Link to Hubble Heritage web site
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the nearby spiral galaxy M74
Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).
Acknowledgment: R. Chandar (University of Toledo) and J. Miller (University of Michigan)

Greetings to students in ASTR1010-004 (MW 7:20-8:35 PM) from the instructor, Nancy Morrison.

This page is intended to provide a backup copy of the materials displayed in lecture and of the syllabus, announcements relevant to the class, and access to the wealth of astronomical information on the World Wide Web. It is not intended as a substitute for regular class attendance.

Student Employment Opportunity

Office hours during final exam week:
5 to 7 PM Monday, 4 to 7 PM Tuesday, 4 to 7 PM Wednesday.

Latest update: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 23:25

Links to astronomy resources

Syllabus for course (PDF, 200 KB) Corrected 3/26/08

About the planetarium show and the observing requirements (55KB, PDF) --- Tickets will be provided in class. The newly announced April observing dates at Brooks Observatory (on top of McMaster Hall) will be: Thursday, April 10; Sunday, April 13 through Wednesday, April 16; Sunday, April 20; and Thursday, April 24, all starting at 8:45 PM.

Study tips for success

Schedule for Physics and Astronomy Department help desk for the semester (PDF, 28 KB). The help desk is located on the second floor of McMaster Hall at the north end of the building.

About Ritter Planetarium

Homework assignments, distributed in class and posted here a week before the due date (PDF files):

  1. Due January 30
  2. Due February 13
  3. Due February 27
  4. Due March 19
  5. Due April 2
  6. Due April 16

Materials displayed in lecture will be placed here before each class - subject to revision - and then updated after each class. Each is a PDF file that contains links to images displayed; separate links to the web images are also provided. Most recent material is first.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 --- Final exam announcements; end of course information (64 KB)

Wednesday, April 23, 2008: Post-class version (568 KB). WMAP all-sky image of the cosmic microwave background ... Terrestrial clouds as surfaces of last scattering ... Timeline of the universe

Monday, April 21, 2008: Post-class version (368 KB)

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - Post-class version (796 KB)

Monday, April 14, 2008 - Post-class version (334 KB)

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 - Summary and review, then Quiz 6. No notes. Subject matter:

Monday, April 7, 2008 - Post-class version (274 KB)

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - Post-class version (483 KB)

Monday, March 31, 2008 - Post-class version (686 KB)

Orion showing star colors ... Larger view near Orion, including Sirius ... The three stars in Alpha Centauri ... The Trapezium star cluster in Orion ... M16, a region of star formation in Aquila

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - Announcements and review (208 KB), followed by Quiz 5. Please remember to bring a pencil to the quiz, No. 2 preferred. Subject matter:

Monday, March 24, 2008 - Post-class version (308 KB)

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - Post-class version (706 KB)

Monday, March 17, 2008 - Post-class version (296 KB)

Jovian planets Galilean satellites of Jupiter Saturn's satellites

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - Review session, followed by Quiz 4. No notes. Please remember to bring a pencil to the quiz, No. 2 preferred. Subject matter:

Monday, March 10, 2008 - post-class version (480 KB)

Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - Post-class version (408 KB)

Monday, February 25, 2008 - Post-class version (336 KB)

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - Review session, followed by Quiz 3. No notes.

Subject matter covered:

Monday, February 18, 2008 - Post-class version (681 KB) - includes sample test questions. Info on Wednesday's lunar eclipse ... Eclipse graphic ... Density and the structure of solid materials ... Small planets and large moons ... Angular momentum and figure skating

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - Post-class version (156 KB)

Monday, February 11, 2008 - Post-class version (348 KB) ... Astronaut on Moon ... Dropping a hammer and a feather on the Moon (NASA video from Apollo 15) ... Space shuttle launch

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 - summary and review, then quiz. No new material, no new notes posted here. Quiz covers:

Monday, February 4, 2008 - Post-class version (780 KB)

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - Post-class version (652 KB)

Monday, January 28, 2008 - Post-class version (248KB)

Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - announcements and review of material covered so far, then Quiz 1. Bring review questions!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - Class attended special public lecture, "The Stars and Ritter Observatory," in Ritter Planetarium. Visuals here as a QuickTime movie. QuickTime is free software which you will need to play the movie; if you do not have it, please download it here. To play the slide show, wait for the download to finish and then click the image.

Monday, January 14, 2008 - Class will be held in Ritter Planetarium. No notes to download.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008 - post-class version, 384 KB ... "Powers of Ten" ... Another version of "Powers of Ten" Path of the Sun during a day ... Star trails #1 (The picture I showed is no longer on this site; similar pictures are there, though.) ... Star trails #2

Monday, January 7, 2008 - post-class version, 132 KB