The University of Sydney - School of Physics

Learning Goals / Specific Objectives

Astronomy will encourage you to:

• Develop an appreciation and understanding of the methodology and techniques of astronomy, including
     • the importance of physical principles and physical thinking,
     • the relevance of other sciences (geology, chemistry,...),
     • the technology of astronomical observation,
     • threats to astronomy such as pollution by light and radio.
• Develop an understanding of the contributions of astronomy to culture and the changing world view.
• Acquire a broad understanding of
     • the nature of the planets, stars and galaxies,
     • the scale, structure and diversity of the universe.
• Develop a qualitative knowledge and understanding of the following list of important concepts
     • how distance is measured - the distance ladder,
     • the make-up and age of the solar system,
     • the life cycle of a star,
     • the origin of the elements,
     • redshift and its significance,
     • universal expansion.
• Develop skills of
     • reading, evaluating and discussing reports on astronomical topics,
     • working and learning in groups,
     • using computer-based simulation and tutoring systems,
     • using the internet.

Unit Components

Astronomy is a 6 credit point unit of study and has 6 hours of timetabled activities for many of the 13 teaching weeks of the July semester. Each week this time is divided into:

• 2 one hour lectures
• 1 one hour full class "Special Lectures"
• 1 one hour tutorial
• 1 two hour computer laboratory.

There are also several additional aspects to the course:

• on-line tutorial and assignment questions
• a night sky viewing project

If you regularly attend all of the timetabled activities and involve yourself in the other learning experiences you should gain a good understanding of the subject and find the course stimulating. For a 6 credit point unit you should also consider spending up to 6 hours per week on Independent Study to read the textbook and complete assigned work related to Astronomy.

Lectures

There are 26 one hour lectures covering the subject areas listed below

• Introduction (1 lecture)
• Solar System (6 lectures)
     • Formation and evolution
     • Terrestrial planets
     • Giant planets
     • Rings and moons
     • Small bodies
• Stars (8 lectures)
     • Analysis of starlight
     • Spectra of stars
     • Properties of stars
     • Structure of stars
     • Evolution of stars
     • Stellar deaths
• The Milky Way (5 lectures)
     • Multiwavelength astronomy
     • Star formation
     • Galactic structure
     • Galactic evolution
     • Galactic centre
     • Galaxies
• Extra-galactic Astronomy (6 lectures)
     • Galaxy Clustering
     • Distance scale
     • Active Galactic Nuclei
     • Gamma-ray bursts
     • Cosmology
     • Dark matter

Further details are listed in the Specific Objectives.

Special Lectures

"Special Lectures" are 1 hour sessions involving the whole class, but outside of the main lecture series. They are used to present material which doesn't fit within the flow of the normal lectures. Several of the sessions will be run by guest speakers. Some topics are specifically examinable, while most other topics are directly relevant to assessable objectives of the unit. Many of the sessions will be run by guest speakers.

Some likely topics are:

• Orbits, seasons, eclipses and time
• The Sun
• Neutron stars
• Active Galactic Nuclei
• Gravitational Lensing

Tutorials

There are 1 hour Tutorials each week where you will work in small teams to look at real-world astronomy issues. The topics are chosen to parallel the lecture content, but broad enough to encourage wide-ranging discussions. They will require you to bring together your knowledge of astronomy in order to draw sensible conclusions.

Each session will be based around an astronomy issues, for example the implications of an asteroid colliding with Earth and ‘Astronomy in the Movies’. Your team will have to work together, perhaps to prepare for a debate or to investigate scientific evidence for a theory to report back to the class. After the tutorial you will receive a summary of the main points on the topic.

Some tutorial material will appear in the final examination and you will be expected to be familiar with the main points and be able to write a short summary of the topics.

One session will be devoted to observing the Sun from the roof of the Physics building using a specially equipped telescope.

