Instructor Dr. Steven J. Gibson Office: KTH 2011 Phone 270-745-3019 Office Hours: Online, by appointment	Materials Course Syllabus [PDF] Reading, Homework, and Exam Schedule Journal Club Resources Required Text: An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, 2nd Edition by Bradley Carroll & Dale Ostlie (2017 Cambridge reprint of 2006 Pearson Addison Wesley text) Optional: Astrophysics Processes: The Physics of Astronomical Phenomena by Hale Bradt
Other Resources Physical Constants Carroll's website, including GALAXY executable SIMBAD stellar database Zombeck Handbook Nobel Prizes in Astrophysics

• Announcements

  • Wed 22 Jan
    • Discuss Syllabus, course expectations
    • Reading Assignments
      • Read C+O Ch. 2 for Mon 27 Jan (Kepler's Laws + Virial Theorem)
      • Read C+O Ch. 7 for Mon 27 Jan (Binary Stars)
      • Read C+O Ch. 18.1 + 19.1-2 for Wed 29 Jan (Lagrange + Roche + Tides)
      • Review C+O Ch. 1 + 3 + 5 + 6 for Mon 3 Feb (Sky + Light + Telescopes)
    • Aim for EXAM 1 on this material on Wed 5 Feb
    • Homework problems - TBA
    • Journal Club talks - pick a paper within next 2 weeks, send me details
    • LAB - meet same time on Fri 24 Jan; bring laptop to labs!

  • Fri 24 Jan
    • Example of a type of paper that might work for Journal Club:
      • Dartmouth press release (found from web search after hearing story on NPR)
      • NASA ADS Abstract Server entry
      • ArXiv PDF preprint
    • Homework Assignments for Block 1
      • Chapter 2 problems: 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.12 2.14
      • Chapter 7 problems: 7.4 7.5 7.6
      • Chapter 18 problems: see Lagrange lab (week 2)
      • Chapter 19 problems: 19.5 19.6 19.8 19.10 19.11
      • Review Problems: 1.5 1.8 3.2 3.7 3.8 3.10a 5.3 5.8 5.12 5.15 6.1 6.7
    • 1st laboratory meeting today, KTH 2039
      • Topic: Extrasolar planet transit data analysis
      • Basic statistics review (PDF)
      • Lab assignment (PDF)
      • Lab data (text)
      • Transit Simulator (UNL NAAP Labs)

  • Mon 27 Jan
    • Planetary Orbit Simulator (UNL NAAP Labs)
    • Various Orbital Topics (mostly Wikipedia):
      • Hohman Transfer Orbit
      • N-body Systems
      • Gravitational Slingshot
      • Interplanetary Transport Network
      • Chaotic Orbit Manifolds
      • Radiation Influence: Pressure + Poynting-Robertson + Yarkovsky + YORP effects

  • Wed 29 Jan
    • Assignment Updates
      • Read C+O Ch. 18.1 + 19.1-2 for Fri 31 Jan (Lagrange + Roche + Tides)
      • Review C+O Ch. 1 + 3 + 5 + 6 for Mon 3 Feb (Sky + Light + Telescopes)
      • Bring laptop to lab on Friday! We will use them.
      • Look at recommended homework problems!
      • Plan on Exam 1 on Wed 5 Feb
    • Binary Stars (Wikipedia)
    • How Common are Binary Stars/Systems?
      • Duchene & Kraus (2013) - See Table 1, Figure 1
      • Lada (2006) Lada press article + paper
    • Eclipsing Binary Simulator (UNL NAAP Labs)
    • Restricted 3-Body Phenomena
      • Orbital Resonances
      • 3-Moon Transit of Jupiter: photo + more + video
      • Kirkwood Gaps

  • Fri 31 Jan
    • Material
      • Lagrangian points
      • Trojan and other asteroid motions
      • Roche lobe
      • Rocheworld
      • Contact Binary Comets & Asteroids
      • Hill sphere
    • Assignment
      • Lagrange Lab

