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Dr. Philhour

"There are children playing in the streets who could solve some of my top problems in physics, because they have modes of sensory perception that I lost long ago." — J. Robert Oppenheimer

"Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt? // Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt! // Über Sternen muß er wohnen." — Friedrich Schiller (used in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony) Translation: "Do you sense the Creator's presence? Seek him beyond the stars! He must dwell beyond the stars."

Astronomy (6°) 3rd Quarter 2004-05

Most recent update March 9, 2005 11:56 AM

  • Week of Tuesday, January 18th: Galaxies! (Short week -- Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday)
    • Day 1
    • Day 2
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD or astro-ph
      • Lecture/discussion: Galaxies: types of galaxies
      • Project: Galaxy Classification due Day 3 of next week
      • HW: Read Universe Chapter 26-3; continue project from class
      • OBSERVING: Thursday, January 20th, 8 PM - 10 PM; meet at flagpole; may be cancelled in event of bad weather
    • Day 3
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD and astro-ph; find one article on astro-ph and open it in .pdf format. Be prepared to briefly explain what the article is about (we'll practice with this over the next months.)
      • Quiz: Neutron Stars / Black Holes / Milky Way galaxy
      • Lecture/discussion: Galaxies: the distance ladder
      • HW: Read Universe Chapter 26-4; continue project from class due Day 3 of next week
  • Week of Monday, January 24th: Galaxies!
    • Day 1
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD and astro-ph; find one article on astro-ph and open it in .pdf format. Be prepared to briefly explain what the article is about (we'll practice with this over the next months.)
      • Lecture/discussion: Galaxies: spiral arms (formation & weirdness)
      • Project: Galaxy Classification due Day 3
      • HW: Read Universe Chapter 26-6; continue project from class; see this site for quiz correction responsibilities
    • Day 2
    • Day 3
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD and astro-ph; find one article on astro-ph and open it in .pdf format. Be prepared to briefly explain what the article is about (we'll practice with this over the next months.)
      • Lecture/discussion: Galaxies: dark matter
      • Project: Galaxy Classification due by 11 PM tonight in my e-mail box
      • HW: Read Universe Chapter 26-8; IT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU KEEP UP ON THE READING!
    • Day 4
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD and astro-ph; find one article on astro-ph and open it in .pdf format. Be prepared to briefly explain what the article is about (we'll practice with this over the next months.)
      • Lecture/discussion: Galaxies: active galaxies
      • Begin Carl Sagan Cosmos Episode 10: The Edge of Forever
      • HW: Read Universe Chapter 26-9, 27-1, 27-2; table 27-2; Check out this SOHO Comet Prediction contest!
  • Week of Monday, January 31st: Galaxies and Cosmology / The Hubble Law
    • Day 1
      • Warmup: Read about this exciting project; is this something we, as a class, should get involved with over the next couple of months?
      • Finish Carl Sagan Cosmos Episode 10: The Edge of Forever
      • HW: continue project from class; read Universe Chapter 27-6
    • Day 2
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD today and yesterday and astro-ph; find one article on astro-ph and open it in .pdf format. Be prepared to briefly explain what the article is about (we'll practice with this over the next months.)
      • Lecture/discussion: Cosmology: the discovery of the expansion of the universe & the Hubble Law
      • Project: Hubble Law Project (due Day 1 of next week) -- you are only responsible for the material through and including Exercise 3; note that the links in Exercise 2 don't work ... use the same links as in Exercise 1; you'll again be asked to make an x-y scatter plot, so let me know if you need any help with that.
      • HW: continue project from class; read Universe Chapter 28-1 & 28-2 THIS CHAPTER IS TOUGH BUT IMPORTANT
    • Day 3
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD and astro-ph; find one article on astro-ph and open it in .pdf format. Be prepared to briefly explain what the article is about (we'll practice with this over the next months.)
      • Notice: Please sign up to meet with me for a 15 minute conference; the sign-up sheet, with many available dates and times, is posted to my office door (Room 312). First come, first served.
      • Lecture/discussion: Cosmology: the Big Bang and the age of the universe from Hubble's Constant
      • Finish your Hubble Law Project (due Day 1 of next week)
      • If you finish early, begin reading Cosmology: The Study of the Universe (note there are many sections, so read Big Bang Theory, Big Bang Tests, Beyond Big Bang, Our Universe, and Related Topics)
      • HW: continue project from class; prepare for Quiz on Day 4
    • Day 4
      • Warmup: Check this out, then visit the APOD and astro-ph; find one article on astro-ph and open it in .pdf format. Be prepared to briefly explain what the article is about (we'll practice with this over the next months.)
      • Field trip is on for Saturday February 12, see details below
      • Quiz: Galaxies / Cosmology / The Hubble Law (be up-to-date on the reading assignments above!)
      • If you finish early, begin reading Cosmology: The Study of the Universe (note there are many sections, so read Big Bang Theory, Big Bang Tests, Beyond Big Bang, Our Universe, and Related Topics)
      • HW: finish project from class; read the Stephen Hawking essay in Universe pp. 665-668
  • Week of Monday, February 7th: Cosmology / cosmic microwave background radiation
    • Day 1
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD and take a look at this great example of a Galaxy Classification Project; also, read about the field trip below (in red); lastly, recall that, if you didn't get a 4 on the last quiz, you have makeup work in the form of quiz corrections that will be due in one week
      • SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, April 9, we'll have a joint AP Physics / Astronomy trip to the Dann Ranch in Dixon to do balloon launches (by day) and astronomy (by night).
      • Project: Hubble Law Project due by e-mail to me
      • Begin NOVA video: Runaway Universe
      • HW: read Universe Chapter 28-3; do Ch 28 #s 1, 3 & 5 (short answers, please) due Day 4
    • Day 2
    • Day 3
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD and astro-ph; find an article on cosmology in astro-ph; check out our many Astronomy Research possibilities here at SI
      • Notice: Please sign up to meet with me for a 15 minute conference; the sign-up sheet, with many available dates and times, is posted to my office door (Room 312). First come, first served.
      • Meet R2D2, or new Meade LX-90 telescope
      • Lecture/discussion: Cosmology: cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation
      • HW: read Universe Chapter 28-6; do Ch 28 #s 9, 10, 11 & 12 (short answers, please) due Day 4
    • Day 4
    • Saturday, February 12: Field trip to Chabot Observatory in Oakland

