Things to know/memorize:
PREREQUISITE (mastery, preferably grade of A or B; a C will handicap
you in Astro 307):
Phys 298-299, Calculus I-II
PREREQUISITE OR CONCURRENT: Calculus III and Physics 300
Know Phys 298-299 very well, including but not limited to:
F=ma, tau=I alpha, p=mv, L=mvr, definition of moment of inertia etc.
Know Calculus I-II very well and preferably Calculus III
(multi-variable calculus and Taylor Series).
Be able to calculate a first-order Taylor expansion for a function.
For 590, I expect Calculus III and differential equations.
SCALES:
ANGLES/GEOMETRY:
KNOW: surface areas of circle, sphere; volume of sphere
degree = twice sun's angular diameter from Earth
arcminute = Venus' or Jupiter's (nearly) angular diameter from Earth
arcsecond = OK seeing at an astronomical site without adaptive
optics
milliarcsecond = really good parallax measurement with the Gaia
satellite
Law of Cosines: for triangle with sides a, b, c and included angles
alpha, beta, gamma
(gamma is the angle opposite side c):
c^2 = a^2 + b^2 - 2ab*cos(gamma)
(reverts to Pythagorean Theorem for gamma = 90 deg)
Law of Sines:
a/sin(alpha) = b/sin(beta) = c/sin(gamma) = 2R
where R is radius of the triangle's circumcircle
SIZE:
1e-10m = 1 Angstrom = H atom size, X-rays
1e-7m = 0.1 micron = far-UV radiation
1e-6m = 1 micron = dust grain size, near-IR light
1e-3m = 1 mm = micrometeroid, particles in proto-planetary disks,
microwave radiation
1m = rocks/meteors, radio waves
1km = big asteroid
1000km ~ Ceres (largest asteroid)
1e4km ~ Earth-size
1e5km ~ Saturn-size
1e6km ~ GK star-size
1e7km ~ O star-size
1e8km ~ giant star, orbit of Mercury
1e9km =6 AU ~ supergiant star, orbit of Jupiter
100 AU ~ Kuiper Belt, proto-planetary disk
50000 AU ~ Oort Cloud
1 pc = 206265 AU ~ nearest star, compact stellar cluster
10 pc ~ Stromgren sphere radius
100 pc ~ thickness of Galactic disk, size of interstellar clouds
1000 pc = 1 kpc ~ small galaxy
8 kpc ~ distance to Galactic center
50 kpc ~ distance to Magellanic Clouds
700 kpc ~ distance to Andromeda galaxy M31
1000-2000 kpc = 1-2 Mpc ~ size of galaxy cluster
15 Mpc ~ distance to Virgo Cluster
50-100 Mpc ~ size of supercluster
680 Mpc ~ distance to nearest quasar 3C 273 (z=0.158)
13.6 Gpc ~ size of horizon of visible Universe (to cosmic microwave background)
TEMPERATURE:
3 K ~ cosmic microwave background
10-30 K ~ giant molecular clouds
100-1000 K ~ cool interstellar medium, planets
300-2500 K ~ brown dwarf stars
3000 K ~ M-star photosphere
5800 K ~ sun's (G2V) photosphere
10000 K ~ warm interstellar medium, A star photosphere
15000 K ~ B5V star
30000 K ~ B0V star
40000 K ~ hot O-star
1e5-1e6 K ~ hot interstellar medium, Galactic halo temperatures,
cool solar corona
1e6 K ~ deuterium fusion begins in brown dwarf cores
6e6 K ~ p-p chain H fusion begins
1e7 K ~ AGN accretion disk, stellar interior (p-p chain),
intracluster gas (between galaxies)
1.5e7 K ~ solar core temperature
1e8 K ~ intracluster gas (between galaxies), triple alpha process
begins in red giants
1e9 K ~ supernova temperatures
1e10 K and hotter ~ Big Bang temperatures
MASS:
1e-27 kg ~ proton
1e-15 - 1e-20 kg ~ example dust grain masses
1e-6 kg ~ example micrometeroid
1 kg ~ example meteorite
1e6 kg ~ ice cube 100m on a side
1e12 kg ~ mass of 1 km diameter asteroid with density 2 g/cc
(rock+ice)
1e18 kg ~ mass of 100 km diameter asteroid with density 2 g/cc
(rock+ice)
1e23 kg ~ approximate 1 lunar mass (ball of rock 3500 km in
diameter, density of 3 g/cc
1e25 kg ~ 1 Earth mass
2e27 kg ~ 1 Jupiter mass ~ 0.001 solar masses (Msun)
0.13 Msun ~ smallest brown dwarf mass
0.1 Msun ~ M star mass
2e30 kg = 1 solar mass Msun
10 Msun = B star; big stellar mass black hole
1e3 Msun = giant molecular cloud core
1e6 Msun = globular cluster; dwarf spheroidal galaxy; small
SuperMassive Black Hole (SMBH)
1e9 Msun = small galaxy; big SMBH
2e11 Msun = Milky Way Galaxy = 1 M_Galaxy
1e13 Msun = 50 M_Galaxy = giant cD (center dominant) elliptical galaxy); small
galaxy group/cluster
1e14 Msun = 500 M_Galaxy = jumbo cD galaxy, galaxy cluster
1e15 Msun = 5000 M_Galaxy = most massive cD galaxy; big galaxy cluster
DENSITY:
1e-21 g/cc = Giant Molecular Cloud, or "very dense" part of interstellar medium
0.00001 g/cc = 0.01 kg/m3: Mars' atmosphere at surface
0.001 g/cc = 1 kg/m3: air (Earth's atmosphere at sea level)
0.05 g/cc = 50 kg/m3: Venus' atmosphere at surface
1 g/cc = 1000 kg/m3: water; also ice, average density of the sun, Jupiter, ...
