16.216
Hours: Tu 11-12, W 4-5,
or by appointment
Phone: (512) 471-0445
sterling@astro.as.
utexas.edu
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Prerequisite
Astronomy 309N is an elective course designed for non-science majors. The prerequisite is Ast 301 or the equivalent:
a one-semester, college-level introductory survey course in astronomy. While we will remind you about some things
you might have forgotten, you are expected to be somewhat familiar with the basic ideas and principles covered in
introductory astronomy courses.
Subject Matter
In Ast 309N, we will focus on the nature and life cycles of stars, both ordinary and exotic. By the end of the semester, you
will know about: how the Sun and other stars create the energy that keeps them glowing; how the stars are born, age,
and "die" (and what remains behind when they die); what we know about planets around other stars; how stars create the
elements of which the Earth and living things are made; the nature of cosmic explosions such as novae and supernovae;
and the evidence that black holes really do exist. We will cover the basic concepts of the theories of relativity (in a qualitative way)
and discuss what exciting discoveries might be made with planned space missions and experiments.
Textbooks
Our textbooks will be "Extreme Stars" by James Kaler (required) and "Cosmic Catastrophes" by J. Craig Wheeler (optional). These
should be available for purchase at the UT Co-op or elsewhere, although the Co-op has only a limited number of copies of
Wheeler's book, which has just gone out of print. If you cannot buy your own copy of it, you can make use of the copies
which will be placed on time-limited reserve in Physics-Math-Astronomy Library on the ground floor of RLM Hall.
(Wheeler's book is mainly relevant to the second half of the semester.) Additional materials will be posted on the class
website, including some packets of Instructor's Notes (downloadable in pdf format), copies of handouts from class, and
useful links to websites on astronomical topics and advice on writing.
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