This is the website for AY2, Fall 2019
Instructor Michael Bolte (mbolte@ucsc.edu, Office: ISB333)
The class is about what we have learned about the Universe and the methods used to gain that knowledge. The topics range from the contents of the Solar System and our Milky Way Galaxy to the largest scales in the Universe and what we understand about the origin, evolution and future of the Universe. The week-by-week syllabus is below.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
FINAL is December 12: noon – 3pm
Special section to help prepare for Final will be held Tuesday Dec 10 9am – noon. Stay tuned to your e-mail for the location of the special study session. This will be broadcast via zoom and recorded then posted on Youtube
QUIZ 4 Will be the last day of class: Thursday December 5
Extra Section Tuesday 3:30-5:30pm ISB 356 with Miranda
November 12: Miranda will host a live and zoom section 3:30 – 5:30pm Tuesday Nov 12 in ISB 126. This will be broadcast via zoom:
Part 1 (3:30-4:10) https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/925340579
Part 2 (4:10-4:50) https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/841826514
Part 3 (4:50-5:30) https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/492734233
November 10: Miranda has added some Q3-specific math primers. They can be found here:
AY3 Math Tutorial
AY3 Math Tutorial with solutions
November 4: Quiz 2 results are posted
November 1: Quiz 3 date is Nov 14
October 28: Power is on as of Monday afternoon and Quiz 2 will be administered on Tuesday the 29th as planned
OCTOBER 22: Miranda has put together a math review document that uses examples from the homeworks. It can be found here:
AY2 Math Tutorial
OCTOBER 21: Quiz 2 will be held in class on Oct 29. There will NOT be a lecture after the quiz.
OCTOBER 16: Homework for Quiz 2 is posted at the “Homework” tab above
OCTOBER 10 UPDATE
Because of the power outage, classes have been canceled campus wide for Thursday October 10. — QUIZ 1 will be administered on Oct 15
— The first class will meet September 26, 2019
There is no book for the class, but we will use iclickers. You can buy a remote that can be used for classes through out your career or you can get an app for a smartphone (https://www.iclicker.com/students/apps-and-remotes/apps). You can register your iclicker remote at the link below. The answers to the two questions are: “Classic” and “Canvas”
https://www.iclicker.com/register-a-remote/
Class Information
Lecture location: Thimann Lecture 003
Lecture times: 1:30pm – 3:05pm T/Th
Initial class: 26 Sept 2019, Final class: 5 Dec 2019
Final Exam: 12 Dec 12-3PM
Key Dates for Fall 2019 Quarter
Class Syllabus
Week 1: scale of spacetime, tools of astronomy, the reason for seasons
Week 2: NEOs and the dinosaurs, the nature of light, The Solar System
Week 3: Properties of stars, stellar models and stellar evolution
Week 4: endpoints of stellar evolution, white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes
Week 5: the Galaxy and its contents
Week 6: the extra-galactic universe and the expansion of the Universe
Week 7: the hot big bang and production of the elements
Week 8: the large-scale Universe and formation of structure
Week 9: the fate of the Universe
Week 10: exoplanets, life in the Universe
Teaching Assistants
There are two TAs for the class, both are graduate students working toward their PhD in the UCSC Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
David Coulter, Office: ISB 355, contact via e-mail: dcoulter@ucsc.edu
Miranda Apfel, Office: ISB 255 , contact via e-mail mapfel@ucsc.edu
You can attend any of the sections (not just the one you registered for) and at the first class we will discuss some possible changes in time and place of some of the sections
Sections
| 62684 DIS 01A | Mon 02:40PM-03:45PM | MA | NatSci Annex 101 | |
| 62685 DIS 01B | Wed 04:00PM-5:05PM | DC | ISB 126 | |
| 62686 DIS 01C | Wed 10:40AM-11:45AM | MA | ISB 165 | |
| 62687 DIS 01D | Fri 04:00PM-05:05PM | DC | ISB 126 | |
| 62688 DIS 01E | Fri 05:10PM-06:15PM | DC | ISB 126 | |
| 62689 DIS 01F | Mon 10:40AM-11:45AM | MA | ISB 165 | |
Grading
Grades will be based on:
75% Best three of four in-class quizzes (lowest score will be dropped)
25% Final
participation based on clicker quizzes during class will be used to boost or not cases on the margins
Astronomy Links
What is in the sky tonight: Night Sky Tonight
Astronomy Photo of the Day: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/
Good BBC article on the asteroid impact 66 million years ago K-T Extinction
Video about Special Relativity: PBS Special Relativity