| Date | Number | Topic | Reading | Homework |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 27 | 1 | Overview: Our Universe, Solar System, and Species | Chapter 1 | |
| 29 | 2 | The Cosmic Fishbowl - celestial coordinates and motions | Chapter 2, Sect. 2.1
Chapter 4, Sect. 4.1 | HW 1 |
| Sept. 3 | 3 | The apparent motion of the Sun; Time | Chapter 4, Sect. 4.3 | |
| 5 | 4 | The motion of the Sun; the seasons; the Moon and its Phases | Chapter 4, Sect. 4.2, 4.5 | HW 2 |
| 10 | 5 | The Moon's orbit. Lunar Eclipses | Chapter 4, Sect. 4.5, 4.7 | |
| 12 | 6 | Solar eclipses; ancient astronomy, planetary motions | Chapter 4, Sect. 4.7, 4.4
Chapter 2, Sect. 2.2 | HW 3 |
| 17 | 7 | To the modern age: Copernicus, Tycho, and Galileo | Chapter 2, Sect. 2.2, 2.4 | |
| 19 | 8 | Galileo to Kepler... to Newton | Chapter 3, Sect. 3.1, 3.2 | HW 4 |
| 24 | 9 | Newton | Chapter 3, Sect. 3.2-3.4 | |
| 26 | 10 | Rocket Science! | Chapter 3, Sect. 3.5
JPL Web page on transfer orbits | |
| Oct. 1 | EXAM 1 | |||
| 3 | 11 | Overall properties of our solar system; planetary interiors | Chapter 7, Sect. 7.1-7.2 Chapter 8, Sect. 8.1 | HW 5 |
| 8 | 12 | Planetary Surfaces I - Physical Processes | Chapter 8, Sect. 8.1, 8.2
Chapter 9, Sect. 9.3 | |
| 10 | 13 | Planetary Surfaces II - Ages of surfaces, and the Moon | Chapter 7, Sect. 7.3
Chapter 9, Set. 9.2 | HW 6 |
| 15 | 14 | The surfaces of the terrestrial planets: Moon, Mercury, and Venus | Chapter 9, Sect. 9.4-9.5
Chapter 10, Sect. 10.1-10.2 | |
| 17 | 15 | Mars | Chapter 10, Sect. 10.4-10.5 | HW 7 |
| 22 | 16 | Atmospheres of the inner planets, and global warming on Earth | Chapter 8, Sect. 8.3-8.4
Chapter 10, Sect. 10.3 | |
| 24 | 17 | Giant Planets I: Interiors and atmospheres | Chapter 11 | HW 8 |
| 29 | 18 | Giant Planets II: Phenomena, tides, and rings | Chapter 4, Sect. 4.6
Chapter 12, Sect. 12.5 | |
| 31 | 19 | Moons, Icy Satellites of the Outer Solar System, and beyond | Chapter 12, Sect. 12.1-12.4 | |
| Nov. 5 | 20 | Pluto(ides), KBOS, Asteroids and meteorites: remnants of the origin of our solar system | Chapter 13, Sect. 13.1-13.2
Chapter 14, Sect. 14.1-14.2 | |
| 7 | 21 | Planetary collisions: past, present and future | Chapter 8, Sect. 8.5 | HW 9 |
| 12 | EXAM 2 | |||
| 14 | 22 | Comets and their origins | Chapter 13, Sect. 13.3-13.4 | |
| 19 | 23 | Astrology and pseudoscience | Chapter 2, Sect. 2.3 and
web reading | |
| 21 | 24 | The Sun: our "ordinary" star | Chapter 15, Sect. 15.1-15.3
Chapter 16, (briefly) | HW 10 |
| 26, 28 | THANKSGIVING | |||
| Dec. 3 | 25 | The origin of our solar system | Chapter 21, Sect. 21.1, 21.3 | |
| 5 | 26 | Other planetary systems | Chapter 21, Sect. 21.4-21.6 | |
| 10 | 27 | Life in the Universe I: Searching for life beyond Earth | Chapter 30, Sect. 30.4, 30.1-30.2 | |
| 12 | 28 | Life in the Universe II: Searching for other intelligent life; Conclusions | Chapter 30, Sect. 30.3-30.4 | |