The Community College
of
Baltimore County

Course Purpose and Objective:

The objective of this course is to encourage the student to think critically about the question:

Are We Alone in the Universe?

In order to accomplish this task, information must be learned about the basics of Astronomy, and this knowledge applied to the question posed.

Television Videotapes are available:

-on PBS channels or cable as listed in the television course guide
-on campus at the AV desk in the lower level of the library
-on campus at the Library Main desk

Course Requirements at a Glance:

To complete the course successfully, a student must fulfill the following requirements:

-view the television programs
-answer the objective questions provided in the course outline
-turn in the objective answers to me for grading

Exams:

There are no exams for this class other than the answers to the objectives that are turned in for grading.

Grading Scale:

Each exam will have at least one question for each objective, so the number of questions will range from 4 to 12. The final grade is determined by using the number of points accumulated from the tests.
TESTS: 1125 POSSIBLE POINTS

Text:

Purchase of the text is optional for this course. If you feel you want an outside reference or if you feel more comfortable referring to a text along with the tv presentations, it is appropriate. If not, the text is on reserve at the main desk of the library.

The text is "An Introduction to Astronomy" by Dr. Thomas Arny of the University of Massachusetts.

A SPECIAL NOTE TO TELECOURSE STUDENTS:

Taking a course by television is not the easiest way to accomplish this requirement. The material is basically the same, but it requires that the student be more self-sufficient and more self-motivated than the normal student.

Think of yourself as one of the following types of students:

A. Broadcast-paced--You will be following the schedule of broadcast's on television. You will pace your tests and written work accordingly.
B. Individual-pace--You will use the tapes available in the library to work at your own schedule, taking more or less time as you wish.
C. Combined--You will use both techniques, supplementing the broadcasts with tapes in the library.
Think about how you would like to accomplish the completion of this course and which style will best suit your needs.

I also teach this course on a self-paced basis which has more contact with the instructor than the television version. This course is available using computers on campus or by using your home computer. If at any time you wish to discuss switching into this version please don't hesitate to do so. The television course works best for auditory learners and the self-paced course for visual learners.

In order to help you to understand what to look for in he lessons that will help you to complete the final paper, you should come into the independent study lab in the bottom floor of the library, and see the multimedia presentation about the "Drake Equation" soon after starting the course. You should also view this presentation again after completing the lessons and tests, to help you to see how the writing of the paper should be approached. Please feel free to consult with me often on this project to make sure you are getting everything you need to complete your final exam.

Good luck with the course and call me if you need anything.

Sincerely,
Stephanie M. Caravello-Hibbert
Associate Professor of Astronomy and Earth Science

The objectives which follow come directly from the video-tape lessons and you should be able to answer them as you view the lessons. In some cases, you may have to refer to a text to get a more complete definition or description of the term or concept being discussed. So your video lessons are the major source and any text you use is a supplement.

Objectives:

Lesson One: The scale of the cosmos

1. Identify the culture, which was the first to study Astronomy in a scientific way.
2. Identify the approximate age of our solar system.
3. List the planets in order, from the sun outward.
4. Identify the position of the asteroid belt within the solar system.
5. Identify the name of the nearest star beyond our solar system.
6. Identify what quantity a light year is used to measure besides distance.
7. State the assumption made in Astronomy that helps us to study the universe.
8. State how Astronomy is different from all other sciences.

Lesson Two: The sky

1. Contrast the approach of early civilization to Astronomy with that of the Greeks.
2. Identify the Greek who first divided the stars into different brightness'.
3. Identify what the Greeks did to help explain the sky that no other culture had done.
4. Define the term's ecliptic and celestial equator.
5. Identify the two major cycles of the Earth.
6. Define the following terms:

Summer solstice
Fall (autumnal) equinox
Winter solstice
Spring equinox

7. State why we have seasons on Earth.
8. Identify the additional motion that the Egyptians identified and the time for one of these cycles to complete.

Lesson Three: Cycles of the sky

1. Using a drawing, show how the phases of the moon occur. Make sure you show from which direction the suns rays are coming.
2. State why the Sidereal period is different from the Snyodic period.
3. Identify another cycle caused by the movement of the moon.
4. State why solar tides are weaker than lunar tides.
5. State how and when a lunar eclipse occurs.
6. State how and when a solar eclipse occurs.
7. State why eclipses don't occur every month.

