ASTRONOMY 111 AND ASTRONOMY 111A
Descriptive Astronomy and Lab

• Instructor: Joe Heafner
• Office: East Wing 318. Phone: 828-327-7000, ext. 4246. Office hours will be announced in class. Appointments and drop-ins are strongly encouraged.
• Course syllabus in pdf format (You need a pdf viewer. I strongly recommend GhostScript and GhostView, both of which are free and also allow you to manipulate PostScript files.)
• Textbook: Conceptual Astronomy by Michael Zeilik
• Workbook: Investigating Astronomy: Model Building and Critical Thinking by McNamara, Burnham, Bridges, and French. This book is very different in that it contains exercises designed to get you to think like an astronomer (or a scientist in general). We will do many of these activities as in-class assignments, but many will be assigned as homework. I believe you will really like this book.
• Highly recommended, but optional resource: a "farmer's almanac" such as Blum's Farmer's and Planter's Almanac (this is the famous red almanac you see in stores), Farmer's Almanac (published by Hart Wright, Co.), or The Old Farmer's Almanac (Southern Edition). All of these are available locally. Provided you ignore the folklore and astrology, these almanacs are good sources of astronomical information. I'll point out things you should be aware of, though, in class.
• Course grading policy: exams 50%, homework and labs 15% each, final exam 10%, class participation 10%. The class participation grade will be the percentage of days you actually attend class, so regular attendance is to your advantage. One homework, one lab, and one test grade will be dropped. No late work will be accepted. Make-up test will not be given.

I see this course as a wonderful opportunity to introduce a broad spectrum (if you'll pardon the pun) of astronomical and physical topics to interested students. The emphasis will be on providing a conceptual understanding of topics related to the celestial sphere, basic planetary astronomy, basic stellar astronomy, and cosmology. In particular, I want to orient this course toward students who are planning to become teachers at any level or students who are already teaching in the public schools. It has been my experience that too many science teachers do not have a sufficient background in physics or astronomy even though they may be teaching these subjects at the elementary, middle, or high school level.

Many times students at colleges and universities are literally herded through so-called science survey courses that attempt to "provide scientific literacy and awareness". Sadly, these courses usually do nothing but encourage memorization of arcane facts, figures, and some technical jargon that is not truly understood by the students taking the course. In this course, we will start with the most basic astronomical concepts and build upon them in a way that promotes true understanding and learning.

In this course, we will also address certain topics in spherical astronomy and historical astronomy that you most likely will not encounter anywhere else in your college career. I know for a fact you won't see these topics addressed in introductory astronomy courses at major universities around here. For example, do you know how to predict the dates of lunar phases? Do you know that in some parts of the world, the Moon can actually be seen to rise or set twice in one day? Do you know how to interpret the astronomical inforomation given in a "farmer's almanac"? What is a Golden Number? We will address these and other similar questions in class and through homework assignments.

How would you like to discover a new asteroid? If you stick with this course, you will be in for a treat you would not get taking this course anywhere else. If you've ever wondered what it's like to actually do astronomy instead of just hear about it, you're in luck. I am initiating a small research program in which I and my students will carry out an astrometry program (astrometry is the branch of astronomy dealing with precise measurements of the positions of celestial objects) for asteroids and potentially comets. We will carry out systematic searches for asteroids and there is the distinct possibility that we (or YOU) will discover an object that on one else has ever seen before. I will teach you how to use our new spohisticated telescope and CCD camera, but you have to stick with this course in order to "prove yourself". We're talking over six thousand dollars worth of toys here and I can't trust it to someone who isn't going to take the work seriously. Keep this in mind.