Lecture Schedule, Class Notes, and Homework |
|---|
Date |
Lecture Title |
Topic |
Reading Assignment |
Homework |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/3 | Why Study the Planets? | Class overview | ||
| 4/5 | Getting to Know Our Neighbors | Exploring the Solar System | 3.1, 3.2, 3.4 |
|
| 4/7 | Astronomy 101 | Astronomy basics, history of discovery | 1.2-1.4, 3.5 |
HW1 assigned |
| 4/10 | Home Sweet Home | Earth: natural disasters (quakes, volcanoes, tsunamis) | 9.1-9.6 |
|
| 4/12 | Living on a Restless Planet I | Earth: Plate Tectonics I (observations) | Dynamic Earth (pdf) |
|
| 4/14 | Living on a Restless Planet II | Earth: Plate Tectonics II (consequences) | Dynamic Planet (pdf) |
HW1due; HW2 assigned |
| 4/17 | From Earth to the Moon | Moon: Overview & exploration | 7.1-7.6
|
|
| 4/19 | Shoemaker's World | Moon: Moon basics & impact craters | ||
| 4/21 | Moonstruck | Moon: ages, moonquakes, volcanism | 8.4-8.5 |
HW2 due; HW3 assigned |
| 4/24 | Surf's Up | Tides, Eclipses, Seasons | pp. 5-7, 183-184, 224 |
|
| 4/26 | MIDTERM | |||
| 4/28 | Midterm Review (no notes) | |||
| 5/1 | Venus Revealed | Venus: Overview & exploration | 10.1-10.8
|
|
| 5/3 | Venus: Past Prime but so Young | Venus: Geography, topography, volcanism | ||
| 5/5 | The Venusian Greenhouse | Venus: Craters, atmosphere, heat loss | HW3 due; HW4 assigned |
|
| 5/8 | New Views of Mars | Mars: Overview & exploration | 11.1-11.7
|
|
| 5/10 | Volcanoes the size of Arizona | Mars: Tharsis, Volcanism, magnetism | ||
| 5/12 | Missions, Mars, & Media (no notes) | Mars Rovers: The people, planning, & product | HW4 due |
|
| 5/15 | Another Wet Planet | Mars: Water & Atmosphere | ||
| 5/17 | MESSENGER to Mercury | Mercury: Evolution, surface, features | 8.2-8.5 |
|
| 5/19 | Space Junk | Comets, Asteroids, and Meteorites | 4.2, 4.3, 4.5, 5.3, 5.4, 6.2-6.5 |
HW5 assigned |
| 5/22 | The Gas Giants I | Jupiter | 13.1-13.6 |
|
| 5/24 | The Gas Giants II | Saturn + Cassini Mission | 13.1-13.6, 16.3 |
|
| 5/26 | The Gas Giants III | Uranus, Neptune, Pluto | 14.1-14.7, 16.4 |
HW5 due; HW6 assigned |
| 5/29 | Memorial Day | |||
| 5/31 | Strange Family | Jovian Moons: Io, Europa, Callisto, Ganymede | 15.2-15.4, 15.7 |
|
| 6/2 | Icy Worlds | Europa & Icy Outer Moons | 15.5-15.6, 16.1-16.3
|
HW6 due; HW7 |
| 6/5 | Multiple Solar Systems | Extrasolar Planets | 17.1-17.3, 18.1-18.4 |
|
| 6/7 | Life Beyond Earth? | Astrobiology | 18.5, 18.6, 12.2, 12.4, 12.6 |
|
| 6/9 | Final Review | HW7 due |
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| 6/16 | Final Exam | |||