1. AN ORIENTATION TO THE UNIVERSE

We begin with a brief overview of the universe and the distances, ages, and sizes of various astronomical objects. We will then focus on our home planet and its motion, which plays a critical role in our observations the universe.

Reading

1.1	Our Modern View of the Universe • What is our place in the universe • How did we come to be? • How can we know what the universe was like? • Can we see the entire universe?
1.2	The Scale of the Universe • How big is Earth compared to our solar system? • How far away are the stars? • How big is the Milky Way Galaxy? • How big is the universe? • How do our lifetimes compare to the age of the universe?
1.3	Spaceship Earth • How is the Earth moving in our solar system? (skim rest if you wish; we'll come back to it)
2.1	Patterns in the Night Sky • What does the universe look like from Earth? (through p. 28, and "The Local Sky") • Why do stars rise and set? • Why do the constellations we see depend on latitude and time of year?
2.2	The Reason for Seasons • What causes the seasons? • How do we mark the progression of the seasons?

Online

Set up your MasteringAstronomy account by following the instructions in the handout:
- Register using the six-part access code from your MasteringAstronomy Student Access Kit.
- Log in to MasteringAstronomy.
- Enroll in this course, using the Course ID, GracefulSky2010.
Complete the Introduction to MasteringAstronomy assignment, due on Monday, 18 Jan 2010 at 9:00 am.
Review the lecture slides.

Joshua E. Barnes (barnes at ifa.hawaii.edu)

Updated: 16 January 2010
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~barnes/ast110_10/orientation.html