Physics 106, Solar System Astronomy (lecture): Fall 2018

This material can be found online at URL

http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys106/phys106.html

Outline for the course, class schedule, etc.

There is a lab class associated with this course, PHYS 107. Professor Stacey Davis teaches that class, which meets Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights at the RIT Observatory.

Scores on Midterm

Lectures, and the sections of the textbook relevant to each class.

• Week 1, Day A: Intro to the course, the scale of space (Sec 1.1)
• Week 1, Day B: The scale of time (Sec 1.2)
• Week 2, Day A: Formation of the solar system (Sec 8.1 - 8.3)
• Week 2, Day B: Useful properties of light (Sec 5.1 - 5.4)
• Week 3, Day A: The shape of the solar system and Kepler's Laws (Sec 7.1-7.2, 3.3)
• Week 3, Day B: Terrestrial planets: focus on atmospheres (Sec 10.2-10.3)
• Week 4, Day A: Terrestrial planets: focus on solid portions (Sec 9.1-9.2)
• Week 4, Day B: The Earth, seasons, and the Moon (Sec 2.2-2.3, 9.3, 9.6, 10.1-10.2)
• Week 5, Day A: Celestial coordinates (Sec S.1.2)
• Week 5, Day B: Mercury and Venus (Sec 9.3, 9.5, 10.5)
• Week 6, Day A: Mercury and Venus, the greenhouse effect (Sec 9.3, 9.5, 10.5)
• Week 6, Day B: Mars (Sec 9.4, 10.4)
• Week 7, Day A: no class, Fall Break
• Week 7, Day B: Midterm exam (Thu, Oct 11)
• Week 8, Day A: Asteroids (Sec 12.1, 12.4)
• Week 8, Day B: Gas giant planets, as a group (Sec 11.1)
• Week 9, Day A: Jupiter (Sec 11.1, 11.3)
• Week 9, Day B: Jupiter and its moons (Sec 11.2)
• Week 10, Day A: Saturn, its moon and rings (Sec 11.1, 11.3)
• Week 10, Day B: Uranus and Neptune (Sec 11.1, 11.3)
• Week 11, Day A: Comets and icy bodies I (Sec 12.2, 12.4)
• Week 11, Day B: Comets and icy bodies II (Sec 12.3)
• Week 12, Day A: How to find exoplanets I (Sec 13.1)
• Week 12, Day B: How to find exoplanets II (Sec 13.1)
• Week 13, Day A: Kepler and TESS
• Week 13 Day B: no class, Thanksgiving break
• Week 14, Day A: Gaia, the current astrometric mission
• Week 14, Day B: The demographics of exoplanets (Sec 13.2)
• Week 15, Day A: Proxima Cen b
• Week 15, Day B: The Mars Insight mission (guest lecture) and your chance to ask questions
• Final Exam: Tuesday, Dec 18, 1:30 - 4:00 PM, GOS-3305

Homework sets

In order to use the on-line homework system, you need to know your login name and your initial password. Your "login name" should be the same as your last name, but with lowercase letters only; something like richmond. Your initial password should be the final 4-digits of your student RIT student ID, so if your ID is 456781234, the initial password would be 1234. Include all zeroes: if your ID is 456780012, then your initial password will be 0012. You can change your password from the default after you log in for the first time.

0. Introduction to Webwork system due Friday, Aug 31, at 10:00 AM.
   • Answers to Homework 0
1. Space, Time, Light due Tuesday, Sep 18, at noon.
   • Answers to Homework 1
2. Orbits and Terrestrial Planets due Tuesday, Oct 2, at noon.
   • Answers to Homework 2
3. The outer solar system due Tuesday, Nov 13, at noon.
   • Answers to Homework 3
4. Homework set 4 due Thursday, Nov 29, at the start of class.
   is NOT on the WebWork on-line system. You must analyze data from the TESS satellite, and write your results onto paper.
   

Extra Credit Projects

The deadline for extra credit assignments is 5 PM, Mon, Dec 10. All work must be submitted to the instructor by this time to count towards your grade.

1. Stellarium exercise
2. Scale model of the solar system
3. Find the Earth's twin (if you can)
4. Moon journal
5. Iridium flare
6. Neptune and the Kuiper Belt

For more information:

• NASA's "Solar System Exploration" website provides a wealth of definitive information.
  • NASA's index of planetary fact sheets have most of the numbers you need for solar system calculations.
• The Nine Planets website is a good place to get accurate information on objects in the solar system.
• Field Guide to Exoplanets is a course I taught about exoplanets; it concentrates on the observational aspects.
• Introduction to Stellar Astronomy is my version of the companion to this course, which concentrates on stars and galaxies instead of planets.
• Looking for cool astronomy software? Two of my favorites are free and run on multiple platforms.
  • Stellarium a planetarium program which shows you the sky on any date from any location on Earth.
  • Celestia a simulator which allows you to fly through our solar system and nearby stellar neighborhood, and look at planets and stars as zip past.
• During this semester (Fall 2018), there are several space missions which ought to produce exciting new results in the solar system:
  • Japan's Hayabusa2 which is placing landers on the asteroid Ryugu in late September/early October, 2018, and will retrieve samples for a return to Earth.
  • NASA's Osiris-Rex will descend to asteroid Bennu in November, 2018, and also try to retrieve a sample from the surface for return to Earth.
• Planets for Man (or "Habitable Planets for Man") is a book published in 1964 which describes our knowledge of planets beyond the Solar System at that time. It focuses on the factors which make a planet habitable for humans, and is written at a good level for the general reader. You can download a PDF copy of the book for free!

This page maintained by Michael Richmond. Last modified Nov 25, 2018.