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*  *  *   Astronomy 20 -- Basic Astronomy and the Galaxy -- Fall 2004   *  *  *
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Course website:  http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~george/ay20/

Instructor: George Djorgovski, george 'at' astro, 395-4415, 221 Robinson
            Office hours:  by arrangement

TAs: Dan Stark, dps 'at' astro, 395-6857, 16 Robinson
     Office hours:  by arrangement

Times and location:  Tue. 1-2:30 and Fri. 3-4:30, 106 Robinson

Textbook: "Astronomy: A Physical Perspective", by Marc Kutner, QB45.2 .K87 2003,
          Cambridge Univ. Press, ISBN 0 521 52927 1
           
          Another book, which you do not have to buy, but may find it useful in
          the long run if you are majoring in astrophysics, is "An Introduction
          to Modern Astrophysics", by B. Carroll & D. Ostlie, QB461 .C35 1996.
           
          In addition, we may distribute some readings in the class or via the
          course webpage.

Grading:  40% homeworks+lab, 30% midterm, 30% final

          Late homework penalty:  -50% per day or fraction thereof.  We will
          give indulgences only for really good reasons (sickness, if you have
          a note from the doctor; death in the immediate family; being abducted
          by a UFO, with a convincing proof; etc.).  No late exams will be
          accepted, except maybe for -very- serious health related reasons.

Collaboration policy:  NO collaboration is allowed for the final and midterm
          exams.  For the homeworks, you can discuss the problems with other
          students, but only in general terms, and you have to derive your
          own solutions.  You CANNOT use any old homework solutions from
          anyone or anywhere.  Honor code applies.  

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Lectures (slightly revised):

Tue Sep 28   Introduction and overview; cellestial sphere, time systems, units
Fri Oct 1    Telescopes, observatories, surveys, astronomical data, web astronomy
Tue Oct 5    Astronomical instruments, techniques, fluxes, magnitudes, etc.
Fri Oct 8    Celestial mechanics, Kepler's laws, binary stars and their uses
Tue Oct 12   Electromagnetic radiation and its interaction with matter
Fri Oct 15   Stellar atmospheres, classification of stellar spectra
Tue Oct 19   Stellar interiors, energy generation, main sequence
Fri Oct 22   The Sun, neutrino astronomy
Tue Oct 26   Post-MS evolution, stellar pulsation
Fri Oct 29   White dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes
Tue Nov 2    Close binaries, stellar interactions, novae
Fri Nov 5    Supernovae, GRBs, and their uses
Tue Nov 9    Interstellar matter, star formation
Fri Nov 12 * Extrasolar planets, life in the universe, SETI, etc.
Tue Nov 16   Star clusters and elementary stellar dynamics
Fri Nov 19   Our Galaxy: structure, content, rotation, kinematics, stellar populations
Tue Nov 23   Stellar luminosity and mass func's, formation and history of our Galaxy
Tue Nov 30   Galactic morphology and spiral structure, dark matter, galaxy evolution
Fri Dec 3    The final review lecture, or some special topic(s)

* Nov 12 lecture will almost surely be rescheduled at some make-up time