 

  • Week of Monday, February 14th: Cosmology / cosmological models & inflation
    • Day 1 (bring Universe)
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD and this sense of scale website
      • Lecture/discussion: Cosmology: the fate of the universe and inflation
      • In-class problems: Universe Ch 28 #s 25 (see equations in Ch 28-2), 28 (see same equations; note also that density is Mass / Volume and Volume is 4/3*a^3), & 40; due at end of class
      • HW: read Universe Chapter 28-9
    • Day 2 (bring Universe)
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD and astro-ph; find an article on cosmology in astro-ph
      • Notice: Please sign up to meet with me for a 15 minute conference; the sign-up sheet, with many available dates and times, is posted to my office door (Room 312). First come, first served.
      • Lecture/discussion: Cosmology: more with inflation / heisenberg uncertainty / virtual particles (time permitting)
      • In-class problems: Universe Ch 28 #s 33ab, 41 & 42; due at end of class
      • HW: read Universe Chapter 29-1 & 29-2; write a 1/2 paragraph explanation of Figure 29-2
    • Day 3 (bring Universe)
    • Day 4
      • Quiz: Cosmology -- be sure to study all the homework and in-class work since last week, as well as the reading. Remember that I am available in my office if you are having conceptual problems, also Sebouh is our TA so bug him all you want! =)
      • HW: read Universe Chapter 29-5 & 29-8; write a 1/2 paragraph explanation of Figure 29-10
      • IMPORTANT NOTICE: There is too much late/unsubmitted work, as evidenced by the most recent grade update. Please turn this in by Day 1 of next week if you want this work to count towards your quarter grade.
  • Week of Tuesday, February 21st: Journal Club / short week due to President's Day Holiday on Feb 21
    • Day 1
      • Warmup: Visit the APOD and astro-ph
      • Late & unsubmitted work from this quarter so far is due ... see grade update to determine what you are missing.
      • SI Astrophysics Journal Club: introduction
        • Explore astro-ph and choose a topic of interest within astrophysics (exclude planets for now)
        • Form a group of four; each of you will be responsible for a paper within a common topic (black holes, cosmology, quasars, whatever); each of you will give a presentation to the rest of your group next week; check your topic with me, as I am going to try to ensure diversity of topics among the different groups
        • By the end of the class period, decide upon (1) the order of your presentations and (2) a title for your talk (this cannot be the title of the paper you have chosen)
      • HW: fill out a paper analysis sheet for your paper, to turn in on Day 3 (DO NOT PRINT THESE OUT, I WILL MAKE A LARGE STACK OF THEM FOR OUR USE)
      • SAVE THE DATE : Saturday, April 9, we'll have a joint AP Physics / Astronomy trip to the Dann Ranch in Dixon to do balloon launches (by day) and astronomy (by night).
    • Day 2
      • Warmup: Visit astro-ph and find an article within your topic area different from the one you are presenting
      • Astrophysics Journal Club: begin work on power-point presentation (in-class -- any type of presentation would work for me); e-mail me an in progress presentation by end of period
      • To find an individual paper, click here and enter in the astro-ph number from above. A few are not from astro-ph, but are instead from hep-ph, so you can find those papers here
      • HW: continue in-class work
    • Day 3
      • Warmup: Visit astro-ph and find an article within your topic area different from the one you are presenting
