![[Welcome to the Earth and Sky web connection]](E2.JPG)
Official Earth and Sky course Syllabus and Schedule for the Fall of 1998
| Week | Begin date | Topic | Important Notes |
| 1 | 8/24 | Introduction; Getting to know the sky: Basics of astronomical observations (naked eye, telescopic). Tour of the Hirsch Observatory | |
| 2 | 8/31 | The celestial sphere; Angular measure/ Terrestrial and astronomical coordinates/ Time, seasons, calendar/ Observing the Moon and Planets/ The stellar magnitude system | |
| 3 | 9/7 | Telescope and detector basics. Optical telescope designs | (No class Monday 9/7) |
| 4 | 9/14 | The Earth's atmosphere and its impact on astronomical observation | Class Quiz #1 Deadline for project topic selection |
| 5 | 9/21 | Observatory site selection criteria Ground-based observatories of the world /The Hubble Space Telescope | |
| 6 | 9/28 | Astronomical photometry and its applications | |
| 7 | 10/5 | Astronomical imaging: basic principles; CCDs; TV cameras; photography | |
| 8 | 10/12 | Sky surveys and their applications
| Class Quiz#2 (No class Monday 10/12) |
| 9 | 10/19 | Principles of astronomical spectroscopy Spectroscopy of planetary atmospheres | |
| 10 | 10/26 | Infrared Astronomy: Basics of IR detection
IR observations from ground-based observatories | |
| 11 | 11/2 | IR observations from space
Applications of IR astronomy | |
| 12 | 11/9 | Radio Astronomy: antenna and receiver basics | Class Quiz#3 |
| 13 | 11/16 | Radio interferometry and spectroscopy | |
| 14 | 11/23 | Observing the Earth from space | (No classes Wednesday 11/25; Friday 11/27) |
| 15 | 11/30 | Observing the Earth from space (continued): `Mission to Planet Earth' | Project term papers due |
| 16 | 12/7 | Review | Class Quiz #4 Final lab reports due |
This course is operated by the Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy
Related web pages:
Astrophysics GroupProfessor Whittet's web page
Teaching Assistant- Erika Gibb's web page
This web page was developed on 7/07/98 by Dan Lennon