Physics 55

Flying Over Earth at Night APOD, March 5, 2012
Video Credit: Gateway to Astronaut Photography, NASA ; Compilation: Bitmeizer (YouTube);
Music: Freedom Fighters (Two Steps from Hell)

Explanation: Many wonders are visible when flying over the Earth at night. A compilation of such visual spectacles was captured recently from the International Space Station (ISS) and set to rousing music. Passing below are white clouds, orange city lights, lightning flashes in thunderstorms, and dark blue seas. On the horizon is the golden haze of Earth's thin atmosphere, frequently decorated by dancing auroras as the video progresses. The green parts of auroras typically remain below the space station, but the station flies right through the red and purple auroral peaks. Solar panels of the ISS are seen around the frame edges. The ominous wave of approaching brightness at the end of each sequence is just the dawn of the sunlit half of Earth, a dawn that occurs every 90 minutes.

I will try to decorate this page with a topical astronomy-related image each week.
Images from previous weeks will be collected here

Course Page Homework Lectures Staff and Office Hours Syllabus Time and Place

Welcome:

Welcome to PHY55, Duke's introductory class in Astronomy.  In this class, we will be studying, quite literally, everything in the universe.  We will start with "classical" astronomy, studying the night sky and organizing what we see as was done in ancient times.   We will then embark on a journey, starting here on Earth and progressing outward, to study the Solar system, the Milky Way galaxy, and the wonderful and strange objects we observe in deep space, such as black holes, quasars, and supernovae.  We will end with some discussion of what scientists know today about the universe as a whole.  Along the way we will introduce some of the methods, theoretical and experimental, that have been used to understand all of this, from Newton's laws, through our understanding of light and matter, to Einstein's theory of relativity, and from Galileo's telescope to WMAP.

 

Prerequisites:

1. An interest in learning something about the universe we live in and a willingness to invest some thought and some work in this.
2. The ability to calculate with large and small numbers, e.g. to compute the product of  -2.3 · 10¹³ and 0.8 · 10^-28.
3. A familiarity with the rudiments of high-school algebra.
4. An ability to draw and use graphs to describe the properties of functions.

 

Requirements:

1. The course textbook, Universe, 9th edition by R.A. Freedman and W.J. Kaufmann III; W.H. Freeman and Co., 2010. The book should be available at the textbook store. Together with the book, you will receive a DVD with planetarium software (Starry Night), which we will use in the course. The textbook is quite costly. If you prefer to purchase a used book, you may not receive the software. There is a free open source planetarium software, Stellarium, that has most of the same functionality. I will endeavor to make exercises compatible with both, if you run into problems with this please let me know.
2. A calculator able to handle powers-of-ten notation. Such calculators can be purchased for about $10 at many stores. (A graphing calculator like a TI-83 is fine but overkill for this course.)
3. A computer with color display screen, DVD drive, and a connection to the Internet. You will be installing and using the digital planetarium program Starry Night that comes free with your textbook (or Stellarium).
4. A Duke computer account for browsing the Internet and for e-mail. Your browser should be configured to display PDF (Portable Document Format) and QuickTime files. (The OIT web page has links that explain how to do this.)  PowerPoint presentations used in class will be available online; if you wish to use these you will need to install either PowerPoint or a suitable viewer.

 

Expectations:

1. You should plan on about 10 hours total work for this class per week.  This includes about 4 hours of reading before classes, three hours of class time, 2-3 hours spent on homework.
2. In order to get to the fun parts of this material, I will not try to talk in lecture about everything of relevance. You are expected to read the chapters assigned before class. Lectures will be spent on points of emphasis, either clarifying what the text says or going deeper. Homework and quizzes will include material never mentioned in class. I will begin each lecture by soliciting questions and requests for clarification. If you don’t ask, I will assume you understand everything in the reading assignment and I can start from there. Ask questions! If you are confused about something, others are probably confused too.
3. Three times during the term you will take part in observation sessions for about 2 hours in the evening.  These will take place at the observatory in the Forest. Details on these can be found on the observation page.  Observations are mandatory.
4. Attendance at lectures is optional. I will make every effort to make them worth your time; if you miss lecture you are of course responsible both for material covered and for announcements made in class. Lectures may be recorded, if so I will make them available to you.

 

Grading:

Grades in the class will be determined as the higher of your final exam grade and the following weighted average:

 

• Quizzes and exams will always be open book with access to notes, text, etc.  A calculator and the textbook may be required so please be sure to bring these on quiz dates. 


• Quizzes are not cumulative.  A quiz will include material not covered in previous quizzes or exams, up to and including the subject of homework due on quiz date.  Material on which homework has yet to be assigned will not appear; material on which homework has yet to be graded will appear. 


• Both exams are cumulative.  Midterm will cover all material until exam day.  Final will cover entire course.


• Absences or failure to hand in a quiz without appropriate justification as is customary in the College will simply result in a zero grade for that quiz.  Quizzes missed due to justified absences will either be made up at a later date or be dropped from grade calculations, at my discretion.


• Collaborating with friends on homework in this class is not only permitted, but encouraged.  Thinking with others is fun; it is also an important skill and is associated with deeper understanding.  It is easy, however, to confuse this with letting others think for you.  I thus insist that after whatever discussions you have had are over, you write your own answers to the homework questions.  I also ask that you note on your paper the names of those with whom you have collaborated.  This will have no effect on grading.  Collaborating on quizzes and exams is neither permitted nor encouraged.

 

Times:

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11:55am to 12:45 pm, in Physics 130. Weekly homework assignments will be due Wednesday.

Weekly review sessions will meet Monday, 7-9pm, in Physics 298 .

Observation session information will be provided on the observation page.

 

Staff and Office Hours:

Instructor: Ronen Plesser, plesser@cgtp.duke.edu. My office hours are Monday, 1-2pm and Wednesday, 10-11:30am, in Physics 245 , on the hall directly above the lecture room.  Occasionally I will need to miss these and those occasions will be posted on the announcements page.  If you need to talk to me at other times contact me before or after class or by email. Also, feel free to send me email anytime with any question or comment you may have; you may get a quick response if I am free, or a suggested time to meet and talk. If you want to see some (dated) information on my research interests, you can check my web page.

Teaching Assistants:

Arman Margaryan arman.margaryan@duke.edu, a graduate student in physics, will be the course TA. He will grade homework and quizzes, and will be available to answer questions on class material on Tuesday, 8-9:30pm in Physics 274B.

Nate Glencer nathan.glencer@duke.edu is a senior and a former student in Physics 55. He will teach you to operate a telescope, assist us with observations, and grade observation lab reports. Nathan will also have office hours at which you can get help with class material as well as observation issues on Tuesday, 4-5pm in Physics 248.

 

Course Schedule:

This is a tentative schedule for the material to be covered, the reading requirements, and relevant events.  The reading assignments for each week will be posted on the announcements page.