ASTR 200 – Frontiers of Astrophysics
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Instructor: Professor Gladman
Office: Hennings 300B
Lectures: Henn 202 Noon M,W,F
ASTR 200 – GOALS
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Frontier Topics in Astronomy
● Exploration of the Solar System
● Planetary Formation
● Discoveries of Exoplanets
● Life cycles of stars (egs: birth,
supernovae, black holes)
● Structure of the galaxy
● Dark Matter and dark energy
● Cosmology and fate of the universe
We must learn about the underlying
physical processes that allow us to
understand these phenomena
The extreme objects and strange
phenomena extend our knowledge of
nature far beyond the conditions we find
on Earth
ASTR 200 – GOALS
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Learn about the universe around us,
and how it is governed by physical laws
Learn how to apply physical principles
to solve/understand astronomical
phenomena
Develop your skills in problem solving
as well as physical/mathematical
analysis
Develop your skills in concise, clear,
written communication in a scientific
context.
Sorry, no observational component
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Other courses at UBC
ASTR 200 is THE entry level course into the:
- Major in Astronomy
- Combined Honours Astronomy and Physics
and leads into ASTR 205 next semester.
- Perfectly reasonable to take A200 even if not in those
degrees; but taught at the needed level for Major.
ASTR 101 : First-year course for scientists. Specifically
focused on planetary astronomy. Also MWF at noon.
ASTR 102 : (January) First-year course. 'The Universe'
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ASTR 333: (January) Exoplanets and Astrobiology. CMS:
acceptable for generalist requirement (email me).
PHYS 333: (now) Energy and Climate. Also good for CMS.
ASTR 200 – Pre-requisites
This course requires either
A. You took 'Science 1' at UBC, or
B. One of PHYS 101, 107, 117, 153
AND one of MATH 101, 103, 121
Mathematics is central to astronomy;
we will discuss why this might be,
at some point. You will re-use your
high-school algebra, trigonometry!
For some of you, this will be the
first time you are really deploying
knowledge and techniques that you
have learned in the past to
something completely different.
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ASTR 200 – Pre-requisites
This course requires either
A. You took 'Science 1' at UBC, or
B. One of PHYS 101, 107, 117, 153
AND one of MATH 101, 103, 121
There IS NO prior astronomy
knowledge assumed for this
course.
There IS the intention that
learning about the immensity and
wonder of our universe will provide
a humbling perspective for one's
everyday life.
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Textbook :
Foundations of Astrophysics
Required textbook :
Foundations of Astrophysics (2010)
By : Barbara Ryden and Bradley Petersen
This course is also the textbook for ASTR
205 next semester.
We'll jump around a bit in the book as the
split between ASTR 200 and 205 is not
the same as for the full-year course this
book was written for.
ALSO required: Scientific Calculator.
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Course communications
Instructor uses SSC email list, when
communication to all students is needed
confirm you received an email yesterday!
My email: [email protected]
Course content questions will NOT be
answered over email
Impossible to do this with >100 students
Not a distance learning course
We will bend over backwards to see you in
person, so email for an appointment if you
cannot make office hours
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Course logistics
Course Web page:
www.astro.ubc.ca/people/gladman/a200
www.phas.ubc.ca/~gladman/a200
Bookmark this! You will return often.
Office hours:
Professor Gladman: posted on web page, but
usually they will be
Mondays and Thursdays: 2:30-3:30
CHECK THE COURSE WEB PAGE before coming
to see if prof's are cancelled/moved
Teaching Assistants: as posted on course web page
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Two Teaching Assistants
Office hours on course web page
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Paula
Granados
Dago
Contreras
[email protected]
Hennings 310
[email protected]
Hennings 308
ASTR 200 – Evaluation
36% Homeworks plus in-class tutorials
24% Midterm exam in class (Oct 28? or 26 or 31)
40% Final examination (sometime Dec 6-21)
Homeworks : More information given Friday, when first
assignment is handed out
Final Exam: You MAY NOT write it early; the date will be set in
November when UBC sets the examination schedule
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QUESTIONS?
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UNITS
What IS a unit?
What does it mean?
Why do we need them?
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A unit
Certain “things” are measured :
Length
Time intervals
mass
Temperature
energy
a UNIT is any quantity which is used as a
“standard”, and other things are then measured
as multiples of the unit.
This is the subject of 'metrology'
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SYSTEMS OF UNITS
We are so used to the
S.I. metric system
of units that we do not
even think about it
Where did they come
from?
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Examples :
A unit
In ancient Egypt: The cubit. About 52 cm (length)
In medieval Europe (below):
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A unit
Examples :
In China: The `chi'. About 24-36 cm (length),
depending on the era in history:
Oldest still-used unit
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SYSTEMS OF UNITS – Modern era
Created `ultimate standards' to
which all comparisons were
made. (at left, the mid-1700s
definitions of length - meter,
volume - cadil=liter, mass - kg)
During the French revolution, the
Academie des Sciences
championed standardizing units
so that everyone could agree.
Gave us “MKS” (SI) and “cgs”
Origin of the meter?
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SYSTEMS OF UNITS – Modern era
Created `ultimate standards' to
which all comparisons were
made. (at left, the mid-1700s
definitions of length - meter,
volume - cadil=liter, mass - kg)
During the French revolution, the
Academie des Sciences
championed standardizing units
so that everyone could agree.
Gave us “MKS” (SI) and “cgs”
Origin of the meter?
-one ten-millionth of the distance
from Earth's pole to equator
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Google the modern definitions of
meter, kilogram, and second
Why are units so important?
Very important for commerce
Don't rip me off!
But why so important for science?
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Why are units so important?
Very important for commerce
Don't rip me off!
But why so important for science?
Because the text of a scientific theory is its
ability to PREDICT the world, PRECISELY
Cannot do precision measurements without
standard measures, as people would not
agree on 'the answer'
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Units for astronomy and astrophysics
au
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