DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

PHYS1000: Introduction to Astronomy (Pt I) Fall 2019

Course Description:
This course examines some basic concepts of celestial navigation, the historical development of human
understanding of the workings of our solar system, the nature of light and electromagnetic radiation and
then carries out a survey of objects within our solar system with emphasis on the results of recent space
exploration. This is a descriptive course suitable for the non-scientist. (May be taken by B.Sc. students for
credit, but does not count as a Physics course or other science option towards the fulfillment of the
requirements for the B.Sc. degree.) (2 lecture hours a week).

Instructor: Steven Pellarin

Office: 188-1 Essex Hall
Office Hours: M&W 6:30 - 7:30 pm (unless otherwise notified)
Email: pellarin@uwindsor.ca
Lectures: MW 5:30 - 6:20 pm Room 1120 Erie Hall

Course Outline:
Unit Topic Chapter

1. Observing the Night Sky 1, 2.1-2.2, 4.1-4.5, 4.7

2. History of Astronomy 2.2-2.4, 3 (omit p93-95)
3. Radiation and Spectra 5
4. Telescopes and Collecting Astronomical Data 6
5. The Structure and Origin of the Solar System 7, 13, 14
6. Earth and the Moon 8.1-8.5, 9.1-9.4, 4.6
7. The Terrestrial Worlds 9.5, 10
8. The Jovian Worlds 11
9. Rings, Moons and Pluto 12
10. The Sun - Our Nearest Star 15, 16

We will cover approximately 1 unit per week.

Text: Astronomy 1st edition, Senior Contributing Authors: A. Franknoi, D. Morrison, S. Wolff
©2017 Rice University, Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Download as a pdf file/Kindle/iBooks format at
http://cnx.org/content/col11992/latest/ (Open Source)
or Cost: FREE
https:/openstax.org/details/books/astronomy

Note: An online version of the text is available without the need to download the entire book as a pdf
file. It can be accessed on the OpenStax website in the sidebar menu at the web address:
https://openstax.org/details/books/astronomy
Print copies (soft cover) of the book are also available but are expensive.

This is the textbook that will be used throughout the course and is the informational resource upon which
all assignments, midterms and the exam are based. A physical copy may also be made available on
reserve at the Leddy Library on campus - watch for an announcement on our Blackboard course webpage.
Other course resources (videos, simulations, etc.) are also available at the OpenStax website. These extra
resources are not required components for this course, but could be useful to the student.

Evaluation: Homework Assignments.............................................20%

2 Midterms (each worth 20%).....................................40%
Final Exam (cumulative, 3 hour time limit)..................40%
Total 100%

Evaluation Dates: Midterms...2 dates: Midterm #1) Wednesday, October 9th, 5:30 - 6:20 pm
Midterm #2) Wednesday, November 13th, 5:30 - 6:20 pm
Final Exam: TBA - Check announcements folder on Blackboard course site.

***All dates and times are tentative and subject to change with reasonable notification of such
changes. Locations to be posted on the course Blackboard webpage as soon as they become
available.

Office Hours and Availability:

I will be available Mondays and Wednesdays in my office from 6:30 to 7:30 pm (after class). I will also
occasionally be available on those days from 4:30 to 5:15 pm, but it is best if you call ahead or send an
email to check to see if I am around the office. I will also check my email account nightly during the
Sunday night to Thursday night period and try to respond to messages as quickly as I can. Please try to
complete assignments as early as possible in time periods when they are made available, as I may not be
able to respond to questions or comments quickly enough if you wait until the last minute before a
deadline to make an inquiry.

Homework Assignments:
There will be weekly homework assignments. They will take the form of a set of approximately 25-30
multiple choice, true/false, matching or fill-in-the-blank questions. They will be based on weekly unit
reading assignments from the text along with information presented in the class lectures for that unit.
Lectures are intended to highlight and explain key concepts from each unit and enhance and add context
to the material presented in the book - so attendance is highly recommended. The assignments will be
made available on the course website shortly after the lecture where we end discussion of a particular
unit. There will be about a one week window of time where the assignment will be available. The
assignment must be submitted by the end of that one week (usually by 11:59 pm on the due date) - see
the student task schedule on the last page of the syllabus for a list of tentative deadline dates.

Late assignments will not be marked. Assignments will be posted on the course Blackboard site in the
"Assignments" section and are to be completed electronically and submitted through the site. There is no
set time limit once you choose to start an assignment (other than having it completed by the deadline
time and date). However, if you close the assignment down by clicking the "Save and Submit" button or
lose your internet connection during the attempt to complete the assignment, it will likely end up
registering as an attempt by the Blackboard system. If you are working on an assignment and only wish to
save your work without submitting it for evaluation, you should click only on the "Save" button. This will
keep your completed work in a saved file on your account, but I will not receive it. As long as you
continue to save the work in this way, you can continue to reopen the assignment and continue working
on it from where you left off. Be sure to click the "SAVE and SUBMIT" button when you are ready to have
it marked. You will have two opportunities to submit the regular weekly assignments for evaluation. The
higher result of the two attempts submitted will be the one that is used in calculating your grade. If only
one attempt is submitted, then that score will be used. If no attempt is received before the deadline, a
mark of zero will be recorded for that assignment.

