Internet Address

http://www.lakeheadu.ca/~physwww/course
s/Astro/2310/index.htm
Lakehead home > Academic Information >
Academic Units > Physics > Online
resources > Online course material > Year
II Astronomy I

Resources
Text(recommended): Journey to the Cosmic
Frontier John D. Fix Will be used for 2330
Course Web Pages
defines material for which you are responsible
Assignments, Marks, Tutorials posted

http://www.astronomynotes.com

Class Structure

6:30 Multimedia Extravaganza

6:35 Administrative announcements
6:40 Sky News
7:00 Lecture
7:45 Break
8:00 Lecture and/or Video
9:15 End

Lecture Expectations
Attendance not mandatory
Read www notes and text sections before class
Only required to take notes when written by hand
on overhead ( two review notes sessions)
Please participate with questions and comments
Do not carry on private conversations during
lecture

Outdoor Events
Telescope viewing of Saturns rings .
This will have to wait until mid November

Possibility of going to an observatory

approximately 20 min drive from Thunder
Bay

Required Components

12 weekly Quizzes ( 25 %)
3 online Tests (35 %)
Final Exam ( 40 %)
quizzes and tests are to be completed online
using WebCT
Final Exam will be written in person
You must get at least 40% on the exam to
earn a credit

Nutshell Synopsis
Science Intro
Earth-Sun-Moon & Celestial Coordinates
Historical development ( Greeks to
Enlightenment )
Survey of planets (Mercury to Saturn )
Scientific Model for the origin of the Solar
System

Seven Liberal Arts

Arithmetic
Geometry
Logic
Rhetoric
History
Music
Astronomy

Noun-Verb Analogs
NOUNS

VERBS

Object
Sculpture
Character
Space
Location
Matter
Particle
Constellation

Process
Music
Experience
Time
Event
Energy
Wave
Motion

Modern Sciences
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Geology
Astronomy

Scientific Terms
Theory conceptual framework that explains
existing facts and predicts new ones
Hypothesis A tentative theory not yet fully
scrutinized
Falsifiability A truly scientific theory must be
potentially provable to be false
Fairies exist not scientific
Fairies dont exist scientific because it could be
disproved by finding a fairy.

Scientific Method
Hypothesis
Prediction
Revised
Hypothesis

Experiment
Observation

Scientific Models
Idealized analogy for a real world system
Can refer to a physical mechanism
(clockwork universe), in essence just an
idea
Validity Freedom from contradiction
Power Range of phenomena
Aesthetic appeal Economy of assumption

The Standard Model of the Solar

System

The Earth is one of 9 planets ( massive spherical objects )

The Sun is a star ( a gigantic ball of very hot gas )
All the planets move in almost circular paths around the Sun
These paths are all nearly in the same plane ( The Ecliptic )
The system is held together by the attractive force of gravity
All the planets are spinning about an axis of rotation
For the Earth, the axis of rotation goes through the poles
The Earths axis of rotation is tilted relative to the ecliptic
always pointing in the direction of the North Celestial Pole (
near the North Star, Polaris.)

The Bohr Model of the Atom

Atoms are analogous to the solar system
The role of the Sun is played by the atomic
nucleus
The role of the Planets are played by
electrons
The role of Gravity is played by the ElectroMagnetic force

Latitude degrees
North or South of
Equator
Longitude
degrees East or
West of Prime
Meridian

Imagine Earth as hollow ball you stand at the center,

head pointing to North pole, facing prime meridian,
turn clockwise 90 deg, look up 50 degrees see T.B.

Equator Sun overhead at noon on Equinoxes

Tropics Sun overhead at solstices
Arctic Circles Midnight Sun at solstices

The Horizon System

Horizon: Where Earth meets sky ( Equator )
Zenith: the point directly overhead ( North
Pole )
Azimuth: compass direction of the celestial
object ( longitude measured clockwise from
North)
Altitude: angle above or below the horizon (
latitude )

Meridian

South
North

Azimuth
=90+45
=135

Equatorial Co-ordinates
Celestial Equator : directly over the Earths
equator
Celestial Poles : directly over the Earths
poles
Right Ascension : Celestial longitude
measured from Vernal equinox
Declination : Celestial Latitude
Equinoxes, Solstices, Ecliptic

Ecliptic, Equator, Equinox, Solstice

Ecliptic vs. Equator

Equatorial Co-ordinates of Vega

Horizontal & Equatorial Compared

Hour Angle

Three Co-ordinate Systems