Galaxies and Cosmology

Astronomy 220, Fall 2010, MW 1:00 - 2:15

Location: ML 104 (9 Hillhouse)
Yale University
 MW 1:00-2:15 PM
Professor: Pieter van Dokkum
pieter.vandokkum at yale.edu
Office hours:		 264 JWG (Gibbs Lab.)
432-3019
by email appointment
Teaching Assistant: John Brewer
john.brewer@yale.edu		 216 JWG
432-8176
Text: Freedman, Geller, and Kaufmann, Universe (9th edition, 2011)
The text will be complemented by the notes you will take in the classroom.
Grading: 35% Final exam
25% Midterm exam
25% Homework
10% Observing project
5% Classroom participation
Important dates: TBA - last day to withdraw w/o transcript record
TBA - last day to convert from Credit/D/Fail to a letter grade
URL: http://www.astro.yale.edu/dokkum/courses/astr220/
http://classesv2.yale.edu


QR Quiz

"Classroom participation" includes taking the Quantitative Reasoning (QR) quiz at the start and at the end of the course. You get 1 point (1% of your final grade) for taking the quiz (irrespective of the number of correct answers!). The QR quiz should help you decide whether this class is at the right math/QR level for you. Take the FIRST quiz at http://bit.ly/9oDSr1 before the course. After the course you should take a second quiz.

Observing Project

Necessary information for successful participation in the observing project will be posted here.

Tentative schedule

Date Topic Readings *)
Sep 1 Introduction and course overview
pdf file 		Chapter 1
Sep 6 Nature of light: spectra
Blackbody radiation
Absorption/emission lines
pdf file 		Chapter 5
Sep 8 Gravity: Newton's laws
Doppler effect
pdf file 		Chapters 4,5
Sep 13 No class
Sep 15 Nature of stars
Measuring luminosity, temperature, radius
pdf file
homework 1 (due Sept 22) 		Chapter 16,17
Sep 20 Lifecycle of stars
pdf file 		Chapters 17-20
Sep 22 Interstellar medium
Birth of stars
Molecular clouds
pdf file
homework 2 (due Sept 29) 		Chapters 17-20
Sep 27 Measuring distances
Distance "ladder", Cepheids
Guest lecture by Eilat Glikman 		Chapter 24
Sep 29 Our Galaxy:
size, dust, spiral arms
pdf file
 Chapter 23
Oct 4 Types of galaxies
Hubble "tuning fork"
Global properties of galaxies
pdf file
homework 3 (due Oct 11) 		Chapter 24
Oct 6 Quantitative morphologies
Relations between galaxies
pdf file
 Chapter 24
Oct 11 Clustering of galaxies:
Local Group
Clusters and superclusters
pdf file
homework 4 (due Oct 18)
link to gravitational lensing text 		Chapter 24
Oct 13 Growth of clusters
Galaxy interactions
pdf file
 Chapter 24
Oct 18 The Galactic Center
Black holes and active galaxies
Relation between black holes and galaxies
pdf file
 Chapter 25
Oct 20 Midterm Exam
Oct 25 Redshift and the expansion of the Universe
A "simple" age for the Universe
pdf file
 Chapter 26
Oct 27 The hot Big Bang
Microwave background radiation
Geometry and density of the Universe
pdf file
 Chapter 26
Nov 1 Dark energy and the accelerating Universe
The "standard model"
pdf file
homework 5 (due Nov 8)
 Chapter 26
Nov 3 Inflation and the birth of the Universe
pdf file
 Chapter 27
Nov 8 The AGN / galaxy interaction
Guest lecture by Eilat Glikman 		Chapter 25
Nov 10 Multiple universes and the nature of scientific theories
pdf file
homework 6 (due Nov 17)
 Chapter 27
Nov 15 Linking the present and the past:
Evolution of density fluctuations
pdf file
Nov 17 The first star, and after
pdf file
Nov 29 Observing galaxy formation and evolution:
Tools and techniques
pdf file
 Chapter 25
Dec 1 Observing galaxy formation and evolution:
the past 13 billion years
pdf file
 Chapter 25
Dec 8 Course review
Thursday Dec 16 Final exam (9 am, ML 104)

*) Note: material from Universe will be supplemented by (blackboard) notes in class. These will be especially important for lectures on galaxies and galaxy evolution, as the book's information is somewhat limited in this area.