3 g/cc = 3000 kg/m3: rock/silicates, also average density of Moon
5.5 g/cc = 5000 kg/m3: average density of Earth (rock+iron)
8 g/cc = 8000 kg/m3: iron
150 g/cc = 1.5e5 kg/m3: solar core
1e6 g/cc = 1e9 kg/m3: white dwarf
1e15 g/cc = 1e8 kg/m3: neutron star
VELOCITY:
1 m/s = slow walking speed (2 mph)
30 m/s = car on Interstate Highway (67 mph)
300 m/s = speed of sound at sea level on Earth (also typical velocity of an O2 or N2 molecule in it)
300 m/s = also speed of a hydrogen molecule in a cold (30K) Giant Molecular Cloud
1000 m/s = 1 km/s = speed of a 0.222 caliber Remington bullet
8 km/s = orbital velocity of International Space Station
20 km/s = Sun's velocity toward Solar Apex (relative velocity with neighboring stars), typical radial velocity of a star in Milky Way
30 km/s = Earth's orbital velocity, typical Solar System speed
40 km/s = speed of New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto
220 km/s = Sun's orbital velocity around Milky Way center
400 km/s = velocity of solar wind (charged particles from Sun) at Earth's orbit
300-1000 km/s = 0.001-0.003c = typical velocity of a galaxy in a galaxy cluster
0.1c = 30,000 km/s = velocity of a jet from an active galactic nucleus
0.16c = radial velocity ("redshift" velocity) of nearest quasar, 3C 273
0.99c = velocity of a high energy cosmic ray (an accelerated charged particle)
c = speed of light
TIME:
1e-9 sec ~ electron transition
1 msec ~ millisec pulsar period
1 sec ~ long pulsar period; forbidden transition
1000 sec ~ lifetime of solar spicule
1e4 sec ~ close binary star orbital period
1e5 sec ~ 1 Earth day, active galactic nucleus variability time scale
1-100 days ~ example variable star periods
3.16e7 sec ~ 1 Earth year
1e3 yr ~ orbital period for wide binary star, planet in Kuiper Belt,
periods for some novae
26,000 yr = precession time of Earth
1e5 yr ~ collapse time for giant molecular cloud core
1 Myr ~ lifetime of O star, orbital period of comet in Oort Cloud
10 Myr ~ lifetime of B star, formation time of proto-planetary disk, episode of star burst/star formation
100 Myr ~ lifetime of A star, half Galactic rotation at solar radius, age of Europa's surface
500 Myr ~ age of Venus' surface
1 Gyr ~ lifetime of F star
4.5 Gyr ~ age of Solar System
10 Gyr ~ lifetime of G2 (solar-type) star
13.7 Gyr ~ lifetime of Universe
10 Tera-yr ~ lifetime of 0.1 solar mass star, approximately M0
AGE OF UNIVERSE
log(t/sec) = -43: Planck time
log(t/sec) = -35: quarks, leptons created, inflation
log(t/sec) = -12: 4 forces established
log(t/sec) = -6: protons, neutrons created from quarks; proton/neutron pair production from photons stops
log(t/sec) = 0: neutrinos decouple
log(t/sec) = 1: electrons/positrons annihilate
log(t/sec) = 2.2: Big Bang nucleosynthesis (D, He, Li) ends
log(t/sec) = 13.1 = log(t/yr) = 5.57 = 370,000 yrs: "recombination", surface of last scattering, Cosmic Microwave Background
log(t/yr) = 8.24 = 175 Myr: z=20 (Omega_m=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7, H0=70 km/s/Mpc), first galaxies form?
log(t/yr) = 8.67 = 464 Myr: z=10 (Omega_m=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7, H0=70 km/s/Mpc), early galaxies seen by JWST
log(t/yr) = 8.87 = 748 Myr: z=7 (Omega_m=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7, H0=70 km/s/Mpc), first quasars form?
log(t/yr) = 9.51 = 3.22 Gyr: z=2 (Omega_m=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7, H0=70 km/s/Mpc), peak of star formation
log(t/yr) = 9.76 = 5.75 Gyr: z=1 (Omega_m=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7, H0=70 km/s/Mpc), spirals, ellipticals mostly formed
log(t/yr) = 10.06 = 11.49 Gyr: z=0.158 (Omega_m=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7, H0=70 km/s/Mpc), 3C 273 (nearest quasar)
log(t/yr) = 10.31 = 13.46 Gyr: z=0.0 (Omega_m=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7, H0=70 km/s/Mpc), present day
APPARENT MAGNITUDES:
-26 sun
-12 moon
-4 Venus
-1 Sirius
0 Vega
2 Polaris
6 faintest you can see with your eyes
16 Pluto
22 depth of Sloan Digital Sky Survey
30 deepest image taken by Hubble Space Telescope
ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDES:
15 M main sequence star (red dwarf)
5 sun/G2V star
1 A0V star
-5 O star, red supergiant
-12 largest globular cluster in Milky Way (Omega Cen)
-15 very faint galaxy
-20 medium bright galaxy
-21 M31 Andromeda galaxy
-25 bright quasar
HANDY ROUGH RELATIVE UNITS:
moon is 1/80th Earth mass
Jupiter is 300 Earth masses
sun is 1000 Jupiter masses
Milky Way is 1e11 solar masses
moon diameter is 0.25 Earth diameters
Jupiter diameter is 10 Earth diameters
sun diameter is 1000 Earth diameters
1 AU is 100 solar diameters
1 pc is 200,000 AU
1e4 pc is roughly distance to center of Milky Way
1e6 pc is roughly distance to Andromeda galaxy M31
Earth (300 K) is 100x hotter than cosmic microwave background (3 K)
Earth is 10x hotter than Pluto or a giant molecular cloud
M star is 10x hotter than Earth
sun's photosphere is 20x hotter than Earth
O star photosphere is 10x hotter than sun's
H fuses at 1000x hotter than sun's photosphere
sun's core is 3000x hotter than photosphere
He fuses (red giant core temperature) at 6x hotter than sun's core
active galaxy accretion disk, galaxy cluster intracluster gas ~
10-100x red giant core temperature
GENERAL: HOW TO SCALE EQUATIONS BY DIFFERENT UNITS E.G. AU, SOLAR MASSES, YRS ETC.
