PHYS1030 — Astronomy Concepts
PHYS 1030 - Astronomy Concepts PHYS 1030 - Astronomy Concepts Hours/Week: Lecture 3 Lab None Course Description: Astronomy Concepts offers an overview of the science of the cosmos. The course covers a wide variety of topics: the Earth-Moon-Sun system, the solar system, stars, galaxies, and cosmology. The course is purely conceptual. Mathematical expressions are used only in a conceptual way to express relationships between various astronomical and physics ideas. Students will write research papers on approved topics in astronomy throughout the semester. Lab-like activities afford students the opportunity to make observations that allow them to interpret and refine their own models of how the cosmos is put together. Restriction: Closed to students who have completed PHYS 1070 or PHYS 1035 . MnTC Goals 3 Natural Science Constellations and Stellar Motion. Motion of the Sun. Definition of the Ecliptic. Solstices and Equinoxes. The Seasons. Lunar Motion. Lunar Phases. Synodic vs. Sidereal Period. Eclipses. Precession of the Earth’s Rotational Axis. The Solar System. Renaissance Models. Ptolemiac Geocentric Model. Copernicus’ Heliocentric Model. Kepler’s Laws. Orbital Mechanics. Newton’s Laws of Motion. Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation. Evidence for Heliocentric Models. Inner Planets. Geology. Surface Features. Atmospheres. Outer Planets. Atmospheres. Composition. Moons. Stellar Astronomy. Interstellar Medium. The Sun. Composition. Properties. Solar Activity. Stellar Propertie