Astro 150 Lecture notes
The current lecture notes projected in class are made avalable on this page.
The notes are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format:
Note that any original material in these notes is copyright S. Kawaler,
and is intended for use by Astro 150 students. They are not to be reproduced
or distributed in electronic or paper form on any platform.
Lecture 1 (8-18 :sk)
Introduction: the scales of the Universe
Music:
Cosmic Girl (lyrics ), Jamiroquoi
-- and -- Woodstock (lyrics ), Joni Mitchell
Images shown
The Andromeda Galaxy, M31
A minuet of galaxies
M106 - spiral galaxy viewed in many non-optical and optical wavelength bands
The Hubble Deep Field
The eXtreme Deep Field
Supernova 1987a, before and after
The Vela supernova remnant
NGC 602 - a stunning embryonic star cluster
Stellar embryos exposed in M16
Protoplanetary disks in the Orion Nebula
Protostellar jets from HH24
Image of extrasolar planet orbiting the star Fomalhaut
Kepler 's family of planets
Lecture 2 (8-20: sk)
Og through Newton
Music: Galileo
(lyrics) , Indigo Girls
Lecture 3 (8-25: js)
Gravity, Cosmic Forces, light, and the electromagnetic spectrum
Music:
Over the Rainbow performed by Eva Cassidy
(original lyrics) ;
--- another version ---
(a Stanley Jordan cover)
Lecture 4 (8-27: js)
Light from stars: thermal radiation to spectral lines
Music: A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no C.) ,
(lyrics )
Ray Wylie Hubbard, - and -
Stars in Your Eyes (lyrics ), Herbie Hancock
Lecture 5 (9-1: js)
Causes of spectral lines, and spectroscopy
Music: Fingerprint , Yonder Mountain String Band
-- and --
The Elements , Tom Lehrer
The Rosetta Stone
High
resolution solar spectrum
Spectrum of the Cygnus Loop
Molecules and light - simulator
Lecture 6 (9-3: sk)
Telescopes
Music: Up on the Roof ( lyrics ), The Drifters --- and --- Up the Ladder to the Roof , The Supremes
Lecture 7 (9-8: sk)
Instrumentation, Space Astronomy
Music:
Kodachrome (lyrics ), Paul Simon
- and - Satellite (lyrics ), Dave Matthews
Lecture 8 (9-10: sk)
Our Sun as a Star
Music:
Staring at the Sun (lyrics ), Simple Kid
--- and --- Here
Comes the Sun ,
(Richie Havens version ), The Beatles
Lecture 9 (9-15: sk)
The Inside of the Sun and the Case of the Missing Neutrino
EXAM 1 - Wednesday, September 16
Lecture 10 (9-17: sk)
Stars: Colors & Spectral Classification
Music:
Starman , (lyrics ), David Bowie --- and ---
La Estrella Azul ,
(lyrics )
Mercedes Sosa --- and ---
Oh, Be a Fine Girl, Kiss Me , Dr. H. Paul Shuch
--- and --- So Far Away
(lyrics ), Carole King
Lecture 11 (9-22: js)
Stellar distances and motions. Intro to the Hertzsprung-Russell
diagram
Music:
Room to Move (lyrics ), John Mayall
Kudos to the first student with the correct answer to this question: Where was this performance recorded? (hint: see from 1:10 to 1:30).
-- and --
Counting Stars (lyrics ), One Direction
Lecture 12 (9-24: sk)
Features of Hertzsprung-Russell diagram; binaries and star masses
Music:
Spin ,
Jim (and Ingrid) Croce --- and ---
Starman ,
(lyrics ), David Bowie
,
Lecture 13 (9-29: sk)
Main sequence lifetimes, and star clusters
Music:
It Was a Very Good Year (lyrics ): The Kingston Trio.
--- and ---
My Generation (lyrics ), The Who
Lecture 14 (10-1: js)
Star formation I: The Interstellar Medium and Cloud Collapse
Music:
Dust in the Wind (lyrics ), Kansas
--- and ---
The Burning Babe
(lyrics ), Sting
Lecture 15 (10-6: js)
Star formation II: to the Main Sequence; planet formation
Lecture 16 (10-8: sk)
Stellar middle-age, geriatrics, and death
Music:
I'm Just and Old Chunk of Coal (But I'll Be a Diamond Some Day)
(
lyrics ), Billy Joe Shaver
--- and --- Woodstock (lyrics ): Crosby, Stills, & Nash
Lecture 17 (10-13: js)
Black Holes I: Formation and Environment
Music:
Black Hole Sun (lyrics ) - Soundgarden
Lecture 18 (10-15: js)
Music:
Cygnus X-1 (Lyrics ): Rush
Lecture 19 (10-20: sdk)
The Milky Way Galaxy - a Census
Music:
Spinning Wheel (lyrics ): Blood, Sweat, and Tears;
--- and --- Wandering on the Milky Way :Jean-Luc Ponty
EXAM 2 - Wednesday, Oct. 21
Lecture 20 (10-22: sdk)
Galaxy Types and Interactions
Music: The Galaxy Song (NSFW)
(
Lyrics ): Monty Python, from The Meaningof Life --and--
Shapes of Things
(lyrics ), The Yardbirds
Lecture 21 (10-27: sdk)
Galaxy Distances and the Hubble Law
Music: Across the Universe , (lyrics ), The Beatles
-- and --
Approaching Lightspeed (lyrics ), Wolfsheim
Lecture 22 (10-29: js)
The Galaxy Freak Show: Quasars and other bizarre galaxies
Music:
Supermassive Black Hole (lyrics ), Muse
Lecture 23 (11-3: js)
Dark Matter and large scale structure
Music:
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (lyrics) : U2
--- and --- Like I'm
Invisible (
lyrics ): Luther Vandross
Lecture 24 (11-5: js)
Cosmology I: The Age of the Universe and the Big Bang
Music:
Long Time Gone
(lyrics ); Crosby, Stills, and Nash --- and ---
From the Beginning (lyrics ); Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
Lecture 25 (11-10: js)
Cosmology II: The Big Bang and its Aftermath
Music:
Homeward through the Haze
(lyrics ) Crosby & Nash,
--- and ---
The Big Big Bang (Lyrics ); Rock Mafia
Lecture 26 (11-12: js)
Cosmology III: The Past and Future of the Universe
Music:
Big Space , Suzanne Vega --- and ---
Beware of Darkness (lyrics ), George Harrison
One (is the Loneliest Number)
(lyrics ); Three Dog Night
Lecture 27 (11-17: sk)
Life in the Universe I: the Drake Equation.
Music:
Another World (lyrics ): Joe Jackson;
There Must Be a Better World (lyrics ): B. B. King;
--- and ---
Cool Water
(lyrics )
(alternate version by
Odetta )
Lecture 28 (11-19: sk)
Life Beyond Earth, and Searching for ET
Music:
Shallow End of the Gene Pool (lyrics ) - Austin Lounge Lizards --- and ---
After the Gold Rush (lyrics) , Neil Young
EXAM 3
Astro 150 Home Page