| Next: 2. The Sky Around Us |
The first week of this course is an introduction to some of the things we find in the Universe -- atoms, light, planets, stars, and galaxies. These lectures also describe a useful way of comparing the sizes, ages, and masses of different astronomical objects.
Topics:
Reading:
| Ch. 1-3 | Powers of ten notation |
| Ch. 1-4 | Astronomical distances |
| Ch. 2-2 | The complex nature of light became apparent only in the twentieth century |
| Ch. 2-4 | Light is only one type of electromagnetic radiation |
| Ch. 2-20 | An atom consists of a small, dense nucleus surrounded by electrons |
Video: Powers of Ten
Web Resources:
A brief primer on scientific notation, and an on-line test you can take to check your understanding.
A brief primer on units of measurement, how to use them in calculations, and how to convert between them.
A simple explanation of linear and logarithmic scales as well as an introduction to logarithms. (Note: available as a PDF file only.)
An excerpt from a poem by Gary Snyder which conveys a sense of cosmic time.
Homework 1: The Sun & You, due 9/04. The pages on Scientific Notation and Working With Units may be helpful in doing this assignment.
Quiz 1: Sizes of Objects, given 8/30.
Last modified: August 30, 2001
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~barnes/ast110/stme.html