fandomhigh | Astronomy 101: Moons and Planets

Week 1 -- September 6: Introduction: Overview of the Solar System, its origin and layout

Syllabus | Class Roster

Handouts:
Starmaps: North | South | East | West | Overhead

When the class arrived in the newly refurbished attic classroom, Monty Python's "The Galaxy Song was playing and Ellie was humming along. She was wearing a black t-shirt with an image of the Milky Way Galaxy and a "You are here" arrow. There was a stack of textbooks beside her, along with CDs of a an astronomy program.

"Hi!" Ellie said, smiling broadly. "Welcome to Astronomy 101. I recognize some of you from my summer camp workshops and I'm glad I didn't scare you away by talking too much. Today we're just going to go over a brief introduction to the Solar System, and then I'll show you around the telescope. You'll find the Hartmann text is a little out of date since Pluto was just demoted. But most of the facts should remain the same, and even in the chapter on Pluto there is the debate on just whether it should be a planet or not. Also, the program I'm giving you is a great resource for learning to spot constellations and the planets. Have fun with it."

After having the students introduce themselves, Ellie went on to lecture about the formation and layout of the Solar System. "For fun, check out this website," she said as she finished the lecture. She wrote the URL on the board. "You can create your own little Solar System. And make the planets crash into each other."

Ellie beckoned the students toward a door in the back of the classroom. Stair led upward into another room with a retractable domed roof. "This is Maria," she said, sweeping her arm toward the large telescope that dominated the room. "If you come to the observation lab tonight, we can take a look at a few objects. The moon will be full and we can take a look at the Andromeda Galaxy. I hope I see you all there! Observation Lab attendance is ten percent of your grade, but I hope you learn to enjoy it, too."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Gwynn nodded. "Yeah, we do. That's going to a be a good thing, I think."

"I think so, too," Kaylee agreed. "Are you takin' any other classes?"

Gwynn nodded. "I'm taking Introduction to the 21st Century, World Religions, Astronomy, Science and something called Ethics. What are you taking?"

"I'm also in that pop culture class and World Religions," Kaylee said. "And I got one more on Friday. Constant Vigilance."

"Oh, neat. So we have three classes together."

"Yeah. Maybe we can help each other out sometimes, like in pop culture," Kaylee said. "A lot of that stuff don't make sense to me."

Gwynn beamed. "None of that made sense to me, so we may as well be confused together?"

Kaylee laughed. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

Gwynn smiled. "Yes, yes it does."

Astronomy 101: Moons and Planets - Class 1

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

Re: Talk amongst yourselves

Re: Talk amongst yourselves