Lectures+1+-+7

**__Lecture #1: "Welcome!"__**

 * Attendance was taken, I introduced myself (and my chickens), the syllabus was reviewed & our wee area of the Universe was showcased on the planetarium dome.
 * __Weblinks__:**
 * The scale of astronomical studies Prof. Rieke's U of Arizona website on the scale of the Universe.

__Lecture #2: "Solar System Overview"__
__** Weblinks **__** : **
 * Solar system contents: Sun, planets & natural satellites, dwarf planets, asteroids & meteoroids, trans-Neptunian objects (including Kuiper belt objects, scattered disk objects, and Oort cloud objects), comets, dust & gas.
 * It is important to remember the order of the planets from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune.
 * Motion (both rotation and revolution) of these objects.
 * The ecliptic plane.
 * SI units  (Syst è  me International d'unités  ): metre, kilogram, litre and second.
 * Orders of magnitude
 * Scientific notation
 * [|From the good folks at "nineplanets"] (unfortunate name though...given it's inaccuracy since 2006)
 * The wikipedia page on the [|Solar System] has some good basic information.
 * Definition and list of planets in our solar system, and how those lists have been added to and subtracted from, over time.
 * Definition of Ephemeris & the related table of elongation values and distances from the Earth to a particular planet.
 * Table of planetary information compiled by the nice Windows to the Universe people.
 * Powers of Ten (video) A classic movie...amazing for its time, and still great!
 * Understanding the metric system (video) An elementary school take on the metric system.
 * Think Metric! Great site.
 * Figuring out significant figures in computational questions is, well, SIGNIFICANT!
 * Scientific notation is also notable!

__Lecture #3: "What is Science?"__

 * Science, according to J. Krestow: "An objective, systematic way of trying to understand the Universe that we live in." Science, by it's very nature, makes testable predictions.
 * The scientific method: According to dictionary.com: "A method of research in which a problem is identified, relevant data are gathered, a hypothesis is formulated from these data and the hypothesis is empirically tested." (FYI, "data" is the plural form of "datum," so yes, the data is are gathered!)
 * Science vs. religion/belief: In topic was explored using the questions that Bruce Railsback (Geologist at UofGeorgia) had on his website; 1. Where do the individuals (be it scientist or believer) get their knowledge? 2. Has their knowledge changed in the past? 3. Is more change in their knowledge/understanding expected? 4. How certain is the individual?
 * This segued into the astronomy vs. astrology discussion. Astronomy is the science of the material (measurable) Universe, beyond Earth's atmosphere while astrology is the belief that the locations/parameters of the planets/moons/stars ("celestial bodies") has a relevance to earthly, especially human, occurrences.
 * __Weblinks__:**
 * Bruce Railsback’s take of “science” A professor of Geology at the University of Georgia, he has written a wonderful introduction to the subject.
 * Bad Astronomy Phil Plait's astronomy pages of many common misconceptions concerning astronomy related subjects.
 * Horoscope vs telescopes A excellent article that explains the non-scientific nature of astrology.
 * Creationism vs. science A wonderful article detailing why intelligent design is not a "science."
 * The Scientific Method
 * Just for fun: What does a scientist look like?
 * Huffington Post Op Ed: Why America's Darwin Problem is a Science Problem

