Dr. Mark Littmann 295 Communications Building Phone: 423-974-8156 littmann@utk.edu

Course: Astronomy 162 Semester: Spring, 1998 Classroom: P415 Lectures: 3:40-4:55 TR

TESTS AND GRADING: The lecture portion of this course will comprise 75% of your grade and the laboratory portion will comprise 25% of your final grade. (Attendance at every lab is mandatory. All lab work must be completed to avoid a grade of I or F.) In the lecture/discussion portion of the course, there will be four written examinations - three during the term and one during final exam period. These tests will be a mixture of fill-in, multiple choice, matching, true/false, diagram, and essay questions. Because of class size, makeup exams will be given only in exceptional circumstances and will be oral. Your lowest grade in the first three exams will be dropped. The lecture grade will thus be the average of three tests, one of which must be the fourth test. Tentative test schedule (subject to modification by class announcement):

• Test #1: Tuesday, February 10
• Test #2: Tuesday, March 10
• Test #3: Tuesday, April 7
• Test #4: Thursday, May 7, 5:00-7:00 PM

• Brief unannounced quizzes will be given from time to time at the beginning of class periods. Each correct answer will add one point to one of your test grades.

• Telescope Observation Sessions with Paul Lewis on the roof of the Physics Building. Sign up sheets for telescope observing are located on the bulletin board at the building entrance. Mr. Lewis will give you a brief written quiz at the end of your 30-minute session. Bring that quiz with Mr. Lewis' validation stamp to me to earn extra points. You may earn extra points from two Sun-observing sessions and one night-sky observing session. If your night observing session is clouded out, you may earn extra credit from participating in that night's alternative activity provided by Mr. Lewis and additional credit from attending another night session where sky observing is possible.

• An article about some aspect of astronomy written as if for publication in the Daily Beacon or other publication intended for a general audience. The subject must be approved by me before you start. Articles should be 500 to 1000 words in length and should be based on at least three reference sources (to be listed in the bibliography at the end of your article). You may gather information from the Internet, but, as with written information, precise sources must be identified. A Web address is not enough. You must identify the operator of that site. Your notes and rough draft must be handed in with your final draft. Please hand in your article as soon as possible, not later than Tuesday, April 28. This article can add up to 3 points to your final grade average.

• As much as possible, this course will involve class discussion. Your participation is encouraged because it helps you to form and express your ideas. Further, your participation helps me to understand what student interests and problems are. Above all, your participation makes the class more interesting by contributing your insight. Students who, in my opinion, have added to the class by their participation will have their final grade average increased by up to 3 points.

If you are not familiar with the use of the World Wide Web, here is a comprehensive introduction to the use of the Web in education.

• Astronomy Picture of the Day: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
• AP of Day (Archives): http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
• Earth and Sky: http://www.earthsky.com/
• Violence in the Cosmos: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/guidry/violence/index.html
• The Nine Planets: http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/
• Planetary Pictures: http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/picturelist.html
• SEDS Galaxy of Images: http://www.seds.org/galaxy/galaxy-text.html
• Views of the Solar System: http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/
• Abrams Skywatcher's Diary: http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/diary.html
• Sky Events: http://www.kalmbach.com/astro/SkyEvents/SkyEvents.html
• Sky & Telescope Bulletin: http://www.skypub.com/news/news.shtml
• Space Calendar: http://NewProducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/
• Astronomy Lecture Notes: http://www.bc.cc.ca.us/programs/sea/astronomy/book.htm
• Network Resources for Astronomers: http://www.hq.eso.org/online-resources-paper/rrn.html
• Astronomy (Dewey Decimal): http://www.mtrl.toronto.on.ca/centres/bsd/astronomy/index.html
• AstroWeb: http://fits.cv.nrao.edu/www/astronomy.html
• The Astronomy Cafe: http://www2.ari.net/home/odenwald/cafe.html
• Astr 101-103 (Cornell): http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/~tlh10/index.htm
• Astronomy Homework Help: http://members.aol.com/gca7sky/astrohelp.htm
• Astronomy: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/guidry/internet_resources/astronomy.html
• Space Science: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/guidry/internet_resources/space.html
• Weather: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/guidry/internet_resources/weather.html
• Geology: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/guidry/internet_resources/geology.html
• Physics: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/guidry/internet_resources/physics_tutorials.html

If you are not familiar with how to use newsgroups, here is an introduction. An FAQ is a list of Frequently Asked Questions (and their answers) for a newsgroup.

• UT Astr 161 Newsgroup: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/newsgroups/astr161/index.html
• UT Astr 162 Newsgroup: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/newsgroups/astr162/index.html
• General Astronomy: news:sci.astro
• Amateur Astronomy: news:sci.astro.amateur
• Professional Astronomers (Moderated): news:sci.astro.research
• Hubble Space Telescope: news:sci.astro.hubble
• FAQ for sci.astro: http://astrosun.tn.cornell.edu/students/lazio/sci.astro.html
• FAQ for sci.space: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/space/top.html