  • Mon 3 Feb
    • Announcements
      • Exam 1 on Wednesday on Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 18, and 19! Sample equation sheet will be posted on Blackboard.
      • Friday lab -- finish previous, start another
      • Quiz on Ch. 8 (stellar spectral lines and types) on Mon 10 Feb
      • Journal Club ideas - send me something by next Monday please.
    • Tidal Material
      • Tidal force
      • Tidal Bulge Simulation (UNL ClassAction)
      • Galaxy tides
      • Spaghettification
      • Disruption: Roche limit
    • Virial Material
      • Virial Theorem
      • M87
      • M83
      • M32
      • M104
      • Coma Cluster
      • Stephan's Quintet
      • Antennae Galaxies
      • 47 Tucanae

  • Fri 7 Feb
    • Announcements
      • Exam 1 not graded, will return on Monday.
      • Read Chapter 8 for Monday.
    • Laboratory Assignment
      • SIMBAD Lab
      • Sexagesimal numbers

  • Mon 10 Feb
    • Announcements
      • Send me journal club ideas!
      • Chapter 9 quiz on Wed 12 Feb
      • Chapter 10 + 11.1 quiz on Mon 17 Feb?
      • Ch 8 HW: 8.1 8.5 8.6 8.10 8.16
      • Ch 9 HW: 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.2
      • Ch 10 HW: 10.13 10.21 10.22 10.23
      • Ch 11.1 HW: 11.2 11.5
      • Exam #2 on Ch 8 + 9 + 10 + 11.1 on Wed 19 Feb?
    • Spectra and Stellar Atmospheres
      • Emission Spectrum Examples (Hydrogen, Iron)
      • Hydrogen Spectral Series (Lyman, Balmer, Paschen, etc.)
      • Neon Lights and other Discharge Lamps (PhET)
      • Solar Spectrum (APOD)
      • Fraunhofer Lines in Solar Spectrum (Wikipedia)
      • Stellar Spectral Types (APOD)
      • Stellar Classification (Wikipedia) - Spectral Types
      • Stellar Spectra for M5, K0, G2, A1, and O5 Types (Sparke & Gallagher, Figure 1.1)
      • Spectrum Explorer (UNL ClassAction Animation, Light & Spectra)
      • Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution (Wikipedia)
      • Gas Properties Simulator (PhET)
      • Boltzmann Distribution (Wikipedia)
      • Partition Function (Wikipedia)
      • Saha Equation (Wikipedia)
      • Elements Ranked by First Ionization Potential (eV) (EnvironmentalChemistry.com)
      • Stellar Classification (Wikipedia) - HR Diagram
      • Stellar Spectra for A1 V, A3 III, and A3 I Types (Sparke & Gallagher, Figure 1.2)
      • Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram Explorer (UNL NAAP Labs Simulation #9)
      • Spectroscopic Parallax Simulator (UNL ClassAction Animation, Stellar Properties)

  • Wed 12 Feb
    • Spectra and Stellar Atmospheres, continued
      • Alternate Luminosity Classification: Flicker Measure: Sky & Telescope + Nature + ApJ + talk
      • Blackbody Radiation
        • Blackbody Radiation (Wikipedia)
        • Planck Function (Wikipedia)
        • Rayleigh-Jeans Approximation for Wavelengths >> Peak (Wikipedia)
        • Blackbody Radiation (PhET demo)
        • Cosmic Microwave Background Spectrum (COBE)
        • Cosmic Microwave Background Maps (COBE)
      • Radiometric Quantities (Wikipedia)
      • Chromosphere (APOD)
      • Limb Brightening (APOD)
      • Limb Darkening (Wikipedia)
      • Long Solar Filament (APOD)

  • Fri 14 Feb
    • Announcements
      • Journal Club ideas -- give me something by Monday!
      • Quiz on Ch. 10 + 11.1 on Wed 19 Feb
      • Exam #2 will NOT be next week -- need more time
    • Laboratory Assignment
      • Kurucz Lab

  • Wed 19 Feb
    • Announcements
      • WKU closed due to weather.

