Welcome to AY 101 – S002 Professor: Dr. Jimmy Irwin Meeting Room: Gallalee Hall 227 Class time: MWF 11:00-11:50 Course website: Introduction to Astronomy

Reminder Class notes are available after each class on the course webpage Audio recordings of classes also available on Tegrity. Also, register for a homework account on Mastering Astronomy (accessible through Blackboard).

Homework  The access code for Mastering Astronomy is bundled with your textbook, or can be bought online.  From Blackboard, click on "Mastering Astronomy Course Home to receive create an account on Mastering Astronomy.  Do this as soon as you can, as your first homework assignment designed to get you comfortable with the Mastering Astronomy interface will be assigned on Wednesday.  The access code for Mastering Astronomy is bundled with your textbook, or can be bought online.  From Blackboard, click on "Mastering Astronomy Course Home to receive create an account on Mastering Astronomy.  Do this as soon as you can, as your first homework assignment designed to get you comfortable with the Mastering Astronomy interface will be assigned on Wednesday.

Chapter 1 A Modern View of the Universe

Planet A moderately large object which orbits a star; it shines by reflected optical light from its host star. Planets may be rocky or gaseous in composition.

Moon / Satellite A rocky or icy object which orbits a planet.

Asteroid A relatively small and rocky/metal object which orbits a star.

Comet A relatively small and primarily icy object which orbits a star.

~10 6 (1 million) km diameter light crossing time: 3 seconds ~10 6 (1 million) km diameter light crossing time: 3 seconds Star Hot, gaseous objects generating heat and energy by fusing hydrogen to helium in their cores

Solar (Star) System A star and all the material that orbits it, including its planets and moons, asteroids, comets Light crossing time: 8 hours (Earth-Sun: 8.3 minutes) A star and all the material that orbits it, including its planets and moons, asteroids, comets Light crossing time: 8 hours (Earth-Sun: 8.3 minutes) km

Nebula An interstellar cloud of gas within galaxies ~10 light years = km

Star Cluster A collection of dozens to millions of stars gravitationally bound (or not) orbiting (or inside) a galaxy. 10 light years = km Open cluster Globular Cluster

Galaxy A great island of billions of stars and gas, all held together by gravity and orbiting a common center 100,000 light years across = km

Galaxy Groups or Clusters A collection of tens to thousands of galaxies gravitationally bound. 10 million light years across = km

Universe All matter and energy. Everything within and between galaxies. An estimated 100 billion galaxies in the observable Universe (10 billion) light years = km

Where does Earth fit into the Universe?

Our Very, Very Ordinary Location Earth – an average size planet in an average-sized orbit The Sun – a slightly above-average size star, just one of 100 billion in our Galaxy Our location in the Milky Way Galaxy – neither near the center nor near the outskirts Our Galaxy – neither unusually big nor small, just one of 100 billion Earth – an average size planet in an average-sized orbit The Sun – a slightly above-average size star, just one of 100 billion in our Galaxy Our location in the Milky Way Galaxy – neither near the center nor near the outskirts Our Galaxy – neither unusually big nor small, just one of 100 billion

Earth/Moon viewed from 183 million km (114 million miles), about 1.2 Earth-Sun distances by MESSENGER spacecraft. Launch: August 3, 2004 Arrived at Mercury: March 18, 2011

Earth viewed by Voyager 1, 4 billion miles or 6.4 billion kilometers away

Don’t Forget Clickers on Wednesday!  Participation grading will start for real on Wednesday, so register your clickers beforehand, and bring them on Wednesday.  If you brought your clickers today, you will get a day’s worth of extra credit added to your participation grade.  Participation grading will start for real on Wednesday, so register your clickers beforehand, and bring them on Wednesday.  If you brought your clickers today, you will get a day’s worth of extra credit added to your participation grade.

Clickers: You will need to register your clickers by going to your Blackboard page for this course and clicking on “Register Clickers Here”, and inputting the 6- digit code after the words: Device ID (some of the digits are letters) on the back of the clicker device.