When doing the online assignments, I strongly recommend you use a computer with a direct line
connection to the internet (NOT wireless). Often, if the internet cuts out for a moment, the assignment
will not submit properly. You can, of course, use the computers at the university. You are responsible for
ensuring that your assignment submits properly. If your assignment does not submit properly, email me
immediately and I can open further tries for you (within the given time limit of the assignment). Please do
not leave this to the last minute, as I might not have time to open more tries for you. Due to my other
responsibilities during the rest of the week, I may not be able to open other attempts for you until later
in the day, so don't expect an immediate resolution to your problem. You will not be able to make up
missed assignments (even due to technical issues), so do not leave them to the last minute!

Plagarism:
While students may certainly work together, each student must submit his or her own work, and copying
assignments from other students is NOT ALLOWED. This is plagiarism. Due to the electronic nature of
the completion of assignments, steps are being taken to make it more difficult for students to copy other
students assignments. Plagiarism and academic dishonesty are serious offences and will be addressed
using official University guidelines/policies.
(see Academic Integrity Senate Bylaw 31 - http://bit.ly/UwinSenateBylaw31 )

It is highly recommended that all students review University policies and become familiar with what
constitutes academic dishonesty and how to avoid problems when submitting work or completing tests.
(Visit http://www1.uwindsor.ca/academicintegrity/uw-academic-integrity-tutorial).

Missed Assignments and Grade Calculation:

To reiterate: Any assignment not received successfully through the blackboard course website by the
due date and time stamp that are posted on the course website will receive a grade of zero. Since
assignments are made available for clearly stated times and are given very reasonable time frames in
which to be completed (given their short length) and since they may be submitted at anytime during the
week before the stated deadline, exceptions will not be made for submitting them late - other than in
very extreme situations (as determined by the University).

Understanding that sometimes situations occur that are beyond a person's ability to control and that the
odd problem may occur, an accommodation has been built in to the grading scheme to assist students.
Each student's final grade in the assignment portion of their overall mark will be calculated by dropping
the lowest score from the 9 course assignments and calculating the grade based on the remaining 8
assignment marks. All assignments are weighted equally in the calculation of the overall average of the
assignment portion of the final grade.
FINAL EXAM: The final exam is worth more than the individual midterms. It will be a comprehensive
exam covering all the material presented in the course including material from the final chapters of the
course not covered on the second midterm. In this way, all the material in the course will be represented
equally. Students will complete a paper-and-pencil exam similar in structure but longer in length than the
midterm tests. Students will be given 2.5 hours to complete the exam but it is unlikely that all that time
will be required to complete it. Again, it is recommended that students bring several #2 pencils and a
good eraser to use on the exam.

Several Important Points about Midterms/Exams:

1) Students MUST bring their University of Windsor photo ID card (student card) to the exam and
present it to the invigilator when they start, complete, hand-in and sign for their exam.
2) Cell phones must be shut off and cannot be accessed during the midterm tests and the final exam.

Any student accessing a cell phone during the test without prior approval by the invigilator of the test will
receive a grade of zero for that assessment instrument. Further instructions and information will be
provided for the tests and exams both on the course website and in lectures as the dates draw closer.

Final course grades will be rounded to the nearest percent.

Practice Assignment:
A practice/bonus assignment is being provided on the course site for you to become familiar with the
procedure of completing and submitting assignments electronically. Each question answered correctly
will count as a bonus mark (bonus mark, not percent) towards the calculation of the average in the
assignment portion of your final mark. You will only be allowed one attempt at this particular assignment.
As with other assignments no time limit for completing it once started (other than the due date/time).
This practice assignment will be due Saturday, September 28th, by 11:59 pm). I strongly recommend you
try this practice exercise first and do not leave it or any other assignment to the last minute - if something
goes wrong, a missed assignment will result in a grade of zero.

Grading:
ASSIGNMENTS: Grading of assignments will be done electronically and the score results will be available
to students almost instantaneously after submission.

