Title: Week 1: The Sky Above
Course: ASTRON103: The Evolving Universe: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology (001) DHH SU18 > Section: Week 1

Overview

Welcome to Week 1! The theme for this week is The Sky Above. We're going to learn about the natural lights in the sky (Sun, Moon, stars and planets), how they move and change over time, and how their changes influence life here on Earth through phenomena such as seasons, tides and eclipses.

To get started, watch the video below where Rich and DK provide an overview of the week ahead. Then, dive into the Content (book and videos) and start planning how you'll undertake the weekly Activities (writing assignment, discussion forum, At Play in the Cosmos, weekly quiz, and longer-term project). To help you organize these tasks, we provide a Schedule and Checklist at the bottom of the page.

Content

Readings

The following readings from the Astronomy book cover the topics that we'll be focusing on this week:

- Chapter 1: Science and the Universe (all sections)
- Chapter 2: Observing the Sky (sections 1, 2 & 4)
- Chapter 4: Earth, Moon, and Sky (sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 & 7)

Two-Minute Universe

In these mini-lectures, Rich and DK cover a single topic from the book in a couple of minutes, by building up a page of notes and visuals summarizing the key facts and concepts you need to know. The summary page is available for download separately from the video, as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file.

- The Nature of Astronomy (2m30s; video, summary)
- The Nature of Science (3m11; video, summary)
- Laws of Nature (3m14s; video, summary)
- Consequences of Light Travel Time (1m30s; video, summary)
- The Birth of Modern Astronomy (1m51s; video, summary)
- The Seasons (2m11s; video, summary)
- Oceans, Tides & The Moon (2m25s; video, summary)

Whiteboard

In these more in-depth lectures, DK explores a variety of topics with the aid of whiteboard sketches.

- The Scale of the Universe (7m38s; video)
- Scientific Notation & Units (5m24s; video)
- Day and Night (10m5s; video)
- Moon Phases (11m41s; video)
- Eclipse and Time (9m13s; video)

At Play in the Cosmos Flythroughs

In these flythroughs of the At Play in the Cosmos game, Rich provides commentary on the concepts being presented, highlights some pitfalls to be aware of, and tries to avoid being blown up by the bad guys.

- Orientation: how to purchase, register, download and launch At Play in the Cosmos (8m13s; hi-res video, lo-res video)
- Mission 1: Learning to Fly (12m57s; hi-res video, lo-res video)
- Mission 2: Lost in the Wreckage (13m43s; hi-res video, lo-res video)
- Mission 3: Time for Repairs (12m41s; hi-res video, lo-res video)
- Mission 4: Flying Through the Ashes (7m13s; hi-res video, lo-res video)

Virtual Planetarium

In these Stellarium-powered virtual planetarium shows, Rich introduces basic terminology for describing the sky above us, and explores the properties and movement of the natural objects we see in the sky, across timescales ranging from hours through to centuries.

- Orientation (3m39s; video)
- The Sky Dome (3m54s; video)
- The Motions of the Stars (3m20s; video)
- The Celestial Sphere (5m47s; video)
- The Big Dipper & Polaris (2m46s; video)
- Constellations (3m58s; video)
- The Sun, Zodiac & Ecliptic (8m1s; video)
- Retrograde Motion (5m23s; video)
- Right Ascension & Declination (3m56s; video)
- Precession & Proper Motion (9m0s; video)

Activities

Writing Assignment

This week's writing assignment invites you to reflect on the vast range of scales present in the Universe. Review the writing assignment and begin reflecting on relevant themes early during the week; summer courses move quickly, so it is to your advantage to think ahead.  The assignment is due by 11:59pm on Wednesday, June 20^th.

At Play in the Cosmos Missions

This week's game missions get you up and running in your spaceship. We suggest you try these missions by yourself at first, and then dip into Rich's flythroughs (see above) for guidance and commentary. The deadline for completing the missions is 11:59 PM on Friday, June 22^nd.

Discussion

This week's discussion centers around the Flat Earth model; Rich and DK will be arguing in favor of this model, and it is your job to explain how it can be disproved.  You need to make an initial post in order to see other students' responses, and you must make a total of three posts by the deadline of 11:59 PM on Saturday, June 23^rd.

Quiz

This week's quiz tests your understanding of the topics covered throughout the week, and is drawn from Chapters 1, 2 and 4 of the Astronomy book. It consists of ten questions with written answers. You can take it anytime up until 11:59pm on Sunday, June 24^th; solutions will be provided the day after this deadline.

Multi-Week Project

The first multi-week project asks you to to plan a trip to view the next total solar eclipse occurring in the continental USA, in 2024.  The project is due at the end of Week 2, but you should get an early start on it, as this course will be moving along quickly.

Weekly Schedule & Checklist

Use the schedule below to pace yourself during this week, and the check-boxes to mark off your progress.  Each horizontal line represents an important task and the corresponding days on which you should focus on that task. It is important that you keep pace to perform well on the weekly quiz, and to participate fully in the discussion forum.

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