ASTRONOMY 1100.2 INTRODUCTION TO
ASTROPHYSICS
Instructor: David G. Turner COURSE SYLLABUS: 1. Astronomy and the Universe: perfect numbers and angular measurement,
scientific notation, astronomical units, small-angle formula. 2. Knowing the Heavens: basic constellations, celestial sphere, seasons,
precession, timekeeping, calendar. 3. Eclipses and the Motion of the Moon: lunar phases, Moon’s
rotation, eclipses, predictions. 4. Planet Orbits: Kepler’s Laws and Newtonian gravity, synodic and sidereal
periods. 5. The Nature of Light: wave and particle nature of light, blackbody
radiation, spectral lines, atomic structure, the Doppler effect. 6. Optics and Telescopes: refracting and reflecting telescopes, aberrations,
detectors. 7–15. Basic Information on the Solar System: terrestrial and gaseous
planets, asteroids and comets, cosmogony. 16. Our Star, the Sun: basic properties of the Sun, solar neutrinos, activity,
solar spectrum, solar interior. 17. The Nature of Stars: stellar distances, the magnitude scale, colors and
temperatures, spectral classes, the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, binary stars. 18. The Birth of Stars: dark nebulae and H II regions, giant molecular clouds,
star birth, protostars. 19–21. Stellar Evolution and End Products: why and how stars evolve,
nuclear reactions, post-main-sequence evolution, giants, supergiants, white
dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, supernovae of Types I and II. 22. Our Galaxy: mapping the spiral arms of the Galaxy, nature of the disk,
bulge, and halo, the mysterious Galactic center. 23. Galaxies: spiral, elliptical, irregular, and lenticular galaxies, how
stellar content varies along the Hubble tuning fork diagram, the Hubble Law, measuring
distances to galaxies, clusters of galaxies. 24. Quasars and Active Galaxies: discovery of quasars and quasi-stellar objects,
Seyfert and other active galaxies, galaxy collisions. 25–26. Cosmology and the Early Universe: the expanding universe, Big Bang
cosmology, cosmic microwave background, standard model. LECTURES: Monday, Wednesday: 1:00-2:15, Loyola 275
COURSE TEXTBOOK: Universe, Roger A. Freedman, Robert M. Geller, & William
J. Kaufmann, III, W. H. Freeman and Company GRADING SYSTEM: ASTR 1100 Lab and Observing Manual:
Office: AT319B
Telephone: (902) 420-5635 (office), 435-2733 (home)
Email: turner@ap.smu.ca
COURSE COMPONENT
PERCENTAGE OF GRADE
Weekly Quizes
25%
Labs and Observing Exercises
25%
Assignments
20%
Final Examination
30%
Total
100%