Astronomy 16: Modern Astrophysics
Archive of Announcements
Week 9
This week's assignment is rather lengthy and involved - perhaps we'll go over some of the problems in class on Wednesday. Also - let's try to do some observing this week, now that the telescope appears to be working well.
Week 8
We're back to our regular homework schedule, with this week's homework due the day before class.
Week 7
We will meet for a class and review session, on Sunday night, October 18 at 8PM.
Week 6
Our midterm will be held the week after break.
Let's try to finish up our telescope orientation this Tuesday night.
Week 5
The Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium's annual student research symposium is being held on the Swarthmore campus this weekend.
Week 4
This is still relevant for week 4: Take a look at this information about binary star systems, including some good simulation applets that allow you to control the binary system parameters and see how observables are affected: visual binaries, spectroscopic binaries, and eclipsing binaries.
Check out the images from the newly repaired Hubble Space Telescope. With more here. And direct comparisons between pre- and post-upgrade images here.
Week 3
We will do some basic observing on Sunday night, at 9 PM, in preparation for our first lab.
This Wednesday's class will have to end early. Let's meet a little early, too - from 1:15 to 3:15.
Take a look at this information about binary star systems, including some good simulation applets that allow you to control the binary system parameters and see how observables are affected: visual binaries, spectroscopic binaries, and eclipsing binaries.
This is the first week that homework is due on Monday. And keep next Tuesday evening free for observing.
Check out the images from the newly repaired Hubble Space Telescope. With more here. And direct comparisons between pre- and post-upgrade images here.
Week 2
For week 2, we'll have another short assignment due in class, but starting this week, we'll have our next assignment given out at the end of class and it'll be due on the following Monday afternoon. See the assignments page for information about this week's assignment.
We will try to use the telescope for the first time this coming Tuesday night. The public open house starts at 9PM; we'll start our observing - weather permitting - at 10PM or so.
Items that were posted here in previous weeks are still here; see the old announcements link, below. Similarly for the old assignments.
Week 1
Our first class meeting of the semester is on Wednesday, September 2, at 1:30 in Cornell 110. That's the small room to the right of the circulation desk on the main floor of Cornell Library.
We will be using Astrophysics in a Nutshell by Dan Maoz as our main textbook. We will supplement this terse and mathematical textbook with more detailed and descriptive texts and articles, including Foundations of Astrophysics by Ryden & Peterson. Both these books are on reserve in Cornell.
Bookmark and print out a copy of corrections to typos and misprints in the textbook.
Return to the main class page.
This page is maintained by David Cohen
cohen -at- astro.swarthmore.edu
Last modified: November 4, 2009