Courses
Natural Sciences
Astronomy (AST)
- AST-A 100 The Solar System (3 cr.) Celestial sphere and constellations, measurement of time, astronomical instruments, Earth as a planet, moons, eclipses, planets and their satellites, comets, meteors, theories of origin of solar system.
- AST-A 105 Stars and Galaxies (3 cr.) Topics include constellations, gravity, radiation, the Sun, structure and evolution of stars, neutron stars and black holes, the Milky Way galaxy, normal galaxies, active galaxies, quasars, cosmology, and the search for extraterrestrial life.
- AST-A 110 INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY (3 cr.) Earth as a planet, satellites, and comets, the sun, properties of stars, stellar systems, extragalactic objects. The nature of the observable universe.
- AST-A 130 Short Courses in Astronomy (1 cr.) P: Instructor permission required. Short courses on a variety of topics in astronomy.
- AST-A 150 Introductory Astronomy Lab (1 cr.) C: AST-A 100 or AST-A 105 or instructor permission. The observation of selected celestial objects using astronomical binoculars and telescopes. Astronomical data will be gathered and plotted by the student using auxiliary equipment installed on the telescopes. May be repeated (not to exceed 3 credit hours) with consent of instructor.
- AST-A 151 Introductory Astronomy Research Lab (2 cr.) C: AST-A 100 or AST-A 105 and instructor permission. Research projects include gathering and measuring data obtained from planets, variable stars, and deep-sky objects. Measurements made using optical telescopes, cameras, photoelectric photometer, charge-coupled device, and radio telescope. Also, simple problem-solving exercises in stellar and planetary astronomy.
- AST-A 200 Introduction to Cosmology (3 cr.) P: PHYS-P 100 or consent of instructor; AST-A 100 or AST-A 105 and MATH-M 102 are recommended. Historical and philosophical development of our physical picture of the Universe, evolution of galaxies, origin on the elements, cosmic distance scale, development of large scale structure, and the earliest stages of the Big Bang.