Astronomy 201

To give the student a background in the history of astronomy
To understand the motions associated with the sun, moon, planets, and other celestial objects.
To give the student a background in the development of Newton's Laws and astronomical discoveries in the past.
To understand properties of light and telescopes.
To understand the nature of the solar system.
To learn the structure and properties of both the earth and moon.
To learn the structure and properties of Venus, Mars, and Mercury.
To learn the structure and properties of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
To give the student a basic understanding of comets and asteroids.
To learn about the structure and properties of the sun.
To understand observational properties of stars.
To learn about the structure of stars.
To give the student the knowledge about stellar life cycles.
To introduce the various forms of stellar remnants.
To understand the structure of the Milky Way galaxy.

At the completion of this course the successful student will be able to do the following:

Describe the motions of the Earth and describe the associated astronomical observations, in terms of its rotation, revolution around the Sun, and the ecliptic.
Describe the motion of Earth's Moon and describe the associated astronomical observations, including lunar phases and eclipses.
Summarize the scientific method and its application to early problems of astronomy, including the heliocentric model, Kepler's laws of planetary motion, and the universal law of gravitation.
Describe the nature of electromagnetic radiation, the instruments used to collect it, and explain how properties of materials are learned from its analysis.
Describe the structure of the solar system and its formation from the solar nebula.
Identify the terrestrial planets and describe their nature.
Identify the jovian planets and describe their nature.
Define and describe the differences between the terms asteroid, comet, meteor, meteorite, meteoroid, and meteor shower.
Describe the nature and structure of the Sun.
Classify stars according to their luminosity and temperature, identifying them as main sequence stars, giant stars, or white dwarfs.
Describe the evolution of stars from birth to death using terms such as protostar, main sequence star, giant, supernova, white dwarf, neutron star, and black hole.
Describe the nature and structure of the Milky Way galaxy.