For Astro 590, a few handy things for reference not in Ryden & Peterson (2010), from S. Broadwater:
mass of Milky Way in visible matter: 1e11 M_sun
radius of luminous Milky Way disk: 20-25 kpc
luminosity of Milky Way: 4e11 Lsun
Hubble-Lemaitre constant: H_0 = 70 km/s/Mpc (good to 5%, varies by measurement method)
h = H_0/100 (adjustable coefficient for Hubble-Lemaitre constant used in papers, typically h~0.7)
Hubble-Lemaitre time: t_H = 1/H_0 = 9.78e9 / h (years)
Hubble-Lemaitre distance: d_H = c t_H = 2998 / h Mpc
critical density: rho_c = 3 H_0^2 / (8 pi G) = 1.88e-29 / h^2 g/cm^3
temperature of Cosmic Microwave Background today: 2.73 K
The following are things to know for the various chapters.
This is NOT an exhaustive list.
Everything in the book and lectures is fair game.
Ch 01:
how to calculate solar insolation, various angles of stars based on
declination/your latitude
Ch 02:
main points in an orbit, how to calculate orbital relative sizes
ellipse equations, including but not restricted to perihelion =
a(1-e), aphelion = a(1+e) etc.
Coriolis acceleration derivation in 2-D
Synodic period derivation: 1/S=1/P_1-1/P_2
parallax: pi''=1/d
aberration of starlight (concept, math behind it)
Ch 03:
Derivation of Kepler's second law
Derivation of Newton's form of Kepler's third law for a circular
orbit
Newton's form of Kepler's law P^2=4 pi^2 a^3 / (G(M+m)) AND its use
in Msun, AU and yrs P^2=a^3/(M+m)
F=GMm/r^2 ; remember that potential energy is the integral of this
Virial Theorem: assumptions, derivation and formula (KE = -PE/2 for
time averages)
Vis viva Equation - know how to use it
Ch 04:
Tides are differential forces/accelerations (inverse cube laws),
derivations e.g. dF = (2GMm/r^3) dr
definition of angular momentum
Roche Limit, Hill Radius (derivations)
Ch 05:
harmonic series for Bohr atom energy transitions: E = RZ^2 (1/n_a^2
- 1/n_b^2)
concepts of full width half maximum (FWHM) and equivalent width, and
how to measure them from a spectrum
(this includes "the anatomy of absorption/emission lines", the
continuum etc.)
Bohr atom and line transitions
excitation, ionization and de-excitation mechanisms (various roles
of photo-processes and collisions)
Kirchoff's rules
E = h nu : energy of a photon
lambda nu = c : wavelength-frequency relation to the speed of a wave
the physics of various broadening mechanisms, how they are measured,
and what they tell us physically
definition, meaning of optical depth, optically thin (tau<1) and
optically thick (tau >=1), also intensity I=I_0 exp(-tau), and
the derivation of I=I_0 exp(-tau) given density n, cross sectional
area sigma and path length delta x
mean free path: mfp = 1/(n sigma) where n is space density, sigma is
cross-sectional area
the definition of column density and what it means physically, also
the equation N = nx, with N=column density, n=number density and x =
path length
the curve of growth and how it relates equivalent width to column
density
definition, assumptions for local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE)
Saha, Boltzmann equations (know how to use, what the factors are
physically)
Planck function, Wien's Law lambda_max = W/T, Stefan-Boltzmann Law F = sigma T^4, definition of
Rayleigh-Jeans tail, Wien tail
classical Doppler effect: delta lambda/lambda = delta v/c
relativistic Doppler effect: lambda/lambda_0 = sqrt[(1+v/c)/(1-v/c)]
and when to use it
Ch 06:
diffraction angle through circular aperture theta = (1.22) lambda/D
-- units are RADIANS
NOTE: I won't be fussy about the factor 1.22
how to convert between radians and degrees/arcmin/arcsec
resolution of interferometers/arrays
derivation of plate scale
Poisson statistics
qualitative material in chapter e.g. how a CCD works, adaptive optics, telescope types, telescope foci etc.
Ch 07:
E=kT for a particle
force of pressure: F = dP/dr * area
barometric equation: derivation of P(h) = P_0 exp(-h/H)
force on a charged particle: F=qv [cross] B (vector equation)
magnetic pressure (or energy density): P_B = B^2 / (2 mu_0) where
mu_0 = permeability constant = 4 pi e-7 kg m /C^2 (SI units)
Derivation of gyroradius (Larmor radius): r = mv/qB
magnetic dipoles follow inverse cube laws
ideal gas law for physicists: P=nkT
NOTE: THE CHEMIST'S FORM (USING VOLUME AND CONSTANT "R") IS **NEVER NEVER** USED IN THIS SEQUENCE!
