JTW > Courses > Physics Z134: 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 Through the Universe, Third Edition -- Media Update Edition (Harcourt College, 2006)

Syllabus

Lecture Topics

Links

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

Course Description

Here is a description of the course I wrote to replace the one in the Loyola Undergraduate Bulletin. It describes in more detail the range of topics to be covered:

PHYS Z134 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 universe as well as the ways in which modern-day astronomers use those observations to deduce the nature of the universe. Topics 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; the structure, evolution, and eventual fate of a star.

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.

• Spring 2005 (Planetary Astronomy)
• Fall 2004
• Fall 2003