Computer Labs

It is impractical to ask you to conduct extensive observations using real telescopes (but see the Night Sky Viewing section), so computer simulations provide a useful alternative. A Computer Lab session occupies one 2 hour session each week. These directly support the lectures by illustrating the observing techniques required to gather the astronomical knowledge presented in lectures.

The course is based on CLEA software (Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy). No special computing knowledge is required.

The CLEA exercises to be used are:

• Moons of Jupiter
• Pulsars
• Stellar spectra
• Photoelectric photometry
• Redshift-distance relation

These are described in a Computer Lab booklet you are asked to buy. The computer-based experiments are divided into a series of checkpoints where tutors check that your progress is on track. Two sessions are assigned for each CLEA exercise.

Note that each exercise must be signed off no later than the end of the second week assigned to that exercise.

There will be a short, open-book, Lab exam at the end of the Lab course to test your understanding of the CLEA exercises.

Night Sky Viewing

No astronomy course would be complete without an opportunity to observe the night sky. The School of Physics has a computerised Meade 30cm (12-inch) LX-200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and a 20cm (8-inch) Dobsonian-mounted Newtonian telescope. Accessories include a CCD camera and a variety of eyepieces and filters.

The telescopes will be used for scheduled observing sessions from the roof of the Physics Annexe building (behind the main Physics building). The University's location near the centre of Sydney is certainly not the best place to observe the sky, but the telescope does remarkably well on many objects and appropriate filters can help penetrate the light pollution.

The objective is to develop some basic familiarity with the sky and let you see some of the objects discussed during the course.

Information on Night Viewing Sessions

Assignments

The MasteringAstronomy on-line tutorial/assignment system associated with your textbook is an important part of Astronomy. MasteringAstronomy requires you to regularly and individually use a computer at home or in one of the University’s Access Labs.

MasteringAstronomy provides questions that use a 'Socratic dialogue' - when you get stuck in answering a problem it offers a simpler problem, provides tailored feedback to a wrong answer and ultimately rewards your method and not just the final answer.

The main goals of our use of the system are:

• To aid your understanding of concepts while also improving your ability to solve problems.
• To give you an incentive to work through the material continuously through the semester.
• To provide experience with computer-based systems, for example the care needed to cope with a computer's demand for careful typing!

Questions in MasteringAstronomy are presented in groups (called ‘assignments’ by the system) with a title such as Assignment 1 and Tutorial Questions. There are four assignments, very roughly corresponding to the four main subject areas of the Unit. ‘Introduction to MasteringAstronomy is an extra, short assignment illustrating the features of the system with a mark value (given in full on completion) approximately half that of a regular assignment.

If for any reason you cannot complete the assignment on-line, you may request a paper copy of the assignment and permission to submit a paper copy of the solution. You must submit an Application for Consideration of Special Circumstances by Physics (available from the Physics Student Services Office). Paper-based assignments will not be accepted unless permission is obtained beforehand, since the objective is for you to use the tutoring ability of MasteringAstronomy to improve your ability to solve problems and your understanding of concepts.

More detailed information can be found on the MasteringAstronomy Information page.

Other Web Resources

The Current Students link on the School of Physics web page School of Physics web page provides resources to help you with your studies. Please spend time getting acquainted with this site, and the specific page relevant to your unit of study. Unit webpages are provided under the University’s eLearning environment, which can be accessed from links on the Junior Physics webpages or your MyUni pages. Access to MyUni requires a Unikey username and password that is issued with your confirmation of enrolment. The University provides computer facilities in the Access Labs.
A brief introduction to help you with web access is available.

Email

The University provides you with email access based on your username. We will use this email address to provide you with important information regarding this unit of study. We expect you to periodically read your University email account or forward mail to an email account you do read (eg. a hotmail account).

