Astronomy 16: Modern Astrophysics
Archive of Announcements
Week 14
posted 12/7
The due-date for your lab write-ups has been extended to Thursday, December 11, at 5pm. Please get in touch if you have questions about the lab, either about the data analysis or the write-up. Data analysis pointers and instructions for the write-up are now posted.
posted 12/6
This week we will wrap up with galaxies and the expanding universe on Tuesday in our final class meeting. See the reading assignment.
Information about your lab work and write-ups will be posted shortly. Note that I am extending the due date until Thursday.
There will be no more homework assignments; at least no required ones. But I will post some optional problems related to the material in Ch. 19 and 20, and then post the solutions, a few days later.
Week 12 - 13
posted 12/2
The homework is due tomorrow by 5pm.
And we have our last lab meeting on Wednesday night: 8pm, let's meet in the seminar room, where our class regularly meets, this time. There is information about the lab posted. You should read that document thoroughly before coming to lab.
In Thursday's class we'll be discussing the Milky Way. Please be sure to read the assigned parts of Ch. 19 before coming to class.
posted 11/30
There will be an SA session on Monday night, from 7:30 to 9:30 in SC 102, as usual. The homework is due on Wednesday.
Please come to the job candidate talks this Monday and Thursday (both at 4:30 in 199).
We will have a lab meeting on Wednesday night at 8pm (in SC 122, where we met last time).
posted 11/25
Have a good Thanksgiving break. We've got a full week of classes etc. next week. See the assignments section below for information about (1) the current homework (due Wed., Dec. 3), (2) reading and class preparation, and (3) our next and final lab meeting.
Week 11
posted 11/16
There is information about the exam posted in the assignments section, below. There will, unfortunately, be no SA session on Monday night. But I will have two sets of office hours on Monday. The exam will be in class on Tuesday. Bring a calculator.
Week 10
posted 11/14
We'll have an exam, in class, on Tuesday. You can bring two sheets of handwritten notes. Other than that, the exam will be closed-book. There is no current homework or reading assignment, so your work for the next few days should be focused on reviewing material and studying for the exam. Also, doing the transit photometry tutorial.
posted 11/9
We have a big homework assignment due on Wednesday. There is an SA session SC 102 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm on Monday night. Also, you can come to my office hours or schedule a meeting with me a different time. Or email me with a question about the material or homework.
We also have a lab meeting on Wednesday night (and you have some preparation to do for it).
Week 9
posted 11/3
There will not be an SA session tonight. But there will be one next week. There will be no lab meeting this Wednesday, but there will be one next Wednesday.
posted 11/1
There's a reading assignment posted, and soon there'll be a homework assignment and lab information, too.
Week 8
posted 10/29
There are some stellar spectra and binary orbit simulators for you to look at in preparation for Thursday's class (along with finishing up reading Ch. 13).
posted 10/25
The homework is due on Tuesday in class, and there will be an SA session on Monday, in SC 102, from 7:30 to 9:30, as well as office hours on Monday afternoon (posted on the right). Update 10/26 note that the full homework assignment is now available.
There will be no lab meeting this week, but I will be taking data for each of you, based on the objects you've chosen to observe. Stay tuned for that, and also stay tuned for a new reading assignment (but to begin Tuesday's class, we'll finish up the material in Ch. 14, especially focusing on the HR Diagram).
Week 7
posted 10/20
There is an SA session tonight, in SC 102, from 7:30 to 9:30. Note also that I have two separate sets of office hours tomorrow. The homework is due on Wednesday at 5pm.
posted 10/15
Please take some time over break to look at the sky - especially if you're spending the week someplace with darker skies than Swarthmore has. Also, I've posted some short, non-textbook reading in the Assignments section. In a similar vein, play around with the orbit simulators I linked to last week, which I've left linked there too.
Planning for next week, please consider coming to the colloquium on Friday at 12:30 (pizza provided) in SC 199. It's by an alum, Ben Vigoda. Note that it's not (directly) on a physics research topic and might give you some insights into how physics knowledge, skills, and ways of thinking might lead to a job outside of academia.
A reading assignment for next week will be posted by Thursday. But if you're interested in preparing for next Tuesday's class now, you could review some nuclear reactions (p-p chain vs. CNO cycle and also triple-alpha) and reread the end of Ch. 15 (sec. 4). Update 10/15: it's now posted.