      • paper analysis sheet due
      • Astrophysics Journal Club: continue work on power-point presentation (in-class); e-mail me an in progress presentation by end of period; also, let me know the order of your speakers next week (Days 1, 2, 3, 4)
      • HW: continue work on journal club paper & power-point presentation
  • Week of Monday, February 28th: Journal Club presentations
    • Each day this week will comprise a presentation (15 minutes), questions & discussion (20 minutes) and a reflection period (10 minutes); save your typed reflections in a file to be turned in by e-mail to me on Day 4. You are responsible for teaching your fellow students the material in your papers; each of you will be tested on this.
    • HW: over the course of this week, please read Chapter 1.1 of my Ph.D. thesis; you may find that you'll need to skip over some parts or re-read others; also, read the article by Prof. Ruhl on p.688 in Universe
    • Groups: Pulsars: Leslie (0501226), Jenise (0502203), Dante (0411615), Mike M. (0404105); Neutron Stars: Ted (0405262), Charles (0502457), Anabel (0403489), Ian (0409751); Black Hole Evaporation: Ginger (0404482), Kat (hep-ph/0210016), Kevin (9601029), Sean (gr-qc/0407090); Supermassive Black Hole at Center of Milky Way: Michelle (0309076), Om (0306064), Matt (0501625), and Sebouh (0011515); Dark Matter: Darren (0502430), Katy (0501555), Brian (0405479), Colleen (0412018); Supermassive Black Holes: Erika (9912346), Liz (0409290), Jessica (0408450), Allison (0311283); Supernovae: Christian (0502470), Robert (0502397), Mike Y. (0501363); Binary Star Systems: Casey (0501260), Christianne (0408227)
    • Day 1 speakers: Jessica, Michelle, Casey, Brian, Kat, Leslie, Christian, Charles
    • Day 2 speakers: Allison, Matt, Christianne, Darren, Kevin, Jenise, Robert, Ted
    • Day 3 speakers: Liz, Om, Colleen, Ginger, Dante, Mike Y., Ian
    • Day 4 speakers: Erika, Sebouh, Katy, Sean, Mike M., Anabel
    • Turn in reflections and finished presentations on the week at the end of Day 4
    • [Rubric for next year: presentation should be 4 or more slides, should include at least (i) a restatement of the abstract (in your words); (ii) one or more figures from the paper; (iii) a discussion of the broader implications for the work; (iv) an additional slide summarizing the abstracts of your group member's papers]
  • Week of Monday, March 7th: Midterm exam week
    • Day 1: Review for midterm exam (click here for sample questions!)
    • Midterm: your midterm exam will consist of questions taken from the four papers your group has chosen to study. Also: be sure that you study and review all of the quizzes from this quarter. A good understanding of the quiz material (not just the stuff related to your paper) will be assumed in writing the exam.
    • JOIN Dr. Dann and Dr. Philhour in attending Wednesday's USF PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY COLLOQUIUM: Dr. Geoff Marcy will speak at USF on the topic of "The Properties of Planetary Systems." Dr. Marcy is among the founders of an exciting new field: finding planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. Wednesday, March 9, at 4:00 PM on the USF Campus, room 127 Harney ... coffee and social beginning at 3:30 PM. This talk is a perfect way to get stoked about the material we'll be learning in the 4th quarter.
    • HW: None, but see below if you want to get a head-start on next week

END OF 3rd QUARTER 2004-05

Coming up in the 4th quarter: Planets & our ever-popular Role-Playing Project



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