Lesson Four: The origin of modern Astronomy

1. State the first culture to apply mathematics to Astronomy.
2. State the Ptolomeic model of the organization of the universe.
3. State how the Copernican model of the organization of the universe differed from the Ptolomeic model.
4. State why the Copernican model failed to accurately predict the movement of the planets.
5. State two discoveries made by Galileo, which disproved the Ptolomeic theory and supported the Copernican theory.
6. State Kepler's three discoveries of planetary motion.

Lesson Five: Newton, Einstein, and gravity

1. Identify the experimental technique Galileo used to disprove the first theories about motion proposed by Aristotle.
2. Identify the mathematician who finally described the law of gravity.
3. Identify Newton's three laws of motion.
4. Identify the problem, which was observed which caused Newton's laws to be called into question. (When didn't they work?)
5. State what Einstein identified as the principle of relativity.
6. State the postulate made by Einstein about light.
7. Identify how mass and energy is related according to special relativity.
8. State how Einstein used his space/time postulate to describe gravity.

Lesson Six: The tools of Astronomy

1. List the two types of electromagnetic radiation we can study below the atmosphere.
2. State the new development in capturing light that has taken over from the photographic plate.
3. Identify a new technique used to correct for the distortions caused by the Earth's atmosphere.
4. State why you need larger radio telescopes than optical telescopes.

Lesson Seven: Atoms and starlight

1. Define the term spectrum and list five properties of stars that can be learned from the spectrum.
2. List the three different types of spectra and how each is produced.
3. List an astronomical source for two of the types of spectra.
4. State how these spectra are produced in terms of atomic structure.
5. Define the term ground state.
6. Identify the basic elements found in stars.
7. State the main reason star spectra differ.
8. Identify the spectral type of or Sun and its surface temperature.
9. State how the Doppler effect in light tells us the direction and amount of movement of a star.

Lesson Eight: The sun

1. State how we know the sun has a strong magnetic field.
2. List the two main parts of the sun.
3. Define the photosphere of the sun.
4. Identify the layers of the sun outward from the photosphere.
5. State how we can tell that the sun is a gas and not a solid.
6. State two properties of sunspots.
7. List three other solar activities related to the sun.

Lesson Nine: Stellar properties

1. Define the term Astrometry.
2. Identify the method used to determine the distances to close stars.
3. Define the term visual magnitude.
4. Define the term luminosity.
5. State the two things you need to determine the luminosity of a star.
6. Contrast the relative temperatures blue stars and red stars.
7. Given a drawing of the H-R diagram, be able to identify:

the luminosity axis
the temperature axis
the main-sequence
the area where you find red giants
the area where you find white dwarfs

8. State how astronomers determine the masses of certain stars.
9. State how astronomers determine the diameters of certain stars.
10. State the ranges of the following star properties:

surface temperature
mass
diameter

11. Determine the relationship between mass and luminosity of a star.

Lesson Ten: Stellar formation

1. Define the term "interstellar medium" and identify its two main components.
2. State why some clouds glow and others don't.
3. State what in the interstellar medium causes interstellar reddening.
4. Identify a third component of the interstellar medium.
5. Identify the two requirements needed for clouds to form stars.
6. Describe in a brief paragraph how a star forms from these clouds.
7. Identify the name of a well-known cloud where new stars have formed.
8. Identify the type of waves used to study newly forming stars.

Lesson Eleven: Lives of stars

1. Define the term star.
2. Identify the energy source of a star.
3. State how we determine what is happening inside a star.
4. Identify the neutrino problem.
5. List the two forces at work in a star to keep it balanced.
6. In a short paragraph explain why the mass/luminosity relationship exists.
7. State why clouds have to be at least 1/100 solar masses to form a star and why they cannot be over 100 solar masses.
8. State why stars die and which force takes over when they do.
9. Identify where this newly dying star ends up on the main-sequence.
10. State the relationship between mass and lifetime.