  • Fri 21 Feb
    • Announcements
      • Thank you for JC paper selections; I have sent comments.
      • Today we will finish Chapter 9 and then work more on the Kurucz lab.
      • Quiz on Ch. 10 + 11.1 on Mon 24 Feb

  • Mon 3 Mar
    • Wed 8 Mar: EXAM 2 on Ch. 8 9 10 11
    • Upper mass/luminosity limits
      • Wikipedia
      • Wolf-Rayet Star 124 (APOD)
      • Paper on ``observed'' masses in R136
      • Merger theory for R136: press release + paper

  • Wed 5 Mar
    • Announcements
      • Schedule update
        • Read Ch. 12 for Mon 10 Mar
      • Carroll + Ostlie errata
        • p 406, eqn 12.7 should have exponent of -23, not -16 as in 1st printing of 2nd edition (check yours!)
        • p 532, ex 15.3.2, 1st eqn should be -3/5, not -3/10
        • See publisher website for more.
    • Material
      • PPT + wallpaper
      • Chemical Abundances Table
      • Gas Phases - see table in Interstellar Medium Wikipedia article
      • Virial theorem (Wikipedia)
      • Jeans instability (Wikipedia)
      • Stellar Evolution Figures (mostly C&O)
      • Star Formation (Wikipedia)
      • Stellar Evolution (Wikipedia)
      • Planetary Nebulae (PNe) (Wikipedia)
      • Ring Nebula observations and 3-D model: paper + RIT press release + video
      • M-dwarf Evolution: Laughlin et al. (1997) + shorter version in Adams et al. (2005)
      • Constraining Exoplanet Ages with Astroseismology (Astronomy.com)

  • Mon 10 Mar
    • Announcements
      • Exam #2 - grading
      • Chapter 13 quiz on Wed 12 Mar
      • Chapter 14.1-14.2 + Chapter 15 quiz on Mon 24 Mar
      • Ch 12 HW: 12.1 12.4 12.6 12.10 12.15
      • Ch 13 HW: 13.1 13.6 13.9 13.10 13.13
      • Ch 14 HW: 14.3 14.6
      • Ch 15 HW: 15.1 15.8 15.11 15.12
      • Exam #3 on Ch 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 on Fri 28 Mar?
    • Pulsating Stars
      • Variable Stars (Wikipedia)
      • Variable White Dwarfs (Wikipedia)
      • Far-Side Cepheids Found in Galactic Plane (Astronomy.com)
    • High-Mass Star Fusion
      • Nuclear Binding Energy Curve (Wikipedia)
      • Fusion Stages (local)
      • Stellar Nucleosynthesis (Wikipedia)
    • Supernovae
      • Supernovae (SNe) (Wikipedia; see core collapse scenarios)
      • Getting good data (xkcd, Randall Munroe)
      • Neutrino flux (What If?, Randall Munroe)
      • Pair-instability SNe in supermassive stars (Wikipedia)
      • SN2006X Light Echo in M101 (APOD)
      • 3rd Type of Supernova? (Berkeley)
      • Cosmic ray origins traced by Fermi (PhysicsWorld)
      • Super-Chandrasekhar explosions? (PhysicsWorld)
      • W49B: black hole birth? (NASA/Chandra)

  • Fri 14 Mar
    • Cloud Lab Data

  • Mon 24 Mar
    • Announcements
      • Exam #2 graded, will return
      • Read Ch 16 for Wed 26 Mar
      • Exam 3 on Ch 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 on Wed 2 Apr

  • Wed 26 Mar
    • Stellar Remnant Material
      • Planck function
      • Bose-Einstein statistics
      • Fermi-Dirac statistics
      • White Dwarf Mass vs. Radius Relation
      • Neutron Star Properties
      • Quark Stars and Other Exotica
      • Pulsars
        Brightest Pulsar (Ars Technica)
        • White Dwarf pulsar? (Astronomy>
      • General Relativity
      • Black Holes
      • The Membrane Paradigm for Black Holes (Price & Thorne, Scientific American, 1988 April, p. 69-77)
    • News Items
      • 17th Century "Nova" Found to Be Something Else (Astronomy.com)
      • Kepler SN Ia - Normal or Not?
      • Molecular hydrogen on a white dwarf
      • Neutron star mass-radius constraints via X-rays
      • Sub-Supernova Ia?
      • Black Hole Binary System with 2-hour Period!
      • Virgo A / M87 SMBH Shadow -- Now with polarization! (EHT / Ars Technica)

