Course Outline:

1. THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Overview of the Formation of the Solar System
How did it happen? What constraints do we have?

Notes: Formation of the Solar System
Notes in PowerPoint form

Physical Processes: Gravity.

Kepler and Newton's Laws. Orbits. Energy and escape velocity

Applets illustrating Kepler's laws

Notes: Physics governing orbits
Notes in PowerPoint form

Meteorites and Asteroids: orbits.

Minor planet center animations

Notes: orbits of bodies in the solar system
Notes in PowerPoint form

Physical Processes: Radiation Pressure.

Comets, Meteorites and Asteroids: Composition, dating, origins. Oort cloud and Kuiper belt.

Notes: properties of comets and asteroids
Notes in PowerPoint form

Halley's comet from Giotto spacecraft

Notes: meteorites and age dating
Notes in PowerPoint form

Physical Processes: Collisions and Giant Impacts

Notes: Collisions in the solar system
Notes in PowerPoint form

Planetismal hypothesis revisited

Structure and surface of Mercury
Notes in PowerPoint form

Lunar reconaissance orbiter movie of the rotation of the Moon

The Moon: structure, formation, evolution
Notes in PowerPoint form

Timing of Earth and Moon formation

Simulations of giant impact that formed the Moon, from Robin Canup, SW Institute

Moon evolution and tour from LRO mission

Physical Processes: Tidal Forces

Tides and tidal evolution: Earth/Moon system and evolution, Mars' moons, Io. Mercury's spin-orbit coupling.
The Roche limit: Giant planet rings and moons.

Notes: tides and tidal evolution

Notes: moons and rings

Physical Processes: Gravity vs Pressure.

Properties and interiors of the giant planets

Notes: the giant planets

Atmospheric equilibrium, scale height of atmospheres

Notes: Hydrostatic equilibrium and scale heights of atmospheres

Interiors of terrestrial planets. Heat budgets. The Earth: internal structure, temperature and pressure, plate tectonics and seismology.

Notes: the Earth and its plate tectonics
Notes in PowerPoint form

Tectonics on other terrestrial planets

Notes: Heat budgets for planets

Physical processes: atmospheres

Where do atmospheres come from? giant vs terrestrial planets

Notes: How do planets lose atmospheres? Origin of Earth's atmosphere

Greenhouse effect (notes from Prof Mihos)

Notes: Winds and weather

Planets around other stars

Notes: exoplanets
Notes in PowerPoint form

NASA site on Finding Extrasolar planets

2. ASTRONOMICAL TECHNIQUES

Reading: Kutner Ch 4.

Notes: Telescopes and detectors

3. STARS: PHYSICS AND LIFE CYCLES

Notes: Measuring distances to stars

Physical Processes: Blackbody Radiation

Reading: Kutner Ch 2

Notes: Measuring brightness and color for stars

Notes: absolute magnitude

Reading: Kutner Ch 3

Notes: Classifying stellar spectra

Notes: The HR diagram: temperature vs luminosity

Notes: Stars - measuring mass and size. Binary stars.

Physical Processes: Balancing gravity with energy output

Notes: The Sun -- nuclear fusion reactions

Notes: The Sun -- structure and radiative transfer

Notes: The interstellar medium and star formation

Notes: Stellar evolution for low mass stars, white dwarfs

Notes: Evolution for high-mass stars, and what remains.

Notes: Supernovae and neutron stars

See also the description in Carroll and Ostlie pp530-534.