Ch 08:
Derivation of subsolar temperature, also for rotating bodies, also
including albedo
Derivation of escape velocity for a gas molecule on a planet,
satellite, star etc.
Derivation of relation between temperature, mass, radius, atomic
weight for atmosphere retention
also calculations/applications for this and other material in the chapter
Ch 09:
3 types of scattering:
i) Rayleigh scattering (particle size < < lambda, I propto (1/lambda)^4), e.g. for Earth's sky, why sky is blue
ii) Mie scattering (particle size~lambda, I propto (1/lambda)), a transitional situation
iii) geometric or white light scattering (particle > > lambda, I = constant with wavelength), e.g. for Earth water vapor clouds
Derivation of hydrostatic balance: dP/dr = -GM rho / r^2
Derivation of half-life for radioactive decay
Ch 10:
Derivation of equation of central pressure, and how to apply it to
uniform density bodies to calculate central pressure
Derivation of energy release for gravitational contraction
cyclotron frequency: omega_c = v_perp/r_c = eB/m_e
remember for relativistic case (synchrotron radiation), electron
mass increases by Lorentz factor (gamma), velocity approaches c
Ch 11:
momentum of a photon: p = E/c where E = photon energy
radiation pressure: P_rad = (1/c)(L/4pi r^2), effect on dust
be able to be guided through a derivation of radiation pressure: P_rad = (1/c)(L/4pi r^2)
Poynting-Robertson effect (calculate torque, angular momentum
change, relate to aberration of starlight)
know gravitational impact parameter derivation
Ch 12:
concept of radial velocity curves, exoplanet transits
mathematics of transits, flux deviation caused by exo-planets
mathematics of radial velocities: how to calculate an exo-planet's
semi-major axis and minimum mass (related to v sin(i))
Astro 590 equations etc.
Ch 13:
parallax-distance: d_{pc}=1/(\pi'') = 1/\pi_arcsec
flux-magnitude relation: for stars of mag m,n, observed flux ratio
f_n/f_m = [100^(m-n)/5] = 2.512^(m-n)
or, mag_a - mag_b = -2.5 log (flux_b/flux_a) -- because 5 magnitudes = factor of 100 in flux)
remember that flux propto (1/distance^2)
magnitude-distance: m-M=5 log d-5
if you can't remember it, then be able to derive magnitude-distance relation: m-M = 5 log(d) - 5, where reference star is at d=10 pc
-- then be able to solve a problem where the magnitudes of 2 or more stars are given, then calculate the magnitude of the sum
-- also be able to solve a relative magnitude problem, using information like size, distance, albedo if needed etc.
airmass Z-zenith distance z: Z = 1/cos(z)
be able to add reddening to magnitude-distance relation: m-M = 5log(d) - 5 + A_V, where A_V = extinction (here in V-mags)
extinction-optical depth tau-airmass Z as fn of wavelength:
F(lambda)/F_(0,lambda) = exp(\tau_lambda)
bolometric correction BC: BC = M_bol - M_V
binary orbital barycenter: m1 r1 = m2 r2
binary orbital momentum: m1 v1 = m2 v2
classical Doppler shift: delta_v/c = delta_lambda/lambda
how to calculate stellar radii from an eclipsing binary light curve -- use velocities, periods and eclipse times t1,t2,t3,t4
hotter star is eclipsed at primary minimum
derivation of binary relative temperatures from light curve relative
minima (depth \propto T^4)
Be able to do all the Ch. 13 problems for a test except 13.12.
Be able to calculate the Taylor expansion of log(1+x) for x<<1 for 13.9, and be able to recover the
Wien and Rayleigh distributions from limits given the Planck function e.g. in terms of nu.
Ch 14:
eqn of mean molec. weight
eqn of hydrostatic balance (incl. derivation)
which absorption lines and relative strengths go with which spectral
classes
rough temperatures for spectral classes
how to calculate the scale height in a stellar atmosphere (from 307
course)
how to calculate a cluster distance/age from a color-color diagram
know what P-Cygni profiles are
remember how to derive the equation of hydrostatic balance/equilibrium (pressure = gravity)
know qualitatively how gravity varies by spectral type along the main sequence, and by luminosity class
(review): know L=4 pi R^2 sigma T^4, where R=radius, T=temperature, sigma=Stefan-Boltzmann constant
Be able to do problems 14.1-5 and 14.7 for a test. If given relations for mass-luminosity (L = A M^alpha,
with A and alpha being constants) and mass-radius (R = A' M^alpha', A' and alpha' being constants),
be able to invert the relations to do problem 14.6.
Ch 15:
equations of stellar structure (where they come from, what they
mean):
a) hydrostatic balance - memorize
b) mass continuity - memorize
c) equation of state - memorize
d) radiative transport - rough form
e) convective transport - rough form
f) energy generation - rough form
review from 307: derivation of central pressure; then calculation of central temperature via ideal gas law
polytropic process (like a gas): PV^gamma = constant; gamma=5/3 for monatomic gas
degrees of freedom and adiabatic index
random walk -- understand and explain the concept, understand the proof by induction
derivation of radiation by contraction (Kelvin-Helmholz)
derivation of radiative transport (simplified form, as done in class:
dL/dr (by blackbody emission) = dF/dr (by absorption) by shell
how pp, CNO, triple alpha processes work, including quantum tunnelling
derivation of mass-luminosity relation
know how to calculate mean mass (amu) per particle (mu), given H, He and metal mass fractions
know mean free path mfp = 1/(sigma * n) where sigma=cross-sectional area, n=number density
Be able to do problems 15.1-15.9 for a test. Any needed constants would be given.
