JTW > Courses > Physics Z134: Planetary Astronomy
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Online Resources For Selected Chapters

Note: if the direct links to any of the quizzes or student resources don't work, try reaching them from the Voyages web site

"Old" resources are from the original publisher's website and include shorter, deeper interactive quizzes. "New" resources are from publisher's new website and include the longer, more superificial quizzes which you submitted as part of your homework.

Course Information

Textbook

Fraknoi, Morrsion and Wolff, Voyages to the Planets, Third Edition (Thomson Brooks-Cole, 2004)
Note that all the material in this book is also contained in the Third Edition of Voyages Through the Universe, which was used for PHYS Z134 in Fall 2003 and Fall 2004.

Syllabus

Lecture Topics

Links

• Astronomy Pic of the Day
• The Nine Planets
• Bad Astronomy
• The Calendar FAQ
• Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn
• Mars Rover Missions:
  • NASA's Mars Missions Page
  • Athena mission page
  • Loyola Seminar on Mars Exploration

Course Description

The Spring 2005 edition of PHYS Z134 will be specifically a planetary astronomy course, rather than dividing our time between planets and stars. The following course description applies:

PHYS Z134 (Planetary) Astronomy (3 credits)
Common Curriculum: Natural Sciences Modern

This course is designed to acquaint the non-scientist with the models which best describe our observations of the planets as well as the ways in which modern-day astronomers use those observations to deduce the nature of our planetary system. Topics will include: astronomical explanations for phenomena such as tides, eclipses, seasons and phases of the moon; models of planetary motion from Ptolemy to Copernicus to Kepler; observed properties of planets, moons, comets and other occupants of our solar system; and the spacecraft missions which have revealed this wealth of information.

Prerequisite: Any MATH course numbered 100 or above

Previous Course Homepages

These web pages describe previous incarnations of PHYS Z134. Note that thes past courses were less specialized to the planets, going into less depth than we will, but spending time on stars instead.

• Fall 2004
• Fall 2003