I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Astronomy

2. Course Prefix & Number:
ESCI 1405

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 4

Lecture Hours: 3

Lab Hours: 2

Internship Hours: 0

4. Course Description:

Is a survey of current day space observations and explorations at the conceptual level. The course is designed as an introduction to the study of astronomy and approaches the physics of planetary and stellar investigations from a perspective suitable for the motivated but non-mathematically-oriented liberal arts student. In addition to presenting an introduction to the basics of observing the night sky, the course surveys the latest observations, discoveries and theories in the rapidly developing areas of comparative planetology, stellar evolutionary processes, black holes, quasars, and other non-thermal phenomena. Finally, the course summaries the latest cosmological theories about the fundament nature of the universe in light of the best information available from observational platforms such as the Hubble Space Telescope.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

Anoka-Ramsey Community College, NATS 1001 Astronomy, 4 credits
Rainy River Community College, NSCI 1360 Introduction to Astronomy, 4 credits

III. Course Purpose

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:
Goal 3 – Natural Sciences

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate written communication skills	Demonstrate written communication skills in Astronomy lab reports and other assignments.
Analyze and follow a sequence of operations	Correctly operate modern Astronomical and laboratory equipment or or correctly follow other directions as explicitly laid out in laboratory activities.
Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations	Correctly explain laboratory and field observations in the context of contemporary Astronomical, Solar System, and Geoscientific theories.
Utilize appropriate technology	Use the tools of Astronomy for making observations, measurements and conclusions about objects in the sky.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Demonstrate understanding of characteristics of diverse environments by comparing the surface and atmospheric properties of each of the planets of the solar system.  MnTC Goal 3
• Formulate and test astronomical hypotheses by performing laboratory observations to image planetary objects.  MnTC Goal 3
• Formulate and test astronomical hypotheses by performing laboratory observations to image deep sky objects.  MnTC Goal 3
• Discuss Earth phenomena we experience every day in terms of solar system dynamics: eg; tides, seasons, the motion of the sky, etc.
• Explain the history of the science of Astronomy in terms of how the science developed and the applications of classical theory to contemporary science.
• Investigate the night sky using modern, research grade, astronomy observation platforms.
• Illustrate modern nebular theory in terms of the formation of the solar system
• Appraise the validity of the modern nebular theory in terms of its ability to explain the formation of the solar system.
• Identify the process occurring in the solar interior via their manifestation on the Sun's photosphere.
• Interpret stellar evolution using the Hertsprung Russel diagram.
• Apply the cosmological principle and Hubble's law to examine the evolution of the universe.
• Evaluate the evidence for the modern theory of cosmological evolution.

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Course Introduction: A Modern View of the Universe
• Scales of distance measurement in Astronomy
• Scales of time in Astronomy
• The difference between Astronomy and Astrology
• Navigating the class textbook
2. Navigating the Night Sky
• Earth’s seasons
• Earth’s Moon, and lunar phases
• Eclipses
• The Celestial Sphere
3. History of the Science of Astronomy
• The Greek Geocentric Universe
• Copernicus, Kepler, Tycho, Galileo, and Newton.
4. The Origin of the Solar System
• The objects in the Solar System
• The orientation of objects in the Solar System
• The motions of objects in the Solar System
• The Nebular Theory
• Impact Theory
5. The Terrestrial Planets
• Mercury
• Venus
• Earth and Earth’s Moon
• Mars
• The Asteroids
6. The Jovian Planets
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Uranus
• Neptune
• The Jovian Moons
7. The Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud
• The Kuiper Belt
• The Trans-Neptunian Objects – Pluto et al.
• The Oort Cloud
• Comets
8. Extrasolar Planets
• How we detect extrasolar planets
• The current catalog of detected extrasolar planets with highlights.
9. The Sun
• Properties of the Sun
• The processes occurring in the Solar Interior.
• The products of thermonuclear fusion
10. Stellar Evolution
• The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram
• The birth of stars
• Stellar Main Sequence
• Post Main Sequence Stellar Evolution
11. Stellar Death
• Stellar Death of low, medium, and massive stars.
• Planetary nebulae
• Supernova explosions
• White Dwarfs
• Neutron Stars and Black Hole
12. Galaxies
• How the distance to galaxies is measured.
• Hubble’s Law
• Hubble’s tuning fork diagram
• Galaxy evolution
• Interacting galaxies
13. The Expanding Universe
• The implications of Hubble’s Law as regards an expanding universe.
• The Cosmological Principle
• Distance and the Concept of “Lookback Time”
14. The Early Universe
• The Big Bang
• Evidence for the Big Bang
• The Cosmic Microwave Background radiation and the universal excess of Helium.
15. Dark Matter and Dark Energy
• Evidence for dark matter
• Candidates for dark matter
• Measuring the geometry of the Universe
• The rationale for dark energy.
16. Extra-Terrestrial Life
• The case for biological evolution and “life as we know it”
• The search for life in our Solar System
• The search for life outside our solar system – SETI
• The pseudoscience of UFO-ology.

2. Laboratory/Studio Sessions

1. An introduction to Planispheres
2. Coordinate Systems
3. Telescopes and an introduction to telescope use / Devising a coordinate system for solar exploration.
4. Step one for Solar Exploration – a first mapping.  The Constellations and translating from map to night sky.
5. Measuring the acceleration of gravity / Measuring the speed of light.
6. A Survey of the Techniques of Comparative Planetology
7. Plotting the motions of the planets on the planisphere and how to find them in the night sky.
8. The cratered surfaces of terrestrial worlds.
9. Comparing evidence for the early formation history of Mercury and Earth’s moon.
10. Studying comets and plotting their motion on the planisphere.
11. Calculating the energy of thermonuclear fusion – silicon fusion to iron.
12. Locating the evidence for Stellar Evolution on your planisphere and in the night sky.
13. Following the evolutionary track of a 1 solar mass star on the HR diagram.
14. Analyzing Star Clusters with the HR diagram.
15. Classifying Galaxies and Plotting them on the planisphere and locating them in the night sky.
16. The Drake Equation