Ch 16:
Interstellar reddening: m-M = 5 log(d)-5+A_v
color excess: A_v ~ 3.1 E(B-V) (and where it comes from -- type of
extinction and B,V centroids)
Bremsstrahlung
types of ISM absorption, gas, dust
physics of HII regions
Ch 17:
derivation of free-fall time for collapse of a nebula
derivation of Jeans length/mass
know how to scale equations (to parametrize by constants) e.g. RP
17.17
stages of star formation
evolution of solar-mass stars from star formation to white dwarf
core, shell structure, relative sizes, timescales, luminosities of
main-sequence, red giant, horizontal branch, asymptotic giant branch
stars
variable star nomenclature
physics of pulsating variables
Ch 18
brown dwarf spectral types and characteristics, relative
temperatures
Heisenberg uncertainty principle delta_x delta_p >~ h/2pi (18.6)
derivation of electron,neutron degeneracy equation of state: P ~
(h/2pi)^2 n_e^(5/3)/m_(e,n)
white dwarf mass-radius relationship
Chandrasekhar limit
white dwarf types
steps in core collapse supernova
neutron star characteristics
dispersion measure (electron column density) for pulsars DM =
int_0^d n_d dl
Schwarzschild radius classical derivation (which by coincidence
agrees with relativity)
steps, physics of Type Ia supernova explosion
types of gamma ray bursts, likely progenitors, mechanisms
Ch 19:
Galactic coordinate system
how star counts work, know that going 1 mag deeper for uniform star
distribution means probing 2.512^0.5 farther, 2.512^1.5x more volume
Galaxy components, including thin/thick disk, bulge, halo etc. (draw
from memory)
spiral density waves, star formation
details of bulge, nucleus
rotation, know how to use Oort's Constants (but not memorize
derivation)
calculate Keplerian mass interior to a radius given a rotation curve
compute 3-d motion given proper motion, radial velocity, parallax
definition, calculation of Local Standard of Rest
Ch 20:
Hubble Law: v=H_0 d
concept of radial velocity and redshift/blueshift
(1+z=lambda_obs/lambda_rest approx v/c for v< 0.1c )
K-corrections
detailed galaxy types, characteristics, spectra
star formation indicators
how to calculate the mass of an elliptical galaxy using the virial
theorem, velocity dispersion
cosmic distance ladder: types of probes
Faber-Jackson, Tully-Fisher relations (qualitatively)
Ch 21:
observational markers of AGN
types of AGN (Sy1, Sy2, quasars, radio galaxies etc.)
main parts of an AGN (draw from memory), main types of AGN by
observing angle (draw from memory)
for photons: P=E/c
definition, derivation of Eddington luminosity
Eddington radio definition
understand, follow derivation of temperature-mdot-radius relation
for accretion disk
equation for Schwarzschild radius r_Sch=2GM/c^2 (classical
derivation uses wrong physics but leads to right expression)
ways to find quasars observationally
luminosity functions: luminosity vs space evolution
various types of quasar absorbers: Lya forest, metal systems, Lyman
limit systems, damped systems
qualitative description of supraluminal motion
Ch 22:
characteristics of galaxy clusters
know how to compute the mass of a cluster using the virial theorem
and velocity dispersion
difference between a virialized and unvirialized system
how to compute the virial radius of a cluster
characteristics of hot intracluster gas
be able to follow the derivation of stellar collision time
estimates, do it with hints
types of mergers: wet vs dry, major vs minor
characteristics of superclusters, voids, Fingers of God
know terms of galaxy luminosity function
Ch 23:
characteristics of baryons, leptons, bosons, quarks
qualitative description of Olbers' Paradox and possible explanations
Hubble time, horizon distance
description of cosmic microwave background (CMB), recombination,
evolution with z (be able to follow derivation, do with hints)
photon energy density P=u/3
scale factor a(t)=1/(1+z)
derive Newtonian version of Friedmann Equation, know what curvature
is in cosmology
know Minkowski, Robertson-Walker metrics
comoving distance, proper distance, angular diameter distance,
luminosity distance definitions
know terms of relativistic Friedmann Equation, how energy densities
of (i) photons, (ii) matter, (iii) Lambda evolve with a(t)
Alcock-Paczynski Test
Ch 24:
Consensus Model for cosmology
radiation, matter, dark energy eras, be able to solve differential
equations where one term dominates in Friedmann Equation
cosmological magnitude-distance relation m-M = 5 log[d(1+z)]-5
role of Type Ia supernovae in discovering dark energy
CMB distortions, anisotropies, significance
basic steps in early Universe/Big Bang, through formation of
elements/first ten minutes
Big Bang nucleosynthesis, horizon/flatness problems, inflation
(qualitative)
Links to supplemental material for Physics & Astronomy 307,
Autumn 2010
NB: The chapter numbers used to correspond to those in Zeilik &
Gregory (ZG, 1997).
I am in the midst of changing them to reflect Ryden & Peterson
(RP, 2010) and will mark the chapters
being revised.
USEFUL REVIEW LINKS:
AP Physics 1 review of Torque and Angular momentum
, Khan Academy, 20' video
AP Calculus BC: Taylor & Maclaurin polynomials intro (part 1)
, Khan Academy, 13' video
AP Calculus BC: Taylor & Maclaurin polynomials intro (part 2)
, Khan Academy, 7' video
The idea that matter is mostly empty space is mostly wrong
Ethan Siegel, Starts with a Bang, 19 Apr 2024
ZG Ch2 Solar System in Perspective:
Carbon
Veins
in Meteorite: Evidence for Life on Mars?