We will have a lab meeting on Wednesday night (Oct. 22). Information about the lab will be posted by the weekend. But the M17 reading and the associated information posted in the Assignments section are good preparation for the lab.
And a new homework assignment will also be posted soon. Update 10/16: it's now posted.
Week 6
posted 10/6
Our midterm on Wednesday night at 8pm will be in SC 128.
posted 10/4
There will be an SA session on Monday night from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. In SC 102 (behind the coffee bar). Attending the session would be an excellent way to study for the midterm.
We will have our first midterm on Wednesday night, October 8 at 8pm. There is information about the exam posted on the Assignments page.
Class will meet as usual this week. We'll be continuing stellar structure (Ch. 15) on Tuesday and, I hope, finishing it up on Thursday. Information is posted below. Update 10/6: reading assignment is now posted.
Week 5
posted 9/28
There will be an SA session on Monday night from 7:30 to 8:30 pm. In SC 102 (behind the coffee bar).
We will have our first midterm on Wednesday night, October 8 at 8pm (our lab time-slot). I'll give you information about the exam in class this Tuesday.
posted 9/27
We will continue/wrap-up our discussion of electromagnetic radiation this week. Stay tuned for a reading assignment. Update 9/28: it's now posted. No new reading till the end of the week (but get started when you have time).
We will have a lab meeting this week. Stay tuned for details. Update 9/28: There will be no preparation for the lab. We'll spend two hours in the lab on Wednesday night, doing some observation planning, but spending much of the time in lab finishing up our class discussion of the radiation material from Ch. 5. I'll tell you more about our lab activities when we see each other in class on Tuesday.
There is a new homework assignment, due at the end of this week. It's available. And I have lots of office hours this week — they're posted on the right side of this page.
Week 4
posted 9/22
There will be no SA session tonight, as there is no homework currently assigned. A new assignment will be available by Thursday and due at the end of next week.
There are new office hours (Tue and Thu) posted to the right. Note also that the syllabus needs to be updated, but isn't yet.
posted 9/21
Class this week will continue to focus on radiation and mater: the material in the second half of Ch. 5. See below for this week's reading assignment.
We will not have a lab meeting this week.
Week 3
posted 9/14
There's a very short reading assignment for this week, posted on the Old Assignments page. And slightly revised office hours for Tuesday, posted on the front page.
Note: We will not be having class on Thursday, as I'll be out of town.
Week 2
posted 9/11
Please email me your lab write-ups by Monday morning. Let me know if you've got any questions as you're finishing up. Note that I've posted a (new) version of the lab manual.
Office hours for next week are posted on the right side of the front page.
Reading for next week isn't posted yet, but it will be the rest of Ch. 5. And there will be a new homework assignment posted there too, shortly (update 9/11: it's now posted in the Assignments section).
For now, this week's reading assignment (and associated notes) is still posted. Consult it as you're thinking about the material we discussed this week.
posted 9/9
Our first lab meeting is Wednesday night, at 8pm in room 187. Information about the lab is posted. You should spend a couple of hours going through the data reduction and image analysis guide prior to coming to lab.
Reading and general class preparation for Thursday is detailed in the guidelines for week 2, posted in the Assignments section, below.
posted 9/6
The syllabus is now posted (on the right side of the front page).
posted 9/5
We will be having an SA session on Monday night, from 7:30 to 8:30 where you can come and discuss the homework, get help and advice, and talk to other students. Our two SA's, both astro majors, Rebeka and Jamie, will be there. Update 9/6: We've got a room, it's SC 102, the room behind the Science Center coffee bar. Also, I will soon post office hours for Monday. Update 9/7: office hours are posted on the right side of the front page.
posted 9/4
Homework and reading information for next week will be posted very shortly. And lab information shortly after that. Update 9/5: the homework is now posted. It is short, and due on Tuesday in class. Update 9/7: lab information is now also posted.
Week 1
posted 8/30
Our first class meeting is a week from Tuesday, but there are is some preparation you'll have to do for the class, including some naked-eye observing of the Moon. There is also some reading, thinking, and a little bit of reviewing to do in the days before our first class meeting. This is all detailed in the Assignments section, on the main page.
Get in touch with me if you have any questions about the material and/or drop by my office (SC 125) to say hi or introduce yourself. I will be in my office nearly all of Monday afternoon.
Return to the main class page.
This page is maintained by David Cohen
cohen -at- astro.swarthmore.edu
Last modified: December 13, 2014