MIDTERMS: Midterm tests will resemble weekly assignments in the types of questions that are presented
but will consist of 50 questions. The tests will assess understanding of concepts covered in several units.
The first midterm will likely include content covered in at least units 1, 2 and 3. The second midterm is
likely to include units 4, 5 and 6. Of course, these unit alignments with the midterm tests and exam are
subject to change as we see how the course lectures play themselves out over the term. The best way
to be sure what you are responsible for on the midterms and the exam is to check the course
Blackboard page for announcements. I will be posting messages confirming exactly what will be covered
on each test/exam as we get closer to the actual dates of each assessment. The tests will take place
during regular class times and will be similar in format to the assignments but will be completed on
Scantron paper cards which require a #2 pencil (bringing several pencils - a good eraser is also
recommended). Due to the class size, we may be split up into different rooms to write each midterm.
Room assignments will be posted in the announcements folder on our course Blackboard page well in
advance of the test.
Missed Midterm/Exam Policy:
If a midterm or exam is missed, the student is required to provide a valid documented reason for the
absence within two weeks of the missed test (unless otherwise specified) or they will receive a grade of
zero on that assessment instrument. The acceptance of the "valid documented reason" for missing the
midterm/exam will be determined by the instructor in consultation with university administration. If
missed for medical reasons, the student should have the form provided on the website (student medical
certificate within "resources" folder) filled out by a valid doctor on the day of the missed midterm /exam.
If a midterm is missed for a valid reason, the weight of that midterm will be pushed into the final exam.

If a student misses the final exam with a valid documented reason, there will be a make-up exam written
on the last day of the exam schedule for that term. The location and time will be determined at a later
date. (see Senate bylaw 51- http://bit.ly/UwinBylaw51 ) Proper procedures must be followed for an
alternate exam opportunity to be provided to the student.

*** If you cannot fulfill any of the policies or procedures outlined in this syllabus, you should ***
withdraw from this course.

Student Support Services:

1) Leddy Library -many astronomy books containing information related to our course are available in
the library. They may act as resources to supplement the information provided in the
text and during lectures. At least two copies of the course text book will be on the
reserve shelves in the reserve reading room in the basement of the library, available
for short term use (~1-2 hours) within that area.

2) Student Disability Services - University recognized (via the University Disability Services) “special needs”
students should make themselves known to the instructor at the beginning of the
course and discuss what, if any, special arrangements or accommodations are needed
and how these will be achieved.

3) IT Services - Anyone experiencing difficulties with access to their blackboard course account should
contact the IT Services department (Phone: 253-3000 ext. 4440 hours: M-F 8:30 am -
4:30pm) immediately and should also contact the instructor as soon as possible to
inform him of the situation.

Course Evaluation:
The Student Evaluation of Teaching will be made available online to the students during the last two
weeks of the semester.

Quality Assurance:
This course (PHYS1000) will be evaluated as part of internal and external quality assurance processes and
so that the course can be improved upon over time. Blackboard automatically logs data in all courses and
this data will be used for evaluating the course delivery and student engagement in the various aspects of
the course. This data provides information about how students as a group use and interact with various
elements of the course (for example, when the course is accessed most throughout the day and
semester, which areas of the course site are used most, how often, on average that students log in, how
frequently readings are viewed, and so on). The aggregated data may also be used in the future for
improving course design, presentations, reports, or articles used.

During the final week of the course, students will also be invited to participate in further research about
the course. If you decide to participate, you will be asked to fill out an anonymous online questionnaires
about your impressions of the course design, use of technology and how you believe you learned in the
course. The survey participation will have no effect on your grade and your instructor will not know who
participated in the surveys. Finally, at the end of the survey, you will also be asked if you want to
participate in a focus group after the final grades have been assigned, so that researchers can gather
more detailed student opinions about their experience with specific course delivery methods and
technologies used.

Tentative Student Tasks & Course Events Calendar

Task/Event Due Date
Practice Assignment (extra time provided) Saturday, September 28th by 11:59 pm

