PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 PTYS/ASTR 206 Our Golden Age of Planetary Exploration

PTYS/ASTR 206 Course Orientation1/11/07

PTYS/ASTR 206Our Golden Age of Planetary Exploration


Course Vitals

• Location/Time– Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00AM -12:15 PM– Kuiper Space Sciences 308

• Instructor– Joe Giacalone, KSS 431, 626-8365

[email protected]

• Teaching Assistants– Jade Bond

• [email protected]– John Weirich

• [email protected]

• Course Homepagehttp://www.lpl.arizona.edu/undergrad/classes/spring2007/Giacalone_206-2/

Photo by amateur Wesley Higgins

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/undergrad/classes/spring2007/Giacalone_206-2

http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/undergrad/classes/spring2007/Giacalone_206-2


What is the motivation for this class – what is it about?

• There have been 3 major revolutions in planetary science– Greek Philosophy (500 BC-200 AD)– Copernican Revolution (1500-1700 AD)– Age of spacecraft (1960-present)

• The Solar system is very accessible to detailed examination

• We are currently in the Golden Age of Planetary Exploration


Course Vitals (cont.)

• Prerequisites:– Successful completion of two Tier 1 NATS

courses– Familiarity with simple math tools (algebra,

trig, units)– Willingness to solve problems related to

physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy, and biology

• Textbook (required):– Universe: The Solar System: (2nd

edition) by Freedman and Kaufmann– Exam and homework questions will be

based partly on material in the textbook.

The Solar System


Emphasis

• This may possibly be your last science class !– But not the last time you

will encounter science

• Our Focus will be on scientific UNDERSTANDING of the basic physical processes at work in the solar system– And how they help us relate

the planets to one another and to Earth Comet McNaught, a bright comet

currently visible shortly after sunset(Photo by amateur Stefan Seip)



• Will there be any math?– Yes … there will be some math in this class

• mostly in the homework assignments• you can still do well if you do not have a strong math

background• Please see us (TA or instructor) if you are having

difficulty with the math

– Generally speaking the math itself is no more complicated than that which you will encounter for the rest of your life!


• In the classroom– Use common sense and courtesy– Turn cell phones and other communication devices off!– No food or drink allowed in the lecture hall (except bottled

water).– Constructive participation is strongly encouraged (feel free to

ask questions – please!!).

• Outside the class– Do the reading assignments!– Start homework assignments early!– Be careful of Academic Integrity.– If you are having difficulty with the material or anything else

about the class, feel free to contact any of us – we are here to help!




• > 89% A• 78–88% B• 67-77% C• 56-66% D• < 55% E

We do not intend to use a statistical grading curve, but MAY if special circumstances warrant it.

Factors considered in borderline cases: + positive performance gradient + in-class participation + participation in out-of-class activities + In order to be considered for moving up a grade, you MUST have handed in all of your homework!

Grading Scale


Course vitals (cont.)

• 20% Best of 2 mid-term exams

• 10% Worst of 2 mid-term exams

• 20% Final exam

• 25% Homework

• 10% In-class activities

• 5% Quizzes

• 10% Term PaperActive Region on the Sun

Grading Breakdown



• Course Assignments– 2 in-class, closed book exams + a final exam

• In-class activities – About ½ will be graded (decided by a coin toss)

• Homework – worth the most towards your final grade, will take the most time – You are encouraged to work together on homework, and in-class

activities. – You MUST turn in your own (original) work– It is not acceptable to turn in work identical to that of another

student (use your own words!)

• Term Paper– Details to be discussed later


Please turn in the personal information sheet today (last page of the handout)

• We will have preceptors in this course -- please indicate if you wish to be one

• Preceptors will hold weekly study sessions

Gas clouds on Jupiter


Why study the solar system?

• Importance to Earth and its inhabitants– we must understand the environment in

which we live to understand how to survive

• Importance for understanding the origin of life

• Subject of many research projects

• Many basic properties are a mystery– How did Earth get its water?– Did Mars once have oceans of water and a

thick atmosphere?– How thick is the ice crust of Europa?– Why does the number of spots on the Sun

go up and down on an 11-year cycle?


General list of topics to covered in this course

• Planetary orbits, Ancient Planetary Astronomy, Imaging

• Structure and Formation of the Solar System

• Fundamental Planetary Processes– Cratering,Surfaces,

Interiors,Atmospheres

• A detailed look at each planet, and other objects in the solar system (Sun, asteroids, comets, etc.)

• Astrobiology -- Extraterrestrial life?