Lesson Twelve: The deaths of stars

1. List the four phases a star like our sun will go through.
2. Identify how a white dwarf can form a nova explosion.
3. Identify how a white dwarf forms a type I supernova explosion.
4. Identify how a type II supernova forms in a short paragraph.
5. Identify the name of the star that results from a type II supernova.
6. State three ways that theories of supernova occurrences are confirmed on Earth.
7. State how our lives are related to stars lives.

Lesson Thirteen: Neutron stars and black holes

1. Identify the name given to the remnant of a supernova explosion.
2. State why all stars don't become supernova.
3. In a short paragraph explain the mechanism for a pulsar.
4. Identify the maximum mass for a neutron star and the name of the star that is beyond this mass.
5. State why black holes are black.
6. In a short paragraph state the best way we can find black holes.
7. Contrast Schwarshild black holes with Kerr black holes.
8. Define the nature of a singularity.
9. State the significance of the event horizon.

Lesson Fourteen: The Milky Way

1. Identify what the "Milky Way" is.
2. State why we use radio Astronomy to "see" our galaxy.
3. Define a cepheid variable and state why it is such an important type of star to Astronomers.
4. Identify the diameter of the Milky Way.
5. Contrast the two populations of stars in the Milky Way.
6. State the relationship between the presence of heavy elements and star generation.
7. State the galaxy type of the Milky Way.
8. Contrast open clusters with globular clusters.
9. State what Astronomy believes to be at the center of the Milky Way.

Lesson Fifteen: Galaxies

1. Identify the type of star that confirmed the great distance to the Andromeda galaxy.
2. State the evidence that showed that the universe is expanding and was then used to derive Hubble's law.
3. List the three different shapes of galaxies.
4. Contrast how stars formed in elliptical galaxies versus their formation in spiral galaxies.
5. State why we don't now believe Hubble's evolution of galaxies from elliptical to spiral.
6. Identify the future of the large Magellanic cloud.

Lesson Sixteen: Peculiar Galaxies

1. List the three characteristics of quasars mentioned.
2. Identify the present theory that explains quasars.
3. Identify a second type of peculiar galaxy associated with spiral galaxies.
4. Identify a second type of peculiar galaxy associated with elliptical galaxies.

Lesson Seventeen: The Big Bang

1. State how we can describe the history of our universe even though we weren't around.
2. Identify the first evidence that told us the universe was expanding.
3. State the two quantities that are related by Hubble's law.
4. State Hubble's law in a short sentence.
5. State the Big Bang theory in a sentence.
6. Identify the piece of evidence that could not be explained by the steady-state theory and could by the Big Bang theory.
7. State the temperature of the cosmic microwave background.
8. List the three basic predictions about the cosmic microwave background.
9. State whether these predictions were correct.
10. Identify the four forces related in the grand unified theory.
11. State why it took 1 million years for the universe to become transparent.

Lesson Eighteen: The fate of the universe

1. Identify what "dark matter" means.
2. Show how a gravitational lens can create multiple images, using a diagram.
3. State two reasons why it would be difficult to detect "dark matter".
4. Identify the name for the non-planetary, non-star, possible source of dark matter.
5. Identify the influence this "dark matter" would have on the expansion of the universe.
6. Identify one of the major goals of the of the Hubble space telescope.
7. Identify the distinguishing characteristic we need to know to determine the fate of the universe.
8. Contrast the shape of an open universe with that of a closed universe.
9. State, in a short sentence, what the inflationary universe theorizes.

Lesson Nineteen: The origin of the solar system

1. State why a collapsing cloud of gas spins faster the more it collapses.
2. State the name of the process that forms a disk of material round a collapsing star.
3. Define the term "proto-star".
4. State how planetesimals form.
5. State a possible mechanism for clearing away excess gas in a forming solar system.
6. State two indications that radio astronomers have observed which suggest they are seeing the formation of new solar systems.
7. State how common planetary disks are from observations.
8. Identify the three different types of planets.
9. State how it is believed the iron cores of the planets formed.
10. State why we see no evidence of the violence of the early history of the planets on Earth.
11. State the main reason why the outer planets are different than the inner planets.
12. State the planet that was probably responsible for the formation the asteroid belt.