SOHO satellite catches comet crashing into Sun
Asteroids
near
Jupiter
(at Lagrange pts) are really comets, from measuring density
Jupiter
Develops
Second
Red Spot
Massive
Lightning
Storm
on Saturn, related to planet's internal heat
Uranus
has
New, Blue (from scattered light) Ring
Ice
Found
Surface of Comet
Small
Nudge
Could Change Asteroid Courses Significantly
Occultation
shows
Pluto's satellite Charon has no atmosphere
Pluto
may
have Rings
2003
UB313 bigger than Pluto, from measuring thermal emission
research on planetary
atmospheres at UL
RP Ch 01 Dynamics of Earth, Timekeeping:
An
excellent review of various measures of time (courtesy of Michigan
State)
An excellent review of
the Equation of Time (and explanation for the analemma)
Another excellent
description of the equation of time
M. Mueller, 1995, Acta Phys Pol A 88, S-49, Muenchenstein,
Switzerland,
A full mathematical
treatment of the derivation of the equation of time, including a
calculation of Earth's
angular speed as a function of day. It's worth looking at to
appreciate the complexity
of the calculation.
US+Canadian
Railroads create first time zones 1883 , History Channel (18
Nov; US Congress adopted them 19 Mar 1918)
A
brief history of time zones , www.timeanddate.com
How do GMT
and UT differ?
NOAA
sunrise/sunset azimuth calculator
Herzberg
Institute
for Astrophysics sunrise/sunset azimuth calculator
U
Toronto page on solar parallactic angle
Analemma explanations with great
graphics, other planets' versions as well, by Bob Urschel,
Valparaiso IN
Wikipedia page on
the Analemma, lots of detail
More details on the Analemma, including how it looks from other
planets (line for Mercury, ellipse for
Jupiter, teardrop for Mars, teardrop-near figure eight for Saturn,
figure-eights for Venus, Earth, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)
RP Ch 03 Orbital Mechanics:
Virial
Theorem Made Easy
RP Ch 04 Earth-Moon System:
Does Gold
Come from Outer Space? BBC, 18 Sep 2013
Precession and Nutation of Earth's Axis 10' video, 2020.06.04,
AstroProf's Channel, Raymond Benge, Phys 1403, Tarrant County
College, Texas
Fred
Espenak's eclipse page, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Paper on Phobos
Spiralling in to Mars, Sharma 2008, arXiv:0805.1454,
Libration
of Moon, Wikipedia
Newark,
Ohio earthworks (Octagon), aligned with lunar rise/set,
Wikipedia
Lunar
Properties page from CWRU Astronomy 221, Autumn 2005, by Chris
Mihos
Total Solar Eclipse (11 Aug 1999) Viewed from Space
Lunar
Maria and bulges Formed by Giant Impacts
nice
graphic
on
plate tectonics, convection
Subducted
crust
stays
cool to 200 km depth (Stanford research, 2000)
Microbes
began
3.5
Gyr ago, but multi-celled creatures only 1 Gyr ago
Japanese
ship
does
deepest dig ever
Wikipedia
article
on aurorae
Wikipedia article on motions of charged particles in the magnetosphere
including MAGNETIC MIRRORING and CONSERVATION OF MAGNETIC MOMENT
Lagrangian Points: Gravitationally balanced points between two bodies, Wikipedia
The Lagrange Points: The Parking Spaces of Space
, It's Just Astronomical! - Dec. 15, 2018, 4' video
RP Ch 05 Electromagnetic Radiation and Matter
excellent
explanation
of
Boltzmann and Saha equations Steve Myers, NRAO, 1999 (using
Zeilik & Gregory, 4th ed.)
Boltzmann equation (N_B/N_A) with fixed energy level difference,
variable temperature plot
Saha equation behavior showing (kT)^3/2, exp(-1/kT) and product plot
Good qualitative introduction to synchrotron
radiation from the Chandra Science Center at Harvard
Here is an explanation
for a physical interpretation of how the two equations work.
Excellent conference presentations from Cargèse, Corsica, May 2010
by J. Prochaska on
absorption lines, Voigt profiles and the curve of
growth: Prochaska I,
Prochaska II
RP Ch 06 Astronomical Instrumentation
Classroom Aid - Charge Coupled Device (CCD)
,
David Butler, June 2, 2018, 2.7' video
RP Ch 07 The Sun
Solar
Neutrino Problem (1998) (by John Bahcall, not a Nobel
Prize-winner, oops)
Solution
to
the Solar Neutrino Problem by John Bahcall, 2002
Effects
of Solar Storms on Earth
More
Details on Sunspots
Sunspot
Group
Mean
Areas
Change over the Solar Cycle (see pdf file for figures)
Next
Solar
Cycle
May Be More Intense
How
to
Measure
Sunspot Polarity and Sunspot Size Variation over the Solar Cycle
The
IBEX Ribbon: What Is this Weird Particle Ribbon at the Edge of
the Solar System? motherboard.vice.com, 28 Feb 2016
Real
values
for the solar density in the photosphere and corona, 20 Oct 2007
Voyager 2 Detects Solar Termination Shock
The Sunspot Cycle Is More Intricate Than Previously Thought
, Katie Peek, Scientific American, 1 Aug 2018, has GREAT graphic of cycles up to 2,400 yrs (Hallstatt Cycle)
Q. From PA307 (2008 AU, Eric Book): How does the Sun's core rotate?
A. 3-5x faster than the photosphere, but still slower than
expected. See a
discovery
from SOHO (Rafael Garcia et al. 2007, France). It
does rotate as
a solid body.
