Spring 2007 Astronomy

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the Spring 2007 semester! If you are reading this then you most likely attended the first lecture and we have had our general introduction to the course and astronomy. I am creating this blog to help you. I will post what we did in class after every lecture and I will also post additional assignments for you to accomplish. Thus, you will need to check the blog every week. When I post an assignment, if it does not specifically state so, you are NOT to hand it in to me. You are, however required to keep the assignment in your notebook. You can bet the family future that I will test you on some aspect of the assignments. Since the exams are open notebook essay, if you do your work and record it, you should earn an A in my course. An A+ is not easy to obtain and requires that very extra step of work from you. Part of your grade will reflect how well you follow direction and that you are reading the blog and performing the assignment. Do not worry, I will not have too many of assignment for you to perform. The assignments are presented as supplements to the lecture materials and may be discussed in class. Your participation in the discussion is very important and will also show me who has done the assignments, thus discussions are another way for me to assess your progress throughout the course. For the exams you need to know that the major issue that I will be testing you on is how well you can synthesize the lecture material and clearly express your answer to a problem. The way I design my exams is that you will not just write back to me what is in your notes--that is almost meaningless. We will go over examples of potential test questions in lecture throughout the course. If you write them down, it may help you to study.

Assignment #1: As many of you may have heard, Poor Old Pluto is no longer a planet. The IAU had a vote in August and changed the status of several Solar System objects. You are to (1) research the classic, per-August 2006 definition of a planet (hint: try your textbook, if you purchased the book, if you purchased the book and took off the shrink wrap, if you purchased the book, took off the shrink wrap and decided to open it AND read it), (2) find the IAU web site (International Astronomical Union) and research the new definition of a planet and other bodies, listing all of the part of the resolution that was past, (3) compare and contrast the two definition and express why you think the change occurred. I really want you to think about this issue and write down your thoughts, whatever they are. I am looking to learn what you think and how you came to your decision. Do not attempt to give me what you think I want to know!

At some point in the future we will explore this issue in lecture, but I will not go into all aspects of your assignment.
Dr. Connolly 2 Spring 2007