Office: Morehead Observatory (enter Morehead building on east side, facing the Arboretum, and take elevator on right to the fourth floor.)
Office Hours: TBA
Instructor: Adam Trotter
Office: Morehead Observatory (enter Morehead building on east side, facing the Arboretum, and take elevator on right to the fourth floor.)
Office Hours: TBA
Assistant: JoEllen McBride
Office: Phillips 126
Office Hours: TBA
| Week | Date | Lab |
| 1 | Jan. 28 | Orientation |
| 2 | Feb. 4 | 1. Introduction to Skynet |
| 3 | Feb. 11 | 1. Introduction to Skynet |
| 4 | Feb. 18 | 2. Earth and Seasons |
| 5 | Feb. 25 | 2. Earth and Seasons |
| 6 | Mar. 4 | 3. Galilean Revolution |
| 7 | Mar. 11 | SPRING BREAK: NO CLASS |
| 8 | Mar. 18 | 4. Parallax |
| 9 | Mar. 25 | 5. Standard Candles |
| 10 | Apr. 1 | 6. The Great Debate |
| 11 | Apr. 8 | 7. Hubble's Law |
| 12 | Apr. 15 | 8. TBA |
| 13 | Apr. 22 | Lab 8 Due: NO CLASS |
Lab Reports and Grading: Your will submit your lab reports via WebAssign. No formal write-up is required, but you must submit the following:
We have set up WebAssign so you are allowed 50 submissions. The final submission is graded. It is your responsibility to make sure that your submissions are received by WebAssign.
Due Dates: Will be announced at the first meeting of each lab, but typically, one week after the meeting date of a given lab. Due to the unpredictable nature of the weather and telescopic equipment failures, due dates for labs may vary. We will keep you posted.
WebAssign account access: Labs will be administered through WebAssign. Go to http://www.webassign.net , select "I have a Class Key", and follow the instructions.
Your class key is: unc 7741 9209.
The cost should be $19.95, which you can pay online after you first log in. This is the only cost associated with this course (no textbook!).
There will also be a quiz given at the beginning of each lab. This quiz is to make sure you are reading the labs BEFORE you come to class. The questions will be simple to answer if you read the lab. The sum of all your quiz scores will be equivalent to one lab grade.
Grading will be done on a curve. The mean and standard deviation of your grades will be calculated each week. The number of standard deviations you are away from the mean will determine your letter grade for that lab. It will roughly go as follows:
| number of standard deviations from mean | letter grade |
> + 0.5 |
A |
-0.5 — +0.5 |
B |
-1.5 — -0.5 |
C |
-2.5 — -1.5 |
D |
< -2.5 |
F |
Policy on late Lab Reports: Don't be late. You may request an extension, but it comes at a price of 1/2 a letter grade per day late.
Please do not hesitate to contact me by email if you have questions or difficulty. I am more than happy to help you interpret and explain the results of your observations. My goal is to help you see how we have come to understand our place in the universe, and how even the simplest of experiments can reveal profound truths.
We are a way for the cosmos to know itself. — Carl Sagan
A virtual journey through the known universe. Scientists have measured the size and distance of every object shown, from the earth to the most distant quasars. By the end of this course, you will be able to do the same.
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Carl Sagan explains how Eratosthenes accurately measured the circumference of the earth...in 300 B.C. You will reproduce this experiment in Lab 2.
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