Announcements Archive
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Course grades have been submitted. We hope you enjoyed the class. Have a good summer! |
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You can now access your overall numerical course score on eGradebook and look up the corresopnding letter grade on the Exams & Grading page. If you missed either Exam 3 or Exam 4, or would like to try to improve your course grade, then you should take the Second Half Make-up Exam on Thurs., May 6. This will occupy the full class period that day. We are holding office hours and a Help Session this week, for students preparing for the exam. It will cover all the material included on Exams 3 & 4. Good luck! |
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On Tues., May 4 there will be a special lecture on "Black Holes in Galaxies" by Prof. Greg Shields. In addition, we will be returning graded papers including Exam 4 and HW 7. No later than Tues. afternoon, we plan to have posted the semester totals, so that you can decide whether or not to take Make-up Exam 2, which will occupy the entire class period on Thurs., May 6. If you do not plan to take that exam, you do not need to attend class that day! For those who do plan to take the Make-up Exam, Prof. Dinerstein will hold office hours on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the T.A. will hold the usual Help Session on Wed., May 5. |
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Homework 7 is now available. It is optional, if you have already completed 5 or more homeworks, but you can complete it for credit, or do it for practice on the material. It is due in class on Thurs., Apr. 29, or up until 11:00 A.M. on Fri., Apr. 30 in RLM 15.202AA. There will be a help session on Wed., Apr. 28, which will also serve as a help session for Exam 4, which will be given on Thurs., Apr. 29. We are currently in the middle of our Unit on galaxies and the Universe, covered in chs. 24 & 26. The material in ch. 25, on quasars and other supermassive black holes in galaxies, will be addressed in a special guest lecture by Prof. Greg Shields on Tues., May 4. |
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Homework 6 has been distributed, and is due either in class on Thurs., Apr. 22, or up until 11:00 A.M. on Fri., Apr. 23 in RLM 15.202AA. There will be a help session on Wed. afternoon, as usual. Also due are any write-ups for the public talk last week; hard copy is required in order to earn participation credit. The week of Apr. 20 - 22 we will discuss the Milky Way and other galaxies, covered in chs. 23 & 24. |
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Exam 3 is now being graded. Next week, we will discuss the endpoints of stellar lives (the last parts of chs. 19 & 20, and ch. 21), and then move on to Unit 4, Galaxies & the Universe, starting with ch. 23. The Astronomy Colloquium next Tuesday will be given by Prof. Adam Burrows of Princeton University, who is designated as this year's Tinsley Visiting Professor. He will give a review talk on "Exoplanet Research at the Crossroads," [abstract] intended for a broad audience, on Tues., Apr. 13 at 3:30 P.M. in RLM 15.216B. It is likely to be well-attended, so come early! This talk can be used towards participation credit, if you turn in a written summary. In addition, Prof. Burrows will give a more technical seminar on supernovae on Mon., Apr. 12, same time and place. |
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Exam 3 will be given on Thurs., Apr. 8, with a help session on Wed., Apr. 7 as usual. This exam will cover the topics of exoplanets (ch. 8-7), the Sun (ch. 16), properties of stars (ch. 17), and post-Main Sequence evolution of stars (chs. 19 & 20). The format and duration will be similar to those of previous exams. Bring your calculator!