Textbook

The Cosmic Perspective 6e (6th edition, 2010)
    with MasteringAstronomy and Voyager SkyGazer Planetarium Software
    by Jeffrey O. Bennett, Megan Donahue, Nicholas Schneider, Mark Voit
    Pearson / Addison Wesley
    San Francisco CA, USA
    ISBN 9780321620903

The book is available from the University Co-op Bookshop. The latest price was around $158 (for Co-op members). Earlier editions are also acceptable. The Essential Cosmic Perspective by the same authors is a less comprehensive version of the same text. It has some significant omissions that have led us to adopt the larger version. Nonetheless, The Essential Cosmic Perspective is an acceptable alternative to the newer book. You will need an access code for MasteringAstronomy. This can either be obtained with a new copy of the textbook (also giving you an electronic version of the book) or collect an access code from the Physics Student Services Office, room 210, ground floor, Physics Building.

Examinable material is defined in the Specific Objectives, largely in terms of sections of the text. Lecturers will assume that you have read the specified sections of the text.

Each student will also require a copy of the Computer Lab book Astronomy Computer Exercises. All your Computer Lab results are recorded in this book. This may be purchased for $9 from the University Copy Centre, located within the Noel Martin Recreation Centre (the swimming pool) on the Darlington side of the campus. You may also order the Lab book on-line from the Copy Centre using the code number R620740Yfor PHYS 1500.

Timetable

Astronomy attracts students undertaking a very wide range of courses. As a result, it is difficult to construct a timetable which allows everyone to attend sessions with no clashes. This is particularly true for the lecture and Special Lecture timeslots where we need to choose times where everyone can attend at the single time they are offered. We have attempted to choose timeslots causing the minimum possible number of clashes.

Lectures and Special Lectures start in the first week of semester. Laboratories and Tutorials start in the second week of semester.

A full timetable for the unit is on-line.

Any enquiries should be directed to the staff in Physics Student Services (Physics room 210; email: physics.studentservices@sydney.edu.au).

Important Dates

Assessment

Assessment tasks are intended to allow you to demonstrate what you have learned related to the goals of this unit. They also serve to encourage you to work with the material, but should not dominate your approach to learning. See them as another learning activity, accompanying and complementing those listed earlier.

You are responsible for understanding the University policy regarding assessment and examination.

Assessment of this unit of study is based on achievement of Specific Objectives demonstrated in a combination of assignments, tests examination and laboratory work. Satisfactory performance in all aspects of assessment is necessary to ensure a pass in this unit.

Students in astronomy must be able to express themselves accurately by clear, efficient use of the English language in their written work. Spelling, grammar, punctuation and correct use of language will be taken into account when written reports and examination work are assessed. Students should refer to the University's WriteSite if they are looking for guidance on grammar and other aspects of academic and professional writing.

Scaling of Marks

Final grades in this unit are awarded at levels of HD (High Distinction), D (Distinction), CR (Credit), P (Pass) and F (Fail) as defined by Academic Board Resolutions: Assessment and Examination of Coursework. Distributions of grades in units offered by Schools in the Faculty of Science are governed by a policy based on ‘norm-referencing’ that defines the proportions of each grade awarded among student who pass. For Junior units of study, acceptable ranges of grades are:

Simply adding all your marks will not necessarily give a good indication of your final result. The nature of some of the components listed above (e.g. lab experiments) leads to high marks for many people. This results in the final total marks usually requiring some scaling down - by more than 5 marks in some cases. This scaling does not affect your rank in the class, only the final mark reported.

Consideration of factors affecting your study

If your academic performance in a Science Faculty unit of study is adversely affected by illness or some other serious event, such as an accident, you should complete an Application for Special Consideration with accompanying documentation. If you have another reason for the Science Faculty to take account of your circumstances - religious commitments, legal commitments (e.g. Jury duty), elite sporting or cultural commitments (representing the University, state or country), or Australian Defence Force commitments (e.g. Army Reserve) - you should complete an Application for Special Arrangements with accompanying documentation.

You should not submit an application of any type if

• there is no assessment associated with a missed class, or
• you have a reasonable opportunity to make up any work you missed.

For more information see the web page on Consideration of factors affecting your study