  • Wed 2 Apr
    • Announcements
      • Exam #3 on Ch 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 today
      • Read Ch 4 + 17 for Friday

  • Wed 9 Apr
    • Announcements
      • Chapter 24 quiz on Fri 11 Apr
      • New galaxy structure lab on Fri 11 Apr
      • Chapter 25 quiz on Mon 14 Apr
      • Chapter 26 quiz on Wed 16 Apr
      • Ch 16 HW: 16.4 16.7 16.9 16.14 16.19
      • Ch 4 HW: 4.6 4.8
      • Ch 17 HW: 17.4 17.8 17.12 17.20bc 17.22 17.24
      • Ch 24 HW: 24.12 24.21 24.31 24.34
      • Ch 25 HW: 25.1 25.8 25.11
      • Ch 26 HW: 26.5 26.11 26.16 26.17
      • Exam #4 on Ch 16 + 4 + 17 + 24 + 25 + 26 on Mon 19 Apr?
    • Milky Way Material
      • Multiwavelength Milky Way (NASA/Goddard)
      • All-Sky Views:
        • Optical (Mellinger)
        • Infrared (Planck)
        • Gamma-Ray (Fermi)
        • Fermi Bubbles
      • Plan-View Map (APOD) + Other Structure (GalaxyMap.org)
      • Caution! Compare to Early World Maps (Wikipedia)
      • General Milky Way (Wikipedia)
      • Structure Overview: ``A (Re)introduction to the Milky Way'' Benjamin, R. A. 2012, Bull. Amer. Ast. Soc., 44 [#219, #118.01] [Session 118 AAS Video]

    • Mon 14 Apr
      • Announcements
        • Chapter 26 quiz on Wed 16 Apr
      • Galaxy Material
        • Spiral Arm Formation and Sustenance (Astronomy.com)
        • Galaxies (Wikipedia)
      • Galaxy Interaction Material
        • M64: The Black Eye Galaxy (APOD)
        • Unraveling NGC 3169 (APOD)
        • M81 Group with Foreground Dust (APOD)
        • Galaxy Wars: M81 vs. M82 (APOD)
        • GALEX View of M81 + M82 (APOD)
        • M81 Group in HI 21cm Emission (NRAO)
        • Spiral Arm Shock Predictions (Roberts 1969 paper)

    • Mon 21 Apr
      • Announcements
        • Homework answers posted on Blackboard
        • GAIA history of Milky Way on Blackboard
        • Open day on Wed 23 Apr
        • Exam #4 on Ch. 16, 4, 17, 24, 25, 26 on Fri 25 Apr
      • Galaxy Interactions, continued
        • Disk Galaxy Formation Simulation - N-Body Shop (APOD)
        • Whirlpool Galaxy (APOD)
        • Cartwheel Galaxy (APOD) (see also The Bullseye Galaxy)
        • Galaxy Encounter Simulator (Caroll)
        • Virgo Cluster (Wikipedia)
        • Virgo Cluster in Diffuse Light + Merger Simulations (CWRU)
        • Shells and Star Streams in NGC 474 (APOD) (see also larger field)
        • Galactic Accretion Simulation (YouTube)
        • Cluster Formation Simulation: Gas and Stars (APOD video)
        • Hot Intracluster Gas in Coma (Astronomy.com)
        • Dynamical Friction (Wikipedia)

    • Wed 23 Apr
      • Remaining course schedule
        • Wed 23 Apr - open day to discuss journal clubs, homework, etc.
        • Fri 25 Apr - Exam #4 on Ch. 16, 4, 17, 24, 25, 26
        • Mon 28 Apr - discuss JC talks, finish galaxy visualization lab, etc.
        • Wed 30 Apr - JC talk practice session #1 - come with something to present!
        • Fri 2 May - JC talk practice session #2 - come with COMPLETED, REFINED talk to present!
        • Mon 5 May? - Formal JC presentations, open to all department faculty, students

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      Steven Gibson