Status: Approved for review release; not yet approved for instructional use.
Introduces the night sky, astronomical scales, gravity, light, telescopes, the solar system, stars, galaxies, and cosmology. Laboratory work develops naked-eye observing, telescope use, sky coordinates, simple image capture, and scientific notebook practice.
Planning Documents
Lecture Materials
- Lecture 01: The Night Sky and the Practice of Astronomy — slides · notes
- Lecture 02: Coordinates, Seasons, Moon Phases, and Time — slides · notes
- Lecture 03: Astronomical Scales and Distances — slides · notes
- Lecture 04: Gravity, Orbits, and Tides — slides · notes
- Lecture 05: Light, Spectra, and Astronomical Evidence — slides · notes
- Lecture 06: Telescopes, Detectors, and Observing Limits — slides · notes
- Lecture 07: Solar System Formation and Terrestrial Worlds — slides · notes
- Lecture 08: Giant Planets, Small Bodies, and Habitability — slides · notes
- Lecture 09: Stars I: Properties, Spectra, and the H-R Diagram — slides · notes
- Lecture 10: Stars II: Stellar Evolution and End States — slides · notes
- Lecture 11: The Milky Way and Galactic Structure — slides · notes
- Lecture 12: Galaxies: Types, Interactions, and Evolution — slides · notes
- Lecture 13: Cosmology and the Large-Scale Universe — slides · notes
- Lecture 14: Frontiers, Synthesis, and Evaluating Claims — slides · notes
Labs and Observing
- Lab 01: Observing Notebook and Angular Measurement
- Lab 02: Sky Coordinates and Observing Plan
- Lab 03: Scale Models and Parallax
- Lab 04: Spectra and Light
- Lab 05: Telescope Setup and Image Scale
- Lab 06: Planetary Surfaces and Small Bodies
- Lab 07: H-R Diagram and Cluster Age
- Lab 08: Galaxy Classification and Redshift