Outline of "The Cosmological Distance Ladder"

Course material can be found online at:

http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/ladder/ladder.html

Instructor

Michael Richmond
Office: IoA Room 2020 / NAOJ Shared Room 114
E-mail: mwrsps@rit.edu

Class meetings

   Monday,  May 22      10:30 AM - noon,  2:00 PM - 3:30 PM  
   Tuesday, May 23      10:30 AM - noon,  2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

   Monday,  May 29      10:30 AM - noon,  2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
   Monday,  May 30      10:30 AM - noon,  2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Please bring calculator, pen, paper and some sort of device which can access the Internet (laptop or smartphone) to class with you each day. I will ask students to look for information and perform calculations as part of the class meeting.

On the first class meeting, you will need to make a name-card for yourself. Please hand in the card to the instructor at the end of the class.

Office Hours

You are welcome to visit my office to talk about the class, or homework, or interesting news in astronomy, or Persona 5 and other video games, at any time.

You may make an appointment by E-mail, or just visit.

Grading

Your score will be based on a combination of attendance and performance on in-class exercises and quizzes. Please bring paper and pencil or pen to class so that you can hand in your work at the end of the day.

If you know in advance that you will have to miss an assignment, please contact the instructor.

Textbook

There are no official textbooks for this course. However, there are books which I recommend that you read. These books may clarify material covered in class, and they may also give you a second view which makes more sense to you than our explanations.

The cosmological distance ladder by Michael Rowan-Robinson was published in 1985, but it is still a good resource.

Cosmology by Rowan-Robinson is a more recent look at the subject.

Gravitation and cosmology: principles and applications of the general theory of relativity by Steven Weinberg is even older, but it also lays out some of the background of the topic.

This page maintained by Michael Richmond. Last modified Apr 3, 2017.