Course Announcements• Observatory Signup List (starting in about a week -

across from room 204 in the Steward Observatory building). The actual telescope is in that white building with the big circular dome for a roof.

• DRC Letters ASAP• Tentative - Tail Gate Party Dates (a.k.a Exam

Review Sessions) From 4:00 pm – 6:00pm on: – Wednesday Feb 7th in N210– Wednesday March 7th in N210– Wednesday April 4th in N210

Goals of the courseHelp you develop:• a basic understanding of the central ideas of

astronomy

• an appreciation for the role astronomy has played in shaping the consciousness of the world in the past, at present and what the future holds.

• a real world perspective for how astronomy is connected to your daily lives

• the skills and motivation to pursue life long learning and become a valuable member of the workforce and our society

NOT Goals of the course• Turn you into Math-oholics!

• Expect you to sit there and listen to me lecture for an hour everyday

• Force you to work through an endless array of unconnected homework, labs and writing assignments (don’t worry you will still EARN your three credits!)

• Teach you essentially the same stuff as I do the astronomy majors

Cute is not Sciencehttp://www.milaadesign.com/wizardy.html

• Don’t let cute be confused with REALITY!!

• Crating a website that shows that you know the numerical sequence that produces the number 9 = cute but not Clairvoyant!!

• NOT ALL THINGS ARE REAL OR EVEN CLEVER BUT SCIENCE IS BOTH OF THESE EVEN WHEN IT LATER TURNS OUT TO BE

INCOMPLETE OR WRONG!!!!

You Live in THIS Society; Like it or Change it or Leave!!

Intelligent Design, EVOLUTION, Flying Spaghetti Monster

http://www.venganza.org/about/open-letter/

You Live in THIS Universe; Live With It or Leave!!

“There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another which states that this has already happened.”

by Douglas Adams, from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Science is not…

• A list of previously known facts about nature

• A list of equations handed down from Ancient times

• A set of laws that were discovered by Dead White Guys a long time ago and are kept from the general public

Science Is…• a continuing process that

– seeks to understand the rules and laws of nature– uses systematic observations– uses mathematical models– experimentally tests ideas

• subject to independent verification

These are the components of the scientific method (observe, theorize, predict, test and modify) used

to comprehend the universe.

What do Astronomers do?• Make observations using telescopes• Analyze data/results of observation• Create theories about what is seen and what might exist

yet unseen• Create computer models that simulate what occurs in

the universe• Invent, design, and build instruments that let us see

beyond the Earth!BUT, most astronomers do NOT spend much time

looking through telescopes

A scientific theory is a collection of ideas that explain a phenomenon in a way that is consistent

with laws, observations and experiments.

Understanding the Universe!!

Viking I Lander Picture from 1976

1999 Picture from the Mars

Pathfinder Lander

Note the remote-control rover,

Sojourner, next to a Martian rock

2004 Opportunity Landing Site – and tracks

We did it!! Huygens takes first images of Titan and survives the crash landing!!

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/index.html

Telescopes gather light emitted from objects in

the universe

The Montillation of Traxoline

It is very important that you learn about traxoline. Traxoline is a new form of zionter. It is montilled in Ceristanna. The Ceristannians gristerlate large amounts of fevon and then brachter it to quasel

traxoline. Traxoline may well be one of our most lukized snezlaus in the future because of our

zionter lescelidge.

(attributed to the insight of Judy Lanier)

The Montillation of Traxoline It is very important that you learn about traxoline. Traxoline is a new form of zionter. It is montilled in Ceristanna. The Ceristannians gristerlate large amounts of fevon and then brachter it to quasel traxoline. Traxoline may well be one of our most lukized snezlaus in the future because of our zionter lescelidge.

Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Be sure to use your best handwriting. 1. What is traxoline?

2. Where is traxoline montilled?

3. How is traxoline quaselled?

4. Why is it important to know about traxoline?

Too Much to Comprehend!

Skywalkeror

http://www.aip.de/groups/galaxies/sw/udf/index.php

The number of stars in the universe today is approximately equal to the number of grains of sand on all the

beaches of Earth!!

The numbers in astronomy are so large, and small, that astronomers use scientific

notation.100 = 1

101 = 10

102 = 100

103 = 1000 5.3 x 103 = 5,300

104 = 10,000 8.9 x 104 = 89,000

and, for small numbers

10-1 = 0.1

10-2 = 0.01 2.1 x 10-2 = 0.021

10-3 = 0.001 6.6 x 10-3 = 0.0066

Astronomical distances and sizes are very very very very large. So, astronomers use

different units.One “Astronomical Unit” (AU)

average distance between Sun and Earth

• 93,000,000 miles

• 150,000,000 km

• 1.5 x 108 km

Distance Light Travels in One Year is a “Light-year” (LY)

•9.46 x 1012 km

•63,000 AU or 6.3x 104 AU

•0.307 parsecs (pc)

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/

At the scale of the size of a planet or moon we describe things in terms of kilometers (km)

At the scale of the Solar System distances are described in terms of the Astronomical Unit or AU (ave. distance from Earth to the Sun).

At the scale of the Milky Way Galaxy distances are described in terms of Light-years which is the distance light travels in one year.

Thousands of km

Astronomical Unit

A few to about 1,000 Light-years

10,000 to 100,000 Light-years

Millions of Light-years

Billions of Light-years

My wish is that this experience will make you a better human!!

Breath!!!

Life is a journey not a destination!

The only certain thing in life is change!!

GO CONFIDENTELY IN THE DIRECTION OF YOUR

DREAMS!! LIVE THE LIFE YOU’VE IMAGINED