Q. From PA307 (2008 AU, Eric Book): If magnetic pressure increases,
does the
gas pressure automatically decrease?
A. If pressure equilibrium (magnetic+gas) is to be maintained with
the environment outside where the
magnetic pressure increases, then the volume element will expand
until it's at the
same pressure as the ambient medium. That will make the gas
pressure decrease, and
thus the density decrease. It's in practice a conservation of
energy density.
RP Ch 09 Earth and Moon:
Atmospheric
General Circulation, Joel Michaelsen, U Cal-Santa Barbara,
Geography 110, Nov 2014
Discovery of Temporary Third Van Allen Belt after Solar Flare
,
space.com, 2013 Mar 1
Auroral Electron Acceleration: Alfven Waves
,
Gregory G. Howes, U. Iowa, 2021 Jun 7
Alfven Waves - Basic information and visualization
,
Tom Bridgman (visuals), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 2017 Mar 31, suggested by Chris Henry Nov 2021
Lecture
Notes on Van Allen Belts, Ed Fitzpatrick, U. Texas, 2011
Mar 31
RP Ch 11 Small Bodies in the Solar System:
Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton Accretion (body moving in uniform medium)
,
NED website, 2009
What Makes Lagrange Points Special Locations In Space
,
Scott Manley, 2021 Oct 15, 13.5' video, explanations include equipotential surfaces, Coriolis force
RP Ch 12 Exoplanets and Exoplanet Formation:
Background on protoplanetary disks, referencing Li et al. (2021), MNRAS, 503, 5254
,
Harvard Science Update, 2021 Oct 29, recommended by Lori Porter Dec 2021
The Dust and Gas in Protoplanetary Disks, referencing Evan Rich, Richard Teague, John Monnier et al. (2021), ApJ, 913, 138
,
Harvard Science Update, 2021 Jun 21, recommended by Lori Porter Dec 2021
Dust Evolution in Protoplanetary Disks, conference proceeding on grain growth/transport, mm surveys
,
Testi et al. (2014), Protostars and Planets VI, U. Arizona Press, p. 339-361
recommended by Lori Porter Dec 2021
RP Ch 13 Stars: Distances and Magnitudes:
Hipparcos
Mission 1
Hipparcos
Mission
2
and GAIA
GAIA
Mission
RP Ch 13: Stars: Binary Systems:
Spectroscopic
Binary
Star radial velocity simulator (requires JAVA plug-in! used by
permission, T. Herter, Cornell)
Eclipsing
Binary
Star light curve simulator (requires JAVA plug-in! used by
permission, T. Herter, Cornell)
Speckle
Interferometry at Georgia State University
Speckle
Interferometry and detecting planets, from NASA
RP Ch 14 Stars: The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
IRTF
Spectral Library (0.8-5 microns, medium resolution)
Excellent
exercise for stellar classification from Karen Castle at Diablo
Valley College (CA)
Where do subdwarfs come from?
Table
of
main sequence temperatures, peak emission wavelengths and peak
wavebands
Mnemonics
for OBAFGKM and variations
RP Ch 15 Stellar Interiors
RP Ch 16 The Interstellar Medium:
Q. From PA307 (2007 autumn): What is an aromatic (in the context
of PAH, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon)?
A. An aromatic molecule or compound is one that has special
stability and
properties due to a closed loop of electrons. Not all molecules
with ring (loop)
structures are aromatic. A general scientific definition can be
found at the URL below.
Aromatic molecules are sometimes referred to simply as aromatics.
Molecules that
are not aromatic are termed aliphatic.
A prototypical aromatic compound is benzene, so a layperson might
prefer to think of an
aromatic compound as something that has a ring structure like that
of benzene, C6H6.
See http://www.ilpi.com/msds/ref/aromatic.html
for details
3D
Map
of
the Local (Interstellar) Bubble
A
More General Description of the Local (Interstellar) Bubble
Loop
I
Supershell
interacts with Local (Interstellar) Bubble - X-ray result
Astronomy
Picture of the Day maps Local Bubble, nearby star formation
regions (colorful!)
Local
Interstellar
Cloud
and Local Bubble
Sample
Planetary Nebula: The Spirograph (search APOD for others)
RP Ch 17 The Formation and Evolution of Stars:
Stellar
Evolution
on
H-R
diagram simulator (requires JAVA plug-in! used by permission, T.
Herter, Cornell)
Stellar
Structure/Evolution
Explained in a more Descriptive Way
Note on factor 4/3 in Eqn (16-12a), from Chris Tout, IOA,
Cambridge, England
The factor of 4/3 simply comes from the fact that the radiation is
spherically isotropic so that you need to average of the emission
angle. E.g. radiation in the direction perpendicular to the radius
of the star does not contribute to the transfer at all and the
contribution increases as the inclination to the radius decreases.
HST
View
of
Stellar Birth
Herbig-Haro
(HH-)47
closeup
Dust
Pillars in Trifid Nebula
Correct
derivation of free-fall time (in my opinion)
Large
Stars
May
Form Planets, Too (by Robert Roy Britt, Space.com, 8 Feb 2006)
How
Efficient
is
Star Formation?
