Courses
Astronomy
- AST-A 100 The Solar System (3 cr.) Fall. Survey of the solar system, including the Earth, sun, moon, eclipses, planets and their satellites, comets, laws of planetary motion, etc. Discussion of the origin of the solar system, life on earth, and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life. Also astronomical instruments and celestial coordinates.
- AST-A 103 Search for Life in the Universe (3 cr.) Spring. Explores the origin, nature, and history of life on Earth, prospects for life in our own and other planetary systems, extra solar planet detection, and the possibility of other technological civilizations.
- AST-A 105 Stars and Galaxies (3 cr.) Spring. Survey of the universe beyond the solar system, including stars, pulsars, black holes, principles of spectroscopy and the H-R diagram, nebulae, the Milky Way, other galaxies, quasars, expanding universe, cosmology, and extraterrestrial life.
- AST-A 130 Short Courses in Astronomy (1 cr.) Five-week short courses on a variety of topics in astronomy. Examples of topics include: the Big Bang, Black Holes, Astronomy from your Backyard, How to See Stars, and The Birth and Death of Our Sun.
- AST-A 205 Quasars, Pulsars, Black Holes (3 cr.) P: Introductory High School mathematics. Fall, day. For both science and non-science majors interested in astronomy. Surveys stars of all types and their life cycles. Includes the H-R diagram, star clusters, and exploration of our own sun. Discussion of relativistic effects on certain astronomical objects and on human space exploration.
- AST-A 250 General Astronomy (3 cr.) P: AST-A 100 and AST-A 105 and (MATH-I 231 or MATH-I 221 or MATH-I 165). Minimum grade of C- required in all prerequisite courses. Fall. An introduction to the study of the universe. Coverage includes: orbital mechanics, planetary formation, terrestrial vs giant planets, stellar mechanics, stellar life cycles, HR diagram, variable stars, star clusters, black holes and relativity, galactic structure, interstellar medium, distance scale, quasars, and voids.
- AST-A 330 Introduction to Astrophysics (3 cr.) P: AST-A 205 and AST-A 250 and (PHYS-I 152 or PHYS-P 201) and two semesters of calculus [(MATH-I 165 or MATH-I 231 or MATH-I 221) and (MATH-I 166 or MATH-I 232 or MATH-I 222)]. Minimum grade of C- required in all prerequisite courses. Spring. An introduction to astrophysics. Coverage includes: dynamics and structure of the sun, hydrostatic equilibrium, stellar nuclear fusion, interstellar medium, stellar birth, stellar evolution, variable stars, binary stars, stellar death, relativity, the distance ladder, dark matter, and galactic structure.
- AST-A 380 Cosmology (3 cr.) P: AST-A 250 and (PHYS-I 152 or PHYS-P 201) and two semesters of calculus [(MATH-I 165 or MATH-I 231 or MATH-I 221) and (MATH-I 166 or MATH-I 232 or MATH-I 222)]. Minimum grade of C- required in all prerequisite courses. Spring. An introduction to the study of the universe. Coverage includes: Observational Data, Newton's Laws, Einstein's Special and General Theories, Robertson-Walker Metric, Einstein's Field Equation, Friedmann's Equation, Lambda, Big Bang Theory, Evolution of Possible Universes, Hubble's Cosmological Parameter, Dark Matter, CMBR, Dark Energy, Nucleosynthesis, Inflation, and Accelerated Expansion.
