Summer session Solar System Astronomy: Summer 2020

This material can be found online at URL

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

Outline for the course, class schedule, etc.

You might also watch a video going over the outline.

"Lectures" of material, and the sections of the suggested reference book ("Cosmic Perspective") relevant to each "lecture".

• Week 1, Day A: Intro to the course, the scale of space (Sec 1.1)     and Quiz 1A
• Week 1, Day B: The scale of time (Sec 1.2)     and Quiz 1B
• Week 1, Day C: no class, RIT holiday
• Week 2, Day A: Formation of the solar system (Sec 8.1 - 8.3)     and Quiz 2A
• Week 2, Day B: Useful properties of light (Sec 5.1 - 5.4)     and Quiz 2B
• Week 2, Day C: Terrestrial planets: focus on atmospheres (Sec 10.2-10.3)     and Quiz 2C
• Week 3, Day A: Terrestrial planets: focus on solid portions (Sec 9.1-9.2)     and Quiz 3A
• Week 3, Day B: The Earth, seasons, and the Moon (Sec 2.2-2.3, 9.3, 9.6, 10.1-10.2)     and Quiz 3B
• Week 3, Day C: Mercury, Venus, and the greenhouse effect (Sec 9.3, 9.5, 10.5)     and Quiz 3C
• Week 4, Day A: Mars (Sec 9.4, 10.4)     and Quiz 4A
  
  • Bonus! The three Mars missions of 2020
• Week 4, Day B: Asteroids (Sec 12.1, 12.4)     and Quiz 4B
  
  I've added a completely optional webpage which addresses the question How can one measure the size of an asteroid? There is no quiz associated with it, but you can read it to find out why I woke up at 2 AM on Tuesday morning.
• Week 4, Day C: Jupiter, the King of Planets (Sec 11.1, 11.3)     and Quiz 4C
• Week 5, Day A: Saturn, its moon and rings (Sec 11.1, 11.3)     and Quiz 5A
• Week 5, Day B: Comets and icy bodies (Sec 12.3)     and Quiz 5B
• Week 5, Day C: How to find exoplanets I (Sec 13.1)     and Quiz 5C
• Week 6, Day A: How to find exoplanets II (Sec 13.1)     and Quiz 6A Quiz due date now Wed, Jul 5, 9 PM
• Week 6, Day B: The demographics of exoplanets (Sec 13.2)     and Quiz 6B
• At-home Final Exam: Noon, Mon Aug 10 - noon, Tues, Aug 11

You may find it useful to look at a list of all the videos accompanying the lectures.

Homework sets

In order to use the on-line homework system, you need to know your login name and your initial password. Your "login name" should be the same as your last name, but with lowercase letters only; something like richmond. Your initial password should be the final 4-digits of your student RIT student ID, so if your ID is 456781234, the initial password would be 1234. Include all zeroes: if your ID is 456780012, then your initial password will be 0012. You can change your password from the default after you log in for the first time.

Video explaining how to use the homework system

0. Introduction to Webwork system due Tuesday, June 30, at 5:00 PM EDT.
   • Answers to Homework 0
1. Space and Time due Tuesday, July 7, at 5:00 PM EDT.
   • Answers to Homework 1
2. Properties of light, terrestrial planets due Tuesday, July 14, at 5:00 PM EDT.
   • Answers to Homework 2
3. Planets, atmospheres, and seasons due Tuesday, July 21, at 5:00 PM EDT.
   • Answers to Homework 3
4. Mars, asteroids, Jupiter due Tuesday, July 28, at 5:00 PM EDT.
   • Answers to Homework 4
5. Saturn, comets, exoplanets due Tuesday, Aug 4, at 5:00 PM EDT.
   • Answers to Homework 5

Sky/lab projects

You must complete 3 of these projects by the end of the course to receive full credit; if you wish, you may submit a fourth project to receive extra credit. Pick any from the list -- the choice is yours. The deadline for these assignments is 5 PM, Thurs, Aug 6. All work must be submitted to the instructor by this time to count towards your grade. Use the Assignments tab in myCourses to submit the materials for each project.

1. Create a Moon Journal
2. Use parallax to measure the size of a room
3. Putting a time long ago onto the cosmic calendar
4. Plan a one-way trip to the Solar System destination of your choice
5. Project the Sun or the Moon
6. Draw the Milky Way
7. Expedition to see Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)
8. Record your impressions of six planets

For more information:

• NASA's "Solar System Exploration" website provides a wealth of definitive information.
  • NASA's index of planetary fact sheets have most of the numbers you need for solar system calculations.
• The Nine Planets website is a good place to get accurate information on objects in the solar system.
• Field Guide to Exoplanets is a course I taught about exoplanets; it concentrates on the observational aspects.
• Introduction to Stellar Astronomy is my version of the companion to this course, which concentrates on stars and galaxies instead of planets.
• Looking for cool astronomy software? Two of my favorites are free and run on multiple platforms.
  • Stellarium a planetarium program which shows you the sky on any date from any location on Earth.
  • Celestia a simulator which allows you to fly through our solar system and nearby stellar neighborhood, and look at planets and stars as zip past.
• During this semester (Fall 2018), there are several space missions which ought to produce exciting new results in the solar system:
  • Japan's Hayabusa2 which is placing landers on the asteroid Ryugu in late September/early October, 2018, and will retrieve samples for a return to Earth.
  • NASA's Osiris-Rex will descend to asteroid Bennu in November, 2018, and also try to retrieve a sample from the surface for return to Earth.
• Planets for Man (or "Habitable Planets for Man") is a book published in 1964 which describes our knowledge of planets beyond the Solar System at that time. It focuses on the factors which make a planet habitable for humans, and is written at a good level for the general reader. You can download a PDF copy of the book for free!

This page maintained by Michael Richmond. Last modified Jul 9, 2020.