ASTR 151: Doing Astronomy - Spring 2018

ASTR 151 is a one credit hour course for 1st or 2nd year students interested in studying astronomy. The class consists of a series of seminars from members of the astronomy department describing various topics in astronomy, with a focus on departmental research and student activities.

Course Time/Location: Mondays 3:20-4:10, Sears 552
Course Web Page: http://astroweb.case.edu/ssm/astr151/
Faculty contact: Professor Stacy McGaugh (Sears 573, stacy.mcgaugh@case.edu)

Course expectations: Attendance and positive participation.
Some weeks there will be a short reading assignment to prepare for the talk. These readings should be done before class meets.
Grading: The course is graded Pass/Fail.
Attend and you will Pass.
More than three unexcused absences will be grounds for Failure.
Participate and you will Pass.
Persistent disruptive behavior is cause for Failure.

Schedule:

Date
 Presenter
Title
Jan 22
 Prof Stacy McGaugh
Intro: scales and stuff in the sky
Jan 29
 Prof Stacy McGaugh
 Drake's Equation
Feb 5
 Prof Idit Zehavi
Careers in and out of Astronomy
Feb 12
 Prof Chris Mihos
The Violent Lives of Cluster Galaxies
(reading: How Galaxies Grow)
Feb 19
 Prof Earle Luck
Starstuff - Elements in the Universe
Feb 26
 Prof Stacy McGaugh
Galaxy properties: structure and star formation
Mar 5
 Dr Paul Harding
SDSS APOGEE South, an example of Instrumentation development in Astronomy today: working in a large collaboration
Mar 12
 No class
Spring Break
Mar 19
 Prof Heather Morrison
Our home, the Milky Way
Mar 26
 Charley Knox
Visit Warner & Swasey 9" Telescope
Apr 2
 Astronomy majors
Meet current Astronomy majors
Apr 9
 proto-Dr Bill Janesh
Needles in a Haystack: looking for tiny, faint galaxies in the Local Group
Apr 16
 Planetarium
Visit to CMNH Planetarium - meet at Natural History Museum
Apr 23
 Jason Davis (CMNH)
Astronomy and Public Outreach
Apr 30
 No Class
Semester over

Useful Links:

Drake's Equation Results