Research
on
Proto-Planetary
Disks at UL
Research on
Proto-Planetary Disks at U Cincinnati
Research
on Star/Planet Formation at Indiana U
Research
on Star/Planet Formation at Vanderbilt - Stassun
Research
on
Star/Planet
Formation
at Vanderbilt - Weintraub
Synopsis
of
Proto-star
Evolution onto Main Sequence, Lakehead U, Ontario, Canada
Synopsis
of
Low/Medium
Mass Star Evolution onto RGB, AGB, He-flash Phases, Lakehead
U, Ontario, Canada
Synopsis
of
High
Mass Star Evolution onto Shell Burning and Degeneracy Phases,
Lakehead U, Ontario, Canada
Interactive
H-R
Diagram
from Proto-Star to White Dwarf, aspire.cosmic-ray.org
Derivation of Basic Equations for Stellar Structure, with Algebra,
G. Williger lecture notes 2008 postscript
version, pdf
version
RP Ch 18 Stellar Remnants
The Inside of a Neutron Star Looks Spookily Familiar - like
Pasta
, Matthew R. Francis, Nautilus, 2015 Dec 17,
Questions and Answers about Neutron Stars
, Cole Miller, U. Maryland, posted 2020 May 2
RP Ch 19 Our Galaxy: A Preview
The Milky
Way at various wavelengths (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center)
Canadian
Galactic Plane Survey Schematic of Galaxy (and Star Trek
Quadrants!)
neat movie of stars
orbiting million solar mass black hole around Galactic center
(Sag A*) plus other stuff
Ring
discovered around Milky Way
HI Map of Spiral Arms in 3D at various Galactic Longitudes: our
Galactic Gas Disk is Warped , Joachim Koppen 2010, U.
Strasbourg, France
Galaxy Dark Matter
Potential Measured; Galactic Ring May Be Due to a Post-Merger
Dwarf Galaxy (arXiv paper)
Monty
Python's
Galaxy
Song Lyrics (with numbers about right!)
RP Ch 19 Galactic Rotation: Stellar Motions:
Detailed Derivation of
Oort's Constants, with Algebra
See this figure in pdf
or
GIF
format to help with the algebra and approximations.
It's really only equations for the radial and tangential vector
velocities of the Sun and a star,
with a small angle approximation and the assumption of Keplerian
Galactic motion.
excellent
website/applet for Galactic rotation, Joachim Koeppen, Kiel 2017
VIDEO: Derivation
of Oort's Constants by Fréderic Courbin, EFPL (Lausanne,
Switzerland) - English dubbed version, 19 minutes
RP Ch 20 Galaxies
Description of
K-correction, Hogg et al. (2002), astro-ph/0210394
K-correction calculator from
Moscow U., depends on filter, redshift, color (spectral slope)
RP Ch 21 Active Galaxies
Supraluminal
Motion (of AGN/quasar jets), a technical description by
Marshall Cohen
illustrative
graphic of supraluminal motion, general education level,
from egloos.com
illustrative
supraluminal motion video, general education level, George
Rieke (U. Arizona)
AGN
animations/images, general education level, José Gomez,
Inst. Astrofisica de Andalucia, Spain
Quasar/AGN website of
William Keel, a technical description with many useful
links/references, U. Alabama
RP Ch 22 Clusters & Superclusters
LIRGs and ULIRGs or (Ultra) Luminous IR Galaxies ,
Wikipedia (with image examples)
Major merger
of 2 Spiral Galaxies, N-body Simulation vs. HST images,
Frank Summer, YouTube, 2008 Apr 30
Cosmic
Web "seen" in direct images (rather than in
absorption/simulations) for first time, BBC, 2014 Jan 20
A
cosmic web filament revealed in Lyman-α emission, ADS
entry for Cantalupo et al. 2014, Nature, 506, 63 (with arXiv link,
too)
Dark
Matter Hunt: LUX experiment reaches critical phase, BBC,
2014 Apr 4
Measurement
of baryon acoustic oscillations in the Lyman alpha forest
fluctuations in BOSS DR9, ADS entry for Slosar et al.
2013, JCAP, 4, 26
Baryon Acoustic
Oscillations, short overview by Martin White (UC Berkeley)
Baryon
Acoustic Oscillations, more extended description from
Wikipedia
RP Ch 23 Cosmology
Cosmology primer by Joel Primack (includes parameters like
sigma_8), talk by Joel Primack, Dark Matter 2004 (UCSC),
hosted by ned.ipac.caltech.edu
Photon Gas
description (including pressure description), Wikipedia
Tutorial, Cosmology for Beginners (many topics),
tutorialspoint.com
Tutorial on Robertson-Walker metric, Cosmology for Beginners,
tutorialspoint.com
Classroom Aid - Cosmic Scale Factor,
David Butler, 23 Aug 2017 (suggested by L Reeves 2021 Apr)
1919
Eclipse observed by Eddington to support Einstein's relativity
predictions, Earth Magazine
RP Ch 24 History of the Universe
Gravity
Wave signatures from CMB B-mode polarization, New Scientist,
17 Mar 2014
CMB:
COsmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite 20th anniversary page,
NASA, launched Nov. 1989
CMB: Wilkinson Microwave
Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), NASA, launched June 2001
CMB: Planck satellite page,
ESA, launched May 2009
Planck 2013 results XVI:
Cosmological parameters, Planck collaboration,
arXiv:1303.5076, A\&A, in press
Supernova Cosmology Project,
LBL
Sachs-Wolfe
Effect, Wikipedia
Sachs-Wolfe
Effect, from Peter Coles (1999), The Routledge Critical
Dictionary of the New Cosmology, from Ned Wright's homepage
Dark
Energy, Expansion, Energy Conservation, blog by Dr. Sean
Carroll, Caltech
Inflation
for Beginners, John Gribbin, Lawrence Berkeley Lab
Simple
Guide to Inflation, Andrew Zimmerman Jones, about.com Physics
Compilation
of cosmology sites/articles, by Andrew Fraknoi, Sep. 2012
Nucleosynthesis
and Inflation, Max Camenzind, LSW/Uni-Heidelberg