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Homework 5 can be turned in on Thursday before class, or up until 11:00 AM on Fri., Apr. 2 with no loss of credit (turn it in at RLM 15.202AA). There will be a Help Session on Wed., Mar. 31 as usual. We have almost finished ch. 17. We will skip ch. 18, and move on to chs. 19 & 20. Our next hour exam, which will be on Thurs., Apr. 8, will cover exoplanets (the end of ch. 8), and chs. 16, 17, 19, & 20. |
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As the second half of the spring semester begins, we move on to Unit 3, The Sun and Stars. The reading for this week is chs. 16 & 17 (see the Readings page). Homework 4 is due Thurs., Mar. 25 at the beginning of class, and there will be a help session on Wed. afternoon. Homework 5 will be handed out Mar. 25 and due Apr. 1 (no fooling!). Grades for Make-up Exam 1 are now available on eGradebook. If you took this exam and scored higher than on either Exam 1 or 2, the new grade replaces the older one. Otherwise, it will not be counted. Also posted is the total Participation points you earned in the first half of the semester. If this is not 8 or higher, you have fallen behind and need to take steps to make up the credit, perhaps by attending a Star Party. There will be no further opportunities to replace any exam grades from the first half of the semester, but you may still drop the class with a "Q" as long as you get the Instructor's signature during office hours this week. |
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Exam 2 has been graded and returned. The Make-up Exam for either Exam 1 or 2 will be given in class on Thurs., March 11, and there will be no other activity that class day. If you are not planning to take the make-up exam, have a nice Spring Break! For the benefit of those students planning to take the make-up exam, there will be office hours Wed., 1 - 2 P.M. with Prof. Dinerstein, and a help session led by the T.A. on Wed., 6:30 P.M. in the Lounge next door to RLM 15.216B. Note the changes in time and place. Homework 4 will be posted on this site on Thurs., Mar. 11 and due after Spring Break. Also, we will jump ahead to ch. 16, The Sun the week after the break. |
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Exam 2 is being graded and will be returned in class on Thurs., March 9. We will also discuss "extrasolar planets" that day, and announce details about the make-up exam on Thurs., March 11. The times of office hours and the help session will be modified, just for this week, due to a scientific conference taking place on campus. Your T.A. will not hold her office hour on Monday, and Prof. Dinerstein's meeting times on Tues. and Wed. will be shifted half an hour earlier: Tues., 1:30 - 2:30 PM and Wed., 2 - 3 P.M.. The pre-exam Help Session will be Wed., 6:30 P.M. in the small conference room next door to the classroom (also called the Edmonds Lounge). |
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Exam 2 will be given in class on Thurs., March 4. The format and length will be similar to that of Exam 1, and a Study Guide has been distributed and posted. Be sure to bring your calculator, and to come to class on time. The first 20 minutes or so will be lecture, as before. There will be a Help Session at the usual time and place, the afternoon before the exam. We will continue the topics of extrasolar planets and the formation of planetary systems, including material not in your textbook, on Tues., Mar. 9; this should be an especially interesting class session. On Thurs., Mar. 11, the entire class period will be devoted to an optional Make-up Exam that can take the place of either Exam 1 or Exam 2 (but not both). |
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Since we did not quite get to the topic of interferometry in class, even though it is discussed in section 6-6 we will allow students to turn in Homework 3 up until 11:00 A.M. on Fri., Feb. 26 with no loss of credit. As in previous weeks, please turn it in to the Astronomy Student Office, RLM 15.202AA. The homework help session will remain on Wed., Feb. 24, 5-6 P.M. We will finish ch. 6 and begin ch. 7 on Thurs., Feb. 25.
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We have finished our discussion of the properties of light and spectra (ch. 5), and will discuss telescopes and tools astronomers use (see ch. 6) on Tues., Feb. 23. Homework 3 is now available. It will be due next Thurs., Feb. 25 and there will be a Help Session the day before, at the usual time and place. Exam 1 has been graded and returned. The letter-grade to exam score correspondence, as well as answers to some of the exam questions, is presented in the file Exam 1 - Frequently Missed Questions on the Exams & Grading page. That page also has a link to eGradebook. Keep in mind that you can take a make-up exam for Exam 1 or 2, on Thurs., Mar. 11. |
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Exam 1 is being graded and will be returned next week. Keep in mind that may take a make-up for this exam (or for Exam 2) on Thurs., Mar. 11. We have started our unit on light and telescopes & techniques, covered in chs. 5 & 6. The next homework will be handed out on Thurs., Feb. 18 and due on Feb. 25, with a Help Session on Wed., Feb. 24. |
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The first exam will be on Thurs., Feb. 11 and will cover chs. 1 - 4. It will begin partway through the class meeting, and continue until the end of class. The exam will be closed book, but physical constants and equations will be provided for your use; do bring a calculator. See the Study Guide for further details. There will be a pre-exam Help Session Wed., Feb. 10 from 5 - 6 P.M., in the classroom, and office hours are available on Tues. and Wed. as listed on this page.