__Lecture #4, #5 & #6: "Historical Astronomy"__

 * Archeoastronomy: Archeoastronomy is the study of artifacts (objects/ruins/art/etc...) that may (or may not) have astronomical significance. Famous archeoastronomical sites include; Stonehenge, Chichen Itza, and the Egyptian pyramids
 * Aristotle and his geocentric model of the "Universe:" Remember that Aristotle's definition of "Universe" is different from our present day one. His "Universe" included the Earth, moon, Sun, five known planets and the fixed stars. He hypothesized that the Earth (corrupt and changeable) was the center of the "Universe" and that every other celestial (perfect) body was embedded on a separate crystalline sphere that rotated. This motion allowed us to see the celestial objects move across the sky, on paths and at rates unique to their own sphere.
 * Aristarchus proposed a heliocentric "Universe," with the Earth orbiting and rotating, but his hypotheses were rejected as they conflicted with Aristotle's teachings.
 * Hipparchus introduced the concept of epicycles.
 * Ptolemy used epicycles to devise a detailed, mathematically accurate model of Aristotle's geocentric concept. Ptolemy's model included over 80 crystalline spheres and many layers of epicycles (epicycles upon epicycles).
 * Nicholai Copernicus, like Aristarchus (though Aristarchus was unknown to Copernicus) envisioned a heliocentric model of the "Universe." He published __De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium__ on his deathbed (so, should he upset the catholic church, they couldn't come after him!) which stated that
 * 1) The center of the Universe is near the Sun
 * 2) The Moon orbits the Earth, and the Earth and the planets orbit the Sun.
 * 3) The distance from the Earth to the Sun (while large) is incredibly small, as compared to the distance from the Earth (or the Sun, for that matter) to the stars
 * 4) The rotation of the Earth on its axis is responsible for the apparent, diurnal motion of the stars, Moon, planets and the Sun.
 * Tycho Brahe (yes, he's the one who had his nose cut off) made fantastic instruments that he used to map the skies and chart the paths of the planets through the stars. He accumulated 20+ years of these exceptional observations (data), in particular the motion of Mars among the stars.
 * Johannes Kepler realized the significance of Tycho's observations and used them to deduce his three laws of planetary motion (KI: The planets travel on elliptical orbits around the Sun. The Sun is at one of the focal points of the ellipse. KII: The planet speed up and slows down as it orbits the Sun. It speed up as it approaches the Sun--travelling fastest at it's closest point--and slows as it travels away from the Sun. KIII: The average distance of the planet from the Sun, "a" cubed (as measured in units of "A.U.") is proportional to the period of the planet's orbit, "p," squared (as measured in units of Earth years). Thus: a^3 = p^2.)
 * Galileo Galilei was the first, real, modern scientist (who used he scientific method and gathered evidence) to use a telescope to explore the heavens. He made five significant observations, but was forced to retract his statements during an trial before the inquisition in 1633.
 * 1) The Moon had mountains and valleys, and thus was not a perfect sphere.
 * 2) The Milky Way was made up of individual stars, implying that those stars were further than the ones we see in the night sky.
 * 3) Jupiter had moons, showing the other celestial objects could be the center of revolution.
 * 4) The Sun had spots ("sunspots") and (like the Moon) was an imperfect body.
 * 5) Venus showed phases. This is only possible in a heliocentric model and so this evidence supported the Copernican view of the heavens.
 * Isaac Newton wrote about terrestrial physics and celestial mechanics, as well as electromagnetic radiation (light). This three laws of motion are;
 * 1) An object will either a) remain at rest or b) continue in //uniform// motion in a //straight// line unless acted upon by some force.
 * 2) F=ma
 * 3) For every action there is an equal (in magnitude/strength) and opposite (in direction) reaction.
 * Newton also postulated gravity. He correctly figured that both masses (of two bodies) are equally involved, and that increasing distance reduces gravitational force. His law is stated as F = GMm/r^2
 * __Weblinks__:**
 * Wikipedia's list of archeoastronomical sites. You should verify, using another source, that these sites do in fact have some astronomical significance though.
 * Astronomy in culture.
 * Stonehenge is a famous circle of standing stones in southwest England (this is a commercial site, mind, so keep that in mind as you navigate through it).
 * El Castillo in Chichen Itza is wonderfully impressive!
 * The great pyramids are lovely also, and have some astronomical significance, as my old prof, Dr. Fernie, explains.
 * [|Wikipedia on Greek Astronomy]
 * [|How the Greeks Used Geometry] to Understand Astronomy
 * [|Aristarchus of Samos], the heliocentric-believing Greek
 * [|The Universe of Aristotle and Ptolemy]
 * A nice page explaining the "The Universe of Aristotle and Ptolemy"
 * [|Nicolaus Copernicus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)]
 * [|Tycho Brahe], the dude with the fake nose.
 * [|Johannes Kepler] A brilliant mathematician
 * Kepler's three laws of planetary motion a technical explanation, for teachers, from NASA.
 * Kepler's Second Law of Planetary Motion (keep in mind that this applet takes a long time to load.)
 * [|Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion]
 * [|Kepler's Laws of planetary motion, with Interactive Tools]
 * [|Video: Carl Sagan Explain's Kepler's Law]
 * [|Apparent Motions of the Planet]
 * [|Planetary Motion]
 * [|Retrograde Motions of Mars]
 * [|Gallileo Galilei], the "first, real scientist."
 * [|Gallileo & The Inquisition] A short YouTube video.
 * [|Sir Issac Newton], all round amazing guy.
 * Newton's three laws of motion (sort of juvenile, but fun nonetheless.)
 * Newton's three laws of motion (the slightly more grown up version.)
 * Newton's Third law of Motion: Astronauts in Outer Space YouTube video. Who knew?!
 * Newton's laws of motion, using LEGO (excellent YouTube, stop motion video, by a grade nine student. This is the one that was shown in class.)
 * Wikipedia's pages about Newtonian gravity (The first part is great. Then it tends to get very detailed and above the level required for this course. However, it's a good read for those of you who like a Challenge.)
 * About.com's pages on Newton and gravity.
 * Here is a VERY cool gravity simulator by the folks at the Polish-Canadian Kourier newspaper! (No, I didn't find this, one of my students did!)

