Welcome to AST 2002

I.Hard class, but also fun. Lots of resources: a) Attend class b) Keep up with lectures, quizzes, online resources c) Office hours d) Einstein Club (more on this later) e) SARC tutors and workshops f) II.Online Resources Mastering Astronomy comes with the new book. Specific instructions from publisher. If questions about Mastering Astronomy: AST 2002 General Comments

Mastering Astronomy: Course ID: AST S11 Free help available for Mastering Astronomy : "virtual" office hours (times will be announced soon) with AIM Screen Name ast2002help. Additionally, students may use this address: appointments to see students in person are also available. AST 2002 General Comments

IV.Class Mechanics : AST 2002 General Comments (Cont.) Syllabus has all the relevant information, READ IT! The Essential Cosmic Perspective (5th edition) by Bennett. –The Mastering Astronomy code comes with the book at the UCF bookstore. MAKE SURE you get this code if you buy the book elsewhere. 4 Exams: 3 in-class ( Thursday Feb. 8, Thursday March17, and Tuesday April 19 ), and a cumulative final ( on Tuesday April 26 at 1:00 PM ) Grades: 100% exams, plus extra credit (see below)

Participate in the Einstein Club –To get extra credit you MUST complete 85% of the assigned quizzes (you can miss no more than 2 quizzes). If at end of semester the quiz requirement is fulfilled, extra credit will be earned for several activities: –Attending a workshop at UCF's Student Academic Resource Center (SARC, Phillips Hall Room 113) BEFORE SPRING BREAK, can add 1%. –Attending BEFORE SPRING BREAK a session with a SARC astronomy tutor can add 1% extra credit. –The total extra credit that can be earned is 3%, i.e., 1% from the quizzes, 1% from the SARC workshop and 1% from meeting with a SARC tutor (If you fulfill the requirement of completing 85% of quizzes). IV. Class Mechanics: EXTRA CREDIT

V.Other: a. Please turn off cell phones, never answer them in class b. Do not be shy about asking questions in class, it makes the lecture much more interesting c. Seek help outside class (office hours, tutor at SARC) d. Attendance is very important. Unannounced in-class quizzes. Exams will be based on material covered in class e. Read chapters BEFORE CLASS, review and study THAT DAY after class f. Not a stargazing class, more like physics of the universe g. Course gets harder: get a good grade on the first exam because its hard to recover later

Who cares about astronomy anyway?

1.1 Our modern View of the Universe Survey of the universe and powers of ten 1.2 The scale of the Universe Astronomical distances 1.3 Spaceship Earth Motions of Earth, Sun, Galaxies Outline of lecture 1 (Ch 1)

1.1 Our Modern View of the Universe What is our place in the universe? How did we come to be? How can we know what the universe was like in the past? Can we see the entire universe? Our goals for learning:

10 2

DISTANCE SCALES ASTRONOMICAL UNIT (AU): –The average distance between the Earth and the Sun. About 150 million km or 93 million miles 1 AU Sun. Earth

A TOUR OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM NOT TO SCALE!!!! MERCURY VENUS EARTH ASTEROID BELT JUPITER SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE PLUTO KUIPER BELT AND OORT CLOUD MARS

DISTANCE SCALES LIGHT-YEAR (LY):

WRITING NUMBERS IN SCIENTIFIC NOTATION CONVENTIONAL SCIENTIFIC NOTATION 341, X X ,000, X X 10 -2

1.1 Our Modern View of the Universe What is our place in the universe? We are on a planet, orbiting a star, in a galaxy (which is a member of the Local Group of galaxies in the Local Supercluster) How did we come to be? How can we know what the universe was like in the past? Can we see the entire universe? Our goals for learning:

STAR

PLANET

What about Pluto? What about objects larger than Pluto that have been discovered? What about asteroids? The definition of a planet is not so clear (it was much easier for the ancient Greeks….for them a planet was a star that moved and there were 5 of them) PLANET

MOON

. ASTEROID

COMET

A star and all the material which orbits it, including its planets and moons SOLAR (STAR) SYSTEM

NEBULA

GALAXY

The sum total of all matter and energy; that is, everything within and between all galaxies THE UNIVERSE

Age of Universe: Age of Solar System: Cosmic Calendar: AGE OF UNIVERSE

1.1 Our Modern View of the Universe What is our place in the universe? How did we come to be? How can we know what the universe was like in the past? Can we see the entire universe? Our goals for learning:

Where do we come from? The first (and simplest) atoms were created during the Big Bang. More complex atoms were created in stars. When the star dies, they are expelled into space…. to form new stars and planets! Most of the atoms in our bodies were created in the core of a star!

SPEED OF LIGHT The speed of light in the vacuum of space is constant! All light travels the same speed! c = speed of light = 290,000,000 m/sec = 2.9 x 10 8 m/sec = 290,000 km/sec

Looking back in time Light, although fast, travels at a finite speed. It takes: –8 minutes to reach us from the Sun –8 years to reach us from Sirius (8 light-years away) –1,500 years to reach us from the Orion Nebula The farther out we look into the Universe, the farther back in time we see!

1.1 Our Modern View of the Universe What is our place in the universe? How did we come to be? How can we know what the universe was like in the past? Can we see the entire universe? Our goals for learning:

What have we learned? How is Earth moving in our solar system? How is our solar system moving in the Milky Way Galaxy?

What have we learned? How do galaxies move within the universe? Are we ever sitting still?