Lesson Twenty: The planet Earth

1. List the three main subdivisions of the Earth.
2. Identify the probably reason we have a magnetic field around Earth.
3. Identify an occurrence that helps us to determine the structure of the inside of the Earth.
4. Identify what makes the plates of the Earth's crust move.
5. State where new Earth crust is forming and what this process is called.
6. State what happens at a subduction zone.
7. Identify one of the most important sources of the water in Earth's oceans and the air in its atmosphere.
8. State why Venus retains its original Carbon Dioxide atmosphere, unlike the Earth.
9. In a paragraph describe how the greenhouse effect works.
10. State why life probably stared in the oceans and not on the land.
11. State how photosynthesis helped life move out onto the land.

Lesson Twenty-One: The Moon and Mercury

1. Identify the two things ancient people observed about the Moon.
2. State why the Moon has craters.
3. State what the dark areas are on the Moon.
4. State why we can still see the effects of early bombardment on the Moon and we can't on Earth.
5. State why the Moon couldn't retain an atmosphere.
6. State the most probable theory on the origin of the Moon.
7. State why we believe Mercury to be very dense.
8. Identify three characteristics the Moon and Mercury have in common.
9. Identify three characteristics the Moon and Mercury do not have in common.
10. State how a planet so close tot he sun can have polar caps.

Lesson Twenty-Two: Venus and Mars

1. State three ways that Venus and Earth are similar.
2. State two ways that Mars and Earth are similar.
3. Identify four geologic features found on the surface of Venus that are also found on Earth.
4. State the composition of the atmosphere of Venus.
5. Identify the cause for the high temperatures on the surface of Venus.
6. State why Venus evolved differently from Earth.
7. State five geologic features found on Mars similar to those on Earth.
8. State why the volcanoes on Mars are so much larger than those on Earth.
9. State why we believe Mars at one time had flowing water on its surface.
10. State the composition of the polar caps of Mars.
11. State why Mars has less atmosphere than Earth.

Lesson Twenty-Three: Jupiter and Saturn

1. State the composition of Jupiter.
2. State the probable reason that Jupiter has its banded appearance.
3. State the origin of the great red spot on Jupiter.
4. State how the magnetic field on Jupiter is generated.
5. Identify what geologic feature that was found on Jupiter's satellite Io.
6. State why Io is so active.
7. Identify the name of the largest satellite in the solar system.
8. Identify a common property of all the Jovian planets.
9. State the composition of Saturn's rings.
10. State the probable origin of Saturn's rings.
11. Identify the satellite of Saturn that has an atmosphere.
12. State how we know the surface of an object is young.

Lesson Twenty-Four: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto

1. State how the composition of Uranus and Neptune differ from Jupiter and Saturn.
2. State a possible reason for the strange axial tilt of Uranus.
3. State how the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune differ from those of Jupiter and Saturn.
4. State how the rings of Uranus differ from those of Saturn.
5. State why Uranus and Neptune are more blue-green in color than Jupiter and Saturn.
6. State whey the bright surface of Triton tells us.
7. State how geysers can form on the very cold satellite Triton.
8. State the probable origin of Pluto.

Lesson Twenty-Five: Meteorites, asteroids and comets

1. Contrast a meteor with a meteorite.
2. List three classifications of meteorites.
3. State why we study meteorites.
4. State the location f the asteroid belt.
5. State why this material didn't form a planet.
6. State the identify of the man who first discovered that comets return.
7. State the composition of comets.
8. In a short paragraph, state why comets develop tails when they approach the sun.
9. Identify the first planet we observed being hit by a comet.
10. State two observations made about the atmosphere of this planet because of this impact.

Lesson Twenty-Six: Life on other worlds

1. State where the search for life begins.
2. State how life on Earth is related to the lives of stars.
3. Identify the atom that life on Earth is based upon.
4. Identify the composition of Earth's early atmosphere.
5. State why Earth's atmosphere changed.
6. Identify the only other planet in the solar system on which life could possibly have formed.
7. Define the term "habitability zone".
8. Identify the most important characteristic a star would need to exhibit in order for it to be a good candidate for having planets with life.
9. State two ways we could detect planets around other stars.
10 State why it's easier to search for planets at infrared wavelengths that at optical wavelengths.
11. State two reasons why radio waves are used to search for extra-terrestrial life.