__**Lecture #7: "Solar System Formation"**__

 * Necessary and useful information:
 * 1) The Solar System is not as old as the Universe.
 * 2) The Solar System is ~4.65 billion years old (Universe = 13.72 Billion)
 * 3) 73% of the Universe is Hydrogen, 25% is Helium. 2% is everything else. (By Mass)
 * 4) 99.85% of the Mass of the Solar System is in the Sun.
 * Solar System Formation Theories must account for observed characteristics, such as:
 * 1) The planar aspect of the planets’ orbits.
 * 2) The direction of the planet’s orbits.
 * 3) The direction of the rotation of the planets.
 * 4) The existence of inner planets close to the sun, and Jovian planets, farther away from the sun.
 * 5) The existence of the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars & Jupiter.
 * 6) The great amount of empty space in the solar system.
 * The Solar Nebular Hypothesis is how astronomers think the Solar System Formed.
 * Essential, a cloud of cold hydrogen and old stardust gravitationally collapses as a result of a supernova shockwave.
 * Clumps of dust form within the cloud and gravitation to the center, dragging dust along.
 * The cloud contracts and flattens into a disk.
 * The central region heats up and eventually (after ~10 million years for a Sun-like star) thermonuclear fusion ignites (when the core is at least 10 million degrees Kelvin). The star reaches a state of stability, or "hydrostatic equilibrium" when the outward pressure due to radiation trying to escape balances the inward pull of gravity.
 * Necessary and useful terminology:
 * 1) Molecules : chemically bound group of atoms
 * 2) Grains : small particles of matter
 * 3) Planetesimals : Small bodies in the early solar system (≥ 1km in diameter)
 * 4) Protoplanets : Large bodies in the early solar system
 * Within the protoplanetary disk (disk of material surrounding the newly formed star), material will condense from the gases and form solids at that temperature where that material can become solid. Ices will never solidify close to the star, but Metallic materials will.
 * In this manner, molecules condensed, this accreted to form grains, which grew into planetesimals and then protoplanets.
 * Weblinks:**
 * A nifty YouTube video about the Formation of the Solar System.
 * A possible sequence of events for the formation of the Solar System.
 * Wikipedia's Formation and Evolution of the Solar System page.
 * A graphic lecture on the formation of the solar system.
 * MinutePhysics's three minute [|video] explaining why the solar system is disk shaped.
 * The Universe (History Channel show), season 6, episode 3: How the Solar System was Made.