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The help session that was cancelled on Wednesday (Feb. 3) afternoon has been rescheduled for Thurs., Feb. 4, 4:30 - 6 P.M., in the conference room next to the 15th floor elevators in RLM. The deadline for Homework 2 has been extended to Fri., Feb. 5, 11:00 A.M. Please turn in your papers to Char Burke in the Astronomy Student Office, RLM 15.202AA. Reminder: There will be a Public Lecture Sat., Feb. 6 at 1 PM in the ACES Building. This will provide an opportunity to earn extra participation credit; see the Out of Class Events page for more information. The first in-class exam will be on Thurs., Feb. 11 and will cover chs. 1 - 4. The Study Guide was distributed in class and is possted on the Exams & Grading page. |
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Due to the emergency closure of RLM on Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 3), we are (again!) extending the deadline for Homework 2 to Fri., Feb. 5, 11:00 A.M. Please turn in your papers to Char Burke in the Astronomy Student Office, RLM 15.202AA. The missed Help Session will be rescheduled for the afternoon or evening of Thurs., Feb. 4; we will announce the time and place in class tomorrow (Thurs.), and it will also be posted here, in the Announcements box. Reminder: There will be a Public Lecture on Sat., Feb. 6 at 1 PM on campus. This will provide an opportunity to earn extra participation credit; see the Out of Class Events page for more information. The first in-class exam will be on Thurs., Feb. 11 and will cover chs. 1 - 4. More information and a Study Guide will be provided soon. |
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Homework 2 is due Thurs., Feb. 4 at the start of class. In addition to office hours, a Help Session will be held Wed., Feb. 3 in RLM 15.216B from 5 - 6 P.M.. There will be a Public Lecture on Sat., Feb. 6 at 1 PM on campus. This will provide an opportunity to earn extra participation credit; see the Out of Class Events page for more information. The first in-class exam will be on Thurs., Feb. 11 and will cover chs. 1 - 4. More information and a Study Guide will be provided soon. |
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Homework 1 may be turned in to Char Burke in RLM 15.202AA (the Astronomy Student Office) up until 11:00 A.M., Fri., Jan. 29. Homework 2 has been distributed and is due Thurs., Feb. 4 at the beginning of class. The last couple of problems are based on material in ch. 4, which we will cover on Tues, Feb. 2. Note that Mars is currently at a special location and is especially prominent and bright in the night sky; click on home above left for details. |
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Homework 1 is due Thurs., Jan. 28 before the start of class, but for this homework only, you may turn it in to Char Burke in RLM 15.202AA (the Astronomy Student Office) until 11:00 A.M., Fri., Jan. 29 with no loss of credit. There will be office hours as posted, and a help session on Wed., Jan. 27, 5 - 6 P.M. in the Astronomy classroom, RLM 15.216B. We will cover ch. 3 and part of ch. 4 this coming Thursday.
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We have finished the material in ch. 1, and are partway through ch. 2. I recommend that you read chs. 2 & 3 before next Tuesday, when we will finish our discussion of solar and lunar phenomena. Homework 1 has been distributed (and is posted on the Homework page) with a nominal due date of 1/28, although a slight extension may be possible. Office hours and the Wednesday help sessions begin next week (Jan. 25 - 29).
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Welcome! This is the primary site for Professor Dinerstein's Astronomy 307 class. Please bookmark it. Soon to come
are many resources including lecture slides (to be posted usually within 24 hours of the corresponding class meeting),
reading and recommended problems, responses to student questions, etc. The first class meeting will be Tuesday, January 19, in the main Astronomy classroom on the 15th floor of Robert Lee Moore (RLM) Hall. It is a good idea to come early, to wait for an elevator, if it is possible to do so. See you next Tuesday! |
