Lensed Quasars (Sharon/Ofek)
Astronomy 309R - Spring 2009
GALAXIES, QUASARS, & UNIVERSE
MWF 12:00-1:00 · WEL 3.502 · Unique No. 48510
Professor
RLM 15.224 · (512) 471-1402 · email
Drop Dates. You may drop a course without academic penalty until September 28. You can then drop courses until October 26 with a Q or F, depending on your performance in class up to that time. October 26 is also the last day to change to or from the credit/no credit basis. After October 26, 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://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar) 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. (8 p.m. when daylight saving time in 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, California 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.
Suggested reading:
The Big Bang, by Joseph Silk (2001), W. H. Freeman and Co., 3rd ed. A survey of cosmological ideas from the ancients to the latest scientific theories. Emphasizes observations and theories of the early universe and galaxy formation.
A Short History of the Universe, by Joseph Silk (1994), Scientific American Library (Freeman). A nicely illustrated summary of modern concepts of the evolution of the universe, ranging from the earliest moments of the Big Bang through the evolution of galaxies. Many suggestions for further reading.
The Cosmic Perspective, by Jeffrey Bennett et al. (2004, 3rd ed.), Addison Wesley. An introductory astronomy text; part VI deals with galaxies and the universe. A shorter version called Stars, Galaxies, & Cosmology (2002) is similar but omits the solar system.
"The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-6441 TTY."