Unit #1 Assignment (1st assgn due ) Saturday, September 21st by 11:59 pm

Unit #2 Assignment Saturday, September 28th by 11:59 pm

Unit #3 Assignment Saturday, October 5th by 11:59 pm

Midterm Test #1 Wednesday, October 9th - 5:30 - 6:20 pm

***(during class time)
****** Reading/Study Week ****** October 14th - 18th

Unit #4 Assignment Saturday, October 26th by 11:59 pm

Unit #5 Assignment Saturday, November 2nd by 11:59 pm

Unit #6 Assignment Saturday, November 9th by 11:59 pm

Midterm Test #2 Wednesday, November 13th - 5:30 - 6:20 pm

***(during class time)
Unit #7 Assignment Monday, November 18th by 11:59 pm

Unit #8 Assignment Saturday, November 23rd by 11:59 pm

Unit #9 Assignment Friday November 29th by 11:59 pm

Final Exam Check your exam schedule on Uwinsite

(Date/Room assignments to be announced)
Optional Observing Session - (Location TBA) Thursday, October 3rd, 8 pm
***Event is weather dependent*** (more info to follow on Blackboard).
This schedule is tentative and could change during the term...ALWAYS CHECK THE COURSE
BLACKBOARD PAGE FOR EXACT DEADLINE DATES/LOCATIONS OF EVENTS.
READING ASSIGNMENTS - (tentative - please check Blackboard announcements weekly for any changes)
UNIT 1 - Observing the Night Sky
1.1 The Nature of Astronomy p.13
1.2 The Nature of Science p.13
1.3 The Laws of Nature p.15
1.4 Numbers in Astronomy p.15
1.5 Consequences of Light Travel Time p.17
1.6 A Tour of the Universe p.18
1.7 The Universe on the Large Scale p.23
1.8 The Universe of the Very Small p.27
1.9 A Conclusion and a Beginning p.28
2.1 The Sky Above p.32
2.2 Ancient Astronomy - only "Precession" (p. 46- 47)
4.1 Earth and Sky p.104
4.2 The Seasons p.107
4.3 Keeping Time p.114
4.4 The Calendar p. 87
4.5 Phases and Motions of the Moon p.120
4.7 Eclipses of the Sun and Moon p.129
UNIT 2 - History of Astronomy
2.2 Ancient Astronomy p.42
2.3 Astrology and Astronomy p.49
2.4 The Birth of Modern Astronomy p.54
3.1 The Laws of Planetary Motion p.70
3.2 Newton’s Great Synthesis p.76
3.3 Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation p.81
3.4 Orbits in the Solar System p.85
3.5 Motions of Satellites and Spacecraft p.88
3.6 Gravity with More Than Two Bodies p.91
(Omit making connections [p. 93 - 95] )
UNIT 3 - Radiation and Spectra
5.1 The Behaviour of Light p.146
5.2 The Electromagnetic Spectrum p.153
5.3 Spectroscopy in Astronomy p.161
5.4 The Structure of the Atom p.166
5.5 Formation of Spectral Lines p.172
5.6 The Doppler Effect p.176
UNIT 4 - Telescopes and Collecting Astronomical Data
6.1 Telescopes p.190
6.2 Telescopes Today p.196
6.3 Visible-Light Detectors and Instruments p.206
6.4 Radio Telescopes p.210
6.5 Observations outside Earth’s Atmosphere p.217
6.6 The Future of Large Telescopes p.222
UNIT 5 - Structure and Origin of the Solar System
7.1 Overview of Our Planetary System p.234
7.2 Composition and Structure of Planets p.246
7.3 Dating Planetary Surfaces p.251
7.4 Origin of the Solar System p.254
13.1 Asteroids p.452
13.2 Asteroids and Planetary Defense p.463
UNIT 5 (Continued...)
13.3 The “Long-Haired” Comets p.466
13.4 The Origin and Fate of Comets and Related
Objects p.476
14.1 Meteors p.494
14.2 Meteorites: Stones from Heaven p.499
14.3 Formation of the Solar System p.504
14.4 Comparison with Other Planetary Systems p.510
14.5 Planetary Evolution p.515
UNIT 6 - Earth and the Moon
8.1 The Global Perspective p.266
8.2 Earth’s Crust p.270
8.3 Earth’s Atmosphere p.278
8.4 Life, Chemical Evolution, and Climate Change p.283
8.5 Cosmic Influences on the Evolution of Earth p.288
9.1 General Properties of the Moon p.303
9.2 The Lunar Surface p.310
9.3 Impact Craters p.315
9.4 The Origin of the Moon p.320
4.6 Ocean Tides and the Moon p.125
UNIT 7 - The Terrestrial Worlds
9.5 Mercury p.321
10.1 The Nearest Planets: An Overview p.335
10.2 The Geology of Venus p.342
10.3 The Massive Atmosphere of Venus p.347
10.4 The Geology of Mars p.350
10.5 Water and Life on Mars p.359
10.6 Divergent Planetary Evolution p.371
UNIT 8 - Jovian Worlds
11.1 Exploring the Outer Planets p.381
11.2 The Giant Planets p.387
11.3 Atmospheres of the Giant Planets p.393
UNIT 9 - Rings, Moons, and Pluto
12.1 Ring and Moon Systems Introduced p.410
12.2 The Galilean Moons of Jupiter p.411
12.3 Titan and Triton p.420
12.4 Pluto and Charon p.425
12.5 Planetary Rings p.432
UNIT 10 - The Sun
15.1 The Structure and Composition of the Sun p.528
15.2 The Solar Cycle p.539
15.3 Solar Activity above the Photosphere p.544
15.4 Space Weather p.548
16.1 Sources of Sunshine: Thermal and
Gravitational Energy p.563
16.2 Mass, Energy, and the Theory of Relativity p.566
16.3 The Solar Interior: Theory p.576
16.4 The Solar Interior: Observations p.582