AST 108 Syllabus

 

BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE 

The City University of New York 

Department of Science 

Title of Course: ASTRONOMY: GENERAL THEORY,  AST 108

Class Hours: 3 

Professor: Vasiliy Znamenskiy          vznamenskiy@bmcc.cuny.edu

Required Text:

        Title: ASTRONOMY (openstaxtm) 

         Free download from https://openstax.org/details/books/astronomy

Other Resources:

https://www.facebook.com/GeneralAstronomy/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/GeneralAstronomy/

https://twitter.com/GenAstronomy 

https://GenAstronomy.blogspot.com/

 

Evaluation and Requirements of Students:

Homework/quizzes: 20%

Research project:    20%

Exams:                    60%

Extra Credits:          Extra

WEEK	TOPIC	CHAPTERS
1	Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour. Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy.	Chapter 1 Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour.  Chapter 2 Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy.
2	The Science of Astronomy. Understanding Motion, Energy and Gravity	Chapter 3 Orbits and Gravity.
3	Light: The Cosmic Messenger	Chapter 5 Radiation and Spectra.   Chapter 6 Astronomical Instruments.
4	Formation of Planetary Systems: Our Solar System and Beyond	Chapter 4 Earth, Moon, and Sky.  Chapter 7 Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System.   Chapter 8 Earth as a Planet.
5	Earth and the Terrestrial Worlds	Chapter  9 Cratered Worlds  Chapter  10 Earth Like Planets: Venus and Mars
6	Jovian Planet Systems	Chapter 11 The Giant Planets.  Chapter 12 Rings, Moons, and Pluto.
7	Asteroids, Comets, and Dwarf Planets: Their Nature, Orbits, and Impacts	13 Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System  14 Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System
8	Our Star - The Sun	15 The Sun: A Garden-Variety Star 16 The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse
9	Surveying the Stars	17 Analyzing Starlight  18 The Stars: A Celestial Census
10	Star Stuff	19 Celestial Distances 20 Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space
11	The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard	21 The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar System 22 Stars from Adolescence to Old Age 23 The Death of Stars 24 Black Holes and Curved Spacetime
12	Our Galaxy - The Milky Way	25 The Milky Way Galaxy 26 Galaxies 27 Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes
13	A Universe of Galaxies	26 Galaxies 27 Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes 28 The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies
14	The Birth of the Universe. Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Universe	29 The Big Bang 30 Life in the Universe
15	Finals Week