Syllabus
Introduction
Stars and Galaxies - Astro 475: Meets 1:25-2:15 Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays
in room 541 Davey.
Office hours are Wednesdays 2:00-3:00 in 426 Davey or by appointment.
There will be 8 homework sets or assignments and three long papers.
For each of the papers an outline must be handed in
2-3 weeks before the paper is due.
Grading will be:
40% homework, 15+15% two short papers, 20% final paper, and 10% oral presentation and additonal writing assignments.
Exams
There are no exams!
Textbook
The recommended textbooks for this course are:
- Galaxies in the Universe by Sparke and Gallagher
- Galactic Astronomy by Binney and Merrifield
- You will find Introduction to Modern Astrophysics by Carroll and Ostlie useful
We will use the textbooks as reference points to material discussed
in class. The class will not strictly follow the progression in the text.
Auxilliary material may be used and will typically be provided
as handouts or web material.
Homework
Homework assignments and due dates will be posted on the class web page,
the homework sets will generally consist of alternating sets of medium length calculations and quantitative problems, and medium length
writing assignments. Homework will be due about once every 2 weeks.
Short writing assignments
During the semester, at any time, you should write a total of 5 separate summary reviews of some new discovery or press announcement in astronomy, such as may be found occasionally in the tuesday New York Times Science section.
The summary should be 1/2 - 1 page of typed text, or equivalent. It should include a plain language summary, written in your own words, describing the nature of the discovery or result, providing context and discussing the significance or importance of the work.
The summary should be aimed at a general well educated audience, such as a person with a non-science undergraduate education, not an expert audience.
You should also include your own opinions or thoughts on the matter.
The work should include links or cites to primary sources and any major secondary sources.
The the reviews may be written as blog entries, on blogger.com or equivalent free service, or a social dynamic website such as myspace or facebook,
or as a static entry on a personal web site.
Such entries can be submitted by e-mailing me the link.
Alternatively, you can e-mail or hand in text summaries.
DO NOT wait until the end of the semester to do all five assignments, you must self-motivate to hand them in spread out over the semester!
Papers.
This is a writing intensive class.
You will be expected to write three papers, which can either
be chosen form the list I provide, or you can choose your
own topics after consulting with me!.
The papers should present an overview
of the topic, in your own words, with appropriate citations and quantitative analysis.
Appropriate sources and approaches to write the paper may be discussed
with the instructor at any time.
The paper should by typeset, with 11 or 12 pt fonts, double spaces
and with 1" margins.
I most strongly recommend that you use
LaTeX, with bibtex citations for these papers.
This is how you will do the papers:
Paper 1 is tentatively due 07th of October.
It should be about 5-6 pages and the topic can be chosen
from any of the ones listed below in list I, or you
can choose your own topic, with the explicit agreement
of the instructor.
No students will be permitted to choose the same
topic to cover as other students, so pick your topic early
and tell me what it is!
No later then September 23rd you must hand in a 1 page outline for paper 1,
including the principal references.
Paper 2 is due 18th of November.
It should be about 5-6 pages and the topic can be chosen
from any of the ones listed below in list II, or you
can choose your own topic, with the explicit agreement
of the instructor.
No later then October 21st you must hand in a 1 page outline for paper 2,
including the principal references.
The final paper is due by 14th of December.
It should be about 10-12 pages and the topic can be chosen
from any of the ones listed below (I or II), or you
can choose your own topic, with the explicit agreement
of the instructor.
Generally, the intent is that the Final Paper will be a revised version
of either Paper I or Paper II - that means an expanded paper that either goes
broadens the previous paper, or goes into the topic in considerably more depth,
or both.
You may choose to write the Final Paper on an entirely new topic, but consult
with the instructor first if you want to do so.
No later than December 02nd you must hand in a 2 page, or more, outline for the final paper,
including the principal references.
The outlines you hand in will be returned to you with comments
before the paper is due.
Suggested list of topics for Paper I - to be revised
Papers tagged with * are taken
- Uses and abuses of cluster CMDs for stellar ages
- The Solar Control Model
- Gravothermodynamics
- * The G-dwarf problem
- The secondary mass function of binaries
- * sdB stars.
- * Blue Straggler Stars
- First Stars
- Compact objects in the Milky Way Center
- The origin of the initial mass function
- Metallicity of normal stars
- * Bok globules
- The local fluff
- The orbit of the Sun in the Milky Way
- Local co-moving groups and Solar Siblings
- * The history and fate of the Sco-Cen association
- Are stars made in little groups or big clusters?
Suggested list of topics for Paper II - to be expanded
- Is there a thick disk?
- Mass and extent of the galactic dark halo
- Alternatives to Dark Matter
- Distance of the Sun from the galactic center
- The local group: theory vs observation
- Merger history and future history of the local group
- Microlensing of the bulge
- The chemical evolution of the galaxy
- Intergalactic stars
- The crisis of dwarf galaxies
- Dark Matter bricks?
- Supermassive black holes and galactic kinematics
- Galaxies in collision
- Intermediate mass black holes
- Mass and structure of Andromeda vs the Milky Way
- Streamers in the Halo
- Sticky Dark matter
Last updated 08/11
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