Note: You must have the Starry Night and Mastering Astronomy access codes that come with the text sold in the SFCC bookstore.
If you choose to buy your text online, you must also buy the student access codes for Starry Night ($29.95) and Mastering Astronomy ($60.50). It will likely cost you more to purchase the text and access codes individually, so I suggest buying your text at the SFCC bookstore to save yourself time and money.
Required text: The Essential Cosmic Perspective, 7th ed. by Bennett et al. As sold in the SFCC bookstore, this package comes with a Starry Night student access code and a Mastering Astronomy student access code.
I have placed 2 copies of an older edition on reserve at the SFCC library that you may check out for 2 hours at a time. Do not wait to begin the first week, even if you have not yet purchased your text. Not having the text or access codes on time does not excuse you from any assignments.
When setting up your Mastering Astronomy account, you will be asked for your student access code, your course ID code, and your student ID number. The student access code is found in the Mastering Astronomy insert that comes with your book (or that you purchase online if not buying your book from the SFCC bookstore).
When prompted, the course ID code you need to enter is: whitmer98345
COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion of this course, you should have a good understanding of the nature of astronomy and be able to grasp the big ideas of this science. When you hear or read about a new discovery in astronomy, you should be able to understand what is being said and how it fits into our ongoing attempt to understand the universe. But most important, I hope that after this course you will look at the world around you from a somewhat different perspective. Knowing where you are in the universe and understanding some of the things that are happening out there can be a humbling, awe-inspiring experience.
The following is a list of general course learning objectives. Specific objectives will accompany each weekly session. Completing this course will enable you to:
1. Become adept at using the Starry Night planetarium software to learn the night sky and understand its motions.
2. Understand the cause of the daily, monthly, and yearly patterns of motions in the sky.
3. Relate the early history of astronomy to humanity's attempt to understand our place in the universe, and show how this led to the development of the scientific method.
4. Understand some of the fundamental laws of nature regarding the motion of objects and the interpretation of light.
5. Describe how the solar nebula theory explains the observed features of our solar system.
6. Understand how the theory of star formation predicts the existence of planetary systems, and how "extra-solar" planets are detected orbiting other stars.
7. Relate the predicted model of the Sun to the observed features of our star.
8. Describe the life cycle of stars from birth to death.
9. Describe the formation and evolution of galaxies.
10. Relate the Big Bang theory to the observed features of our universe.
11. Understand why astronomers think "dark matter" and "dark energy" exist, and understand the implications of each.
12. Describe where you are in the universe, and the astronomical processes that enabled you to be here.