• A more-detailed schedule is on the course website and in today’s handout

Schematic of the greenhouse effect

Schematic of plate tectonics


Topical Lectures• There are often rapid advances

made in Planetary Science because of accessibility of the solar system to humans– We will try to discuss these as

they happen

• Other topical subjects include:– Global warming– Greenhouse effect– Asteroid and comet impacts– Water on Mars & HiRISE– Solar Storms and Space

Weather– Cassini at Saturn– Is Pluto a planet?

Phoenix lander mission to Mars: due to be launched in August 2007


Water on Mars – discovered by a team in this Department (images from Mars Global Surveyor)

New Discoveries


A small list of highlights from 2006

• Arrival of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at Mars– HiRISE !

• Launch of several new missions … including– New Horizons (mission to Pluto)– STEREO (Solar mission)– Venus express (mission to Venus)

• Pluto is demoted• Discovery of many new extrasolar

planets

New Horizons mission to Pluto: launched last January


HiRISE• UofA mission• on Mars Reconnaissance

Orbiter• Currently in orbit around Mars• Will map the surface of Mars

at unprecedented resolution


MRO/HiRISE image of Mars’s Victoria Crater and rover



Cassini in orbit about the Saturn system


Cassini/VIMS image


The spacecraft fleet observing the Sun and its

Environment

Ulysses

ACE

STEREO

Voyager

SOHO

And MANY others not shown here


SOHO/LASCO (C3) movie of the Sun during the “Halloween” Storm period in 2003

The Sun is shielded from view in this movie by an occulting disk

What is seen are stars, a planet, and the active solar corona

This is a time-lapse movie


• Amateur photos can rival those produced by spacecraft cameras – www.astromart.com– webcam and CCD imaging– small and affordable telescopes– can search for extrasolar planets– comet hunting

The increasingly important role of amateur astronomy



The best film picture of Saturn – as of the early 1970s

Photo by Steve Larson, this department


Picture taken in my backyard (10” telescope and a webcam)


Webcam video of Saturn


“stacking” of best images obtained from the webcam video


Picture of taken by amateur Wesley Higgins


Picture of taken by spacecraft Cassini


How did the solar system form?• A perfectly valid and sensible question• We use the scientific method to answer it• Clues are obtained by observing the basic properties of the

solar system and invoking Comparative Planetology– Planets and moons often have similarities– similarities and differences give clues to the origin of the solar

system


Comparing the Planets/Moons

Amateur photo by Dominique Dierick

Heavily Cratered Worlds

Worlds with few (if any) impact craters

Gas Giant

Terrestrial Planet

Planet Types


How Do We Measure Astronomical Objects?

• Angular measurements– Still need to know how far the Earth is from the object– How do we measure this?

• Spectroscopy– Measuring the light emitted (or reflected off of) the object– Need to understand the properties of light– Often requires going into space (i.e. some forms of radiation do

not make it to the ground)

• Picking it up and looking at it– Requires going there!

• Other clever ideas are also in use– Must be innovative because these objects are so far away!


If you draw lines from your eye to each of two stars, the angle between these lines is the angular distance between these two stars

Angular Measure


Angular Measurements

• Subdivide one degree into 60 arcminutes– minutes of arc– abbreviated as 60 arcmin or 60´

• Subdivide one arcminute into 60 arcseconds– seconds of arc– abbreviated as 60 arcsec or 60”

1° = 60 arcmin = 60´

1´ = 60 arcsec = 60”


Practice (or brush up on) Unit Conversion!

• The conversion of a value from one set of units to another is an important and often overlooked step in any science calculation.

• You must include units in your quantitative calculations to receive full credit.

• Read Chapter 1 of the text for more information on important units in astronomy and examples of unit conversion A Martian solar eclipse seen by the

rover Opportunity (Phobos is the moon)


Common Prefixes

Factor Name Symbol

(billion) 109 Giga- G

(million) 106 Mega- M

(thousand) 103 kilo- k

(hundredth) 10-2 centi- c

(thousandth) 10-3 milli- m

(millionth) 10-6 micro- (billionth) 10-9 nano- n

Powers-of-ten notation is a useful shorthand system for writing numbers


Announcements

• Reading Assignment– Chapters 1 and 4

• There will be an in-class activity on Tuesday (1/16)

• The first homework assignment will be assigned (available for download from the course website) on Tuesday (it will be due 1/25)

Documents

PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 PTYS/ASTR 206 Our Golden Age of Planetary Exploration