Physics & Astronomy 195
(and possibly 595 with shared lectures), Autumn 2023, U.
Louisville
Special Topics: The Great North American Eclipse of 2024
Check this website frequently for
course announcements and information.
Instructor: Dr. Gerard Williger, Natural
Science Bldg (NS) 206
Contact:
tel 852-0821, e-mail gmwill06* where *=@louisville.edu
Here are links for my homepage and
my teaching
page
Office
hours: By
appointment.
As a general policy, I do not
answer questions about an assignment or
test on the day it's
due/given.
Meets: Wed, 5:00-5:50pm, Nat
Sci 108, starts Aug. 23, 2023
Class number: 195-01, 1
credit, all courses webcast on BlackBoard and also recorded for
flexible access.
If a graduate course number (e.g. 595, "Special Topics") is
required for attendance, please contact me immediately.
The autumn 2023 course is aimed at school teachers, Jr-Sr level
science majors/grad students, journalists,
meteorologists, people in government and others who will
talk/teach about the eclipse in 2024 to others.
The spring 2024 course is for everyone (general
public, all university and school students).
If you are not currently enrolled at U. Louisville, you must
sign up for here for
"Continuing Studies"
For people over 65, tuition is free, the application fee is
$30, and pro-rated other fees are around $25-30.
Otherwise, tuition is roughly $500-550 (in-state) for one
credit hour, roughly double that for out-of-state.
For current U. Louisville students who have at least 12 credit
hours, the additional credit hour is
often at no extra cost.
Syllabus
(subject to
revision):
sky
motions, lunar
eclipses,
solar
eclipses, the
formation of
the solar
system,
the Sun, how
to
observe/photograph
an eclipse,
eclipses in
history,
science
discoveries
from eclipses,
The Great
American
Eclipse of
2017, eclipses
in
literature/film,
cameras &
photography,
eclipse
hunters
including Jay
Pasachoff,
future
eclipses,
transits,
exoplanet
studies via
transits
The 2 page
summary will
be posted on
BlackBoard.
In case of
ambiguity or
conflict, the
class website
is the final
authority for
class policy.
FIRST
ASSIGNMENT
(required):
A plan for
teaching and
outreach in
spring
2024.
This can
include:
classroom
teaching
working as an
A-star
(program for
alumni from
Astronomy 107)
for Astronomy
195
outreach as
part of a
government or
education-related
job
We will
discuss our
teaching plans
during the
first lecture.
COVID-19
RESOURCES/LINKS
SPECIAL NOTES FOR THE SWITCH TO ELECTRONIC INSTRUCTION AS OF
MAR. 18, 2020 and all "hybrid" courses thereafter,
DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
The class is during the COVID pandemic, and changes may be
made at any time. Things to note:
1) Homework will be submitted via BlackBoard unless otherwise
noted. See "Weekly Assignments" (site to be
constructed) for due dates
2) Lectures will be given either in person or online.
Often, I will afterwards post slides/audio/video files on the
class protected website (to be given on first day), if they
are not on BlackBoard
3) A class discussion board for students to pose and answer
each other's questions will be created on BlackBoard.
4) Testing will be online unless otherwise noted.
UL
Student Support Page for the COVID-19 situation.
In addition to the instructor and
your classmates, these people can help you.
It is your responsibility
to get help when you need it.
Graders/Tutors:
REACH tutors (book
appointments via the REACH
Center): Adele
Schultz, Brady Smith and Jade Wheeler
PLC tutor (Nat Sci 304): Jean Gorce
Please contact the REACH
Center, the Physics Learning
Center or an A-Star if you need help.
A-Stars:
See the A-Star page for a
list of current A-stars.
Tutoring:
REACH Center,
including math tutoring in Strickler 226, tel 852-8114
This course uses high school math (algebra and trigonometry).
If you need help, come to
the REACH center (Strickler Hall) or PLC (Nat Sci 304), the
tutors or Dr. Williger.
This course does not have a
lot of math, and what little math
there may be would be on the high school algebra level.
OBJECTIVES:
As usual with college courses,
you are expected to spend 2-3 hours reading, doing homework,
studying,
etc. for each credit hour of the class. If
you need help, please come to the instructor,
grader, tutors, your fellow classmates, the Physics Learning
Center and/or the Reach Center.
We're
all here to help. But, you need to take responsibility for
yourself to seek help if you need it.
LINKS
FROM ASTRO 107: Useful
but not required background material for Phys & Astro
195,
in-depth explanations and student questions.
SUPPLEMENTAL
MATERIAL FROM ASTRO 107: In-depth
explanations beyond the course material, plus
simulators and other fun things.
EXTRA LINKS FOR
ECLIPSES:
Eclipse
notes, Astronomy 161, Ohio State, Dr. Rick Pogge
Phases
and Eclipses, astronomynotes.com, Nick
Strobel
Schedule (subject to
revision)
Wednesday of
Week
Week01
- 08/23 - Sky motions, sky
coordinate systems and the celestial sphere
Week02 - 08/30 - Lunar eclipses
Week03 - 09/07 - Solar eclipses
Week04 - 09/13 - The Formation of the
Solar System
Week05 - 09/20 - The Sun
Week06 - 09/27 - Science from Eclipses,
Past and Present
Week07 - 10/04 - How to
Observe/Photograph an Eclipse
Week08 - 10/11 - Some Notable Eclipses in History
; note partial solar eclipse Sat 14 Oct,
11:40am-2:32pm, peak at 1:04pm of 46% at Louisville, SPS has eclipse watch at Nat Sci Bldg
Week09 - 10/18 - Eclipses in Art
Week10
- 10/25 - Eclipses in Literature
Week11 -
11/01 - Eclipses in Folklore, Music, Film and TV
Week12 -
11/08 - Eclipse Scholars
Week13 -
11/15 - Transits
Week14 -
11/22 - no class - Thanksgiving break
Week15 -
11/29 - Exoplanets
Reading Day: Tue Dec 5
GRADING
POLICY, SUBJECT TO REVISION, HARMONIZED WITH SYLLABUS:
70% tests (every two weeks)
30% discussion board and projects/assignments (may be photographic with descriptions or a term paper)
I reserve the right to change the weighting formula in
case of substantial missed work for medical or other
excused absences, or other unforeseen circumstances.
EXTRA CREDIT
SURVEYS:
1) Do the official UL online course survey at the end of the
course. Upload a screenshot which shows that you did
it. To get the credit,
i) DO the survey by Reading Day, and
ii) UPLOAD your screenshot to the BlackBoard assignment by that
date. Good for +3% extra credit.
Effective Studying:
See "Close the Book. Recall.
Write It Down." in the
article links section at the
bottom of
my teaching
page.
Announcements:
If you are interested in more looking
through telescopes and learning about
astronomy, check out the
Louisville Astronomical Society at www.louisville-astro.org.
There are often students in the
organization.
ASTRO-POETRY: A class member
from Autumn 2008 Astro 107 Morghan
Tyler wrote some inspired poetry:
In
Stars Tonight
Astronomy
Lab Sestina
During the
semester, I
reserve the
right to relax
any grading
scale. A
grade of
A-,A,A+ or
"benefit of
the doubt"
when a student
is near a
grade
boundary also
depends on
conduct: no
cheating,
knowingly
letting
someone copy
off your work
or anti-social
behavior.
If you
want to talk
about your
grade, please
make an
appointment to
speak in real
time (not just
e-mail).
UL regulations
state that
BlackBoard is
the preferred
method of
distributing
information
about grades.