Clickers: Step 1: Press the Channel button Step 2: Type in “12” (will always be 12 for this course) Step 3: Hit “Enter” Step 4: When question is asked, hit “A”, “B”, “C”, etc. button

Question: The most interesting finding from the recent New Horizons fly-by of Pluto is: A) the curious lack of craters on Pluto. B) the heart-shaped feature on Pluto. C) the different colors of Pluto and its moon Charon. D) Why are we talking about Mickey Mouse’s dog?

The Length Scale of the Universe

Distance Units and Astronomy Planets: kilometers (km) (1 km ~ 0.6 mile) - i.e., Earth’s circumference is ~40,000 km Solar System: Astronomical Unit (AU) - average Earth-Sun distance = 150 million km - Venus is 0.7 AU from Sun, Mars at 1.5 AU Stars, Galaxies, Universe: light year (ly) trillion km (distance light travels in one year)

How far is a light-year?

A light-year (or parsec, where 1 parsec = 3.26 light years) is a unit of distance, not a unit of time (sorry, Han Solo!). "You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?... It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs."

How can we know what the universe was like in the past?  Light travels at a finite speed (300,000 km/s).  Thus, we see objects as they were in the past: The farther away we look in distance, the further back we look in time.  Light travels at a finite speed (300,000 km/s).  Thus, we see objects as they were in the past: The farther away we look in distance, the further back we look in time. DestinationLight travel time Moon1 second Sun8 minutes Nearest star4.3 years Andromeda Galaxy2.5 million years

This part of the image is 100,000 years older than this part!

 At great distances, we see objects as they were when the Universe was much younger. Appearance of object is effectively “frozen in time” while the light from the object is transiting space. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

How large is the Solar System? 1:10 billion (10 10 ) scale - the Sun is the size of a grapefruit - Jupiter is the size of a marble - Earth is the size of tip of a ball point pen Let’s shrink everything down by a factor of 10 billion!

How large is the Solar System? If the Sun is a grapefruit, Neptune is a small pebble located somewhere 3 blocks away!

How Large is the Solar System? Wrong! Children’s books often give us the wrong impression of how large planets are relative to their distances. If the Sun is a grapefruit, Neptune is a small pebble located somewhere 3 blocks away! Our Solar System is almost entirely empty space !

How Far Away is the Nearest Star on This Same Spatial Scale?

How far away is the nearest star (if the Sun is the size of a grapefruit in Washington DC)? A) 20 blocks B) 5 miles C) 50 miles D) in California Full credit (2/2) for all who answer.

How far away is the nearest star (if the Sun is the size of a grapefruit in Washington DC)? A) 20 blocks B) 5 miles C) 50 miles D) in California Full credit (2/2) for all who answer.

Nearest Star at Distance of San Francisco! Actual distance: 4.3 light years

Galaxy If stars are so sparsely spaced, then why do galaxies look like this?

Galaxy Answer: Our telescopes are unable to resolve the actual size of all the stars – we see a blur of many, many faint stars. Galaxies are mostly empty space (neglecting diffuse gas they contain)!

How large is the Galaxy? Venus 11m Earth 15m Uranus 287m Neptune 450m Pluto 590m Mercury 6m Let’s shrink the Universe by another factor of 1 billion 1:10 19 (10 quintillion!) scale – equivalent to the Milky Way Galaxy being as big as a football field. Sun is now the size of an atom. Sun How far from Sun to nearest star?

How far away is the nearest star (if the Milky Way Galaxy is the size of a football stadium and the Sun is at the 25 yard line)? A) 4 millimeters away B) 1 foot away C) 17 yard line D) the nearest end zone Full credit (2/2) for all who answer.

How far away is the nearest star (if the Milky Way Galaxy is the size of a football stadium and the Sun is at the 25 yard line)? A) 4 millimeters away B) 1 foot away C) 17 yard line D) the nearest end zone Full credit (2/2) for all who answer.