SCI 151 - Astronomy
John Ensworth
May/June 2013
Ground Class -- Fort Collins Learning Center, CO May 22nd to June 19th, 2013
Syllabus Word2K format PDF Format
Instructor Policies Word2K
format PDF Format
Other Optional Course Resources:
We will try to schedule a
night under the stars during this semester.
Check back here for details.
You may attend local planetarium shows
at The Fisk Planetarium,
Boulder
Denver Museum of
Nature and Science , Denver
Other planetariums great and small...
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Name |
City |
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Alamosa |
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Aspen |
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Colorado Springs |
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Denver |
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Fort Collins |
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Fort Lupton |
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Grand Junction |
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Lakewood |
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Lamar |
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Pueblo |
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Pueblo |
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USAF Academy |
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In the event of
snow...
please check your automated message service (you'll be notified by 4pm of the day of
class)
or call
303.755.9090 for Colorado
campi
For weather details, visit Denver Weather
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John's Book and Software List (doc file)
John's IOS App Favorites List (doc file)
Free Planispheres you can print and assemble. One Two --- And a nice interactive one from NASA
The Bad Astronomer Blog (Phil Plait)
Astronomy FM - Internet Radio Station 24 hours
I strongly recommend www.spaceweather.com for stories and current data as well!
UniverseToday
A guide to the sky all year!
(They don't seem to be creating the books available below anymore.)
From Previous years: What's Up in 2006 and What's Up in 2007 - 400+page, 14mb PDF file
A great (but old, mid-80's) manual for finding easy Deep Space Objects.
Class Notes
Opening "Powers of
Ten" Video 
Lecture 1 - Week 1 Observational Astronomy, Astrology, Lunar phases, the History of Astronomy
Power Point Version Adobe
Acrobat Version
10 mb 4mb
It is best to Right Click, Save Target As... (in
Windows)
Then run Power
Point
2hr
8min (click image)
Lecture 2 - Week 2 The Planets and stuff
Power Point Version Adobe Acrobat Version
It is best to Right Click, Save Target As... (in
Windows)
Then run Power
Point
1hr 30min (click image)
Lecture 3 - Week 3 Light, Atom, The Sun, Stars and Black Holes
Power Point Version Adobe Acrobat Version
15 mb 11mb
It is best to Right Click, Save Target As... (in
Windows)
Then run Power Point
2hr 3min (click image)
Lecture 4 - Week 4 Galaxies, The Large Scale Structure of the Universe, The Big Bang, GUTs and Time Travel
Power Point Version Adobe Acrobat Version
22 mb 19mb
It is best to Right Click, Save Target As... (in
Windows)
Then run Power
Point
2hr 10min (click image) (based on previous version of
slides)
Lecture 5 - Week 5 Life Elsewhere in the Universe, Interstellar Travel, Astronomy as a Career
Power Point Version Adobe Acrobat Version
19 mb 7mb
It is best to Right Click, Save Target As... (in
Windows)
Then run Power
Point
34 min (click image) (based on previous version of
slides)
Final Paper Topic Suggestions:
Time Travel
Is Astrology Real?
Does the full moon make
people loony? Are there more babies or crimes (911 calls) on full moon nights?
History of the telescope
What do we know about other
solar systems?
What will it take to get a
human colony on the Moon? or Mars?
Life on Jupiter's Moon Europa? Saturn's Moon Enceladus?
The astronomy (good or bad) behind the sci-fi move/TV show "fill
in the blank"
The planet of your choice
Exoplanets - how many and what is being discovered?
Is Pluto a planet?
New Planets in the Solar System
Mega-solar storms - what has happened, what
could happen?
Planetariums in history, in the present, and the future?
The Beginning of the Universe - Explorations
of the Cosmic Background Radiation - The End of the Universe?
What is the
state of the Unification of the Forces? What are Theories of Everything?
What is Dark Energy? Dark Matter?
How may the Universe End?
What are the job prospects
in Astronomy?
What is the economics of astronomy...who pays and how much and for what?
What is the history of ...the telescope?...space exploration?...space borne observation platforms?
What alternatives to the Big Bang exist?
What are Black Holes? What would it be like falling
into one?
...or whatever else you like!
This page last updates: 07/22/2014