Introduction to Astronomy
ASTR 110G M01, M03, M04, M05
New Mexico State University

Syllabus and Statement of Policy
Spring 2016

Meeting Days/Times

Section M01 M03 M04 M05

Lecture Meets MWF 08:30-09:20 AM MWF 09:30-10:20 AM MWF 09:30-10:20 AM MWF 09:30-10:20 AM

Lab Meets Mon 03:30-05:30 PM Tue 03:30-05:30 PM Tue 01:30-03:30 PM Wed 01:30-03:30 PM

All Lecture and Lab Sections meet in Biology Annex 102 (BX 102)
Attendance to all Lectures and Labs is mandatory.

Professor
Dr. Chris Churchill
Office: Rm 105 Astronomy Bldg (#56)
Office hours: Mon & Wed 2:00-3:00
Phone: 646-1913
Email: "cwc@nmsu.edu"

Lab Sections

Lab Section Day Time (pm) Location Instructor Office Phone email

M01 Monday 3:30-5:30 BX 102 Jacob Rm 212 646-7724 jrvander

M03 Tuesday 3:30-5:30 BX 102 Caitlin Rm 112 646-6399 cdoughty

M04 Tuesday 1:30-3:30 BX 102 Caitlin Rm 112 646-6399 cdoughty

M05 Wednesday 1:30-3:30 BX 102 Diane Rm 219 646-4914 feuilldk

Offices are in the Astronomy Building (#56)

All email addresses are the username given above "@nmsu.edu". The professor and the Lab instructors have physical mail boxes in the Astronomy Building (in the north-east corner of the 1st floor). You can use these to leave messages or completed assignments when necessary

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COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to be a general introduction to the scientific method of understanding the universe and our place within it. Face it. This class, by the very nature of its content, will introduce an astronomical perspective to your life. Human beings have looked to stars from the beginning, and have always found (or wanted to find) some meaningful connection between their daily lives and the universe. Out of a time span of roughly a hundred thousand years, it has been only in the last 80 years (that is 0.08%) that we have begun to really grasp the unfathomable expanse of time and space: several hundred billion galaxies spread out over billions of light years of space. Each galaxy is an "oasis" in an otherwise desolate cosmos-- each an ecosystem in which hundreds of billions of stars are born, live out their lives, grow old, and die (sometimes quite catastrophically). To survive the crush from the gravity of its own weight, each star mutates hydrogen and helium, the simplest elements, into carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and iron, the elements of life. The life cycles of the stars is our story, for our Sun is one of these stars, born from a previous generation of stars-- a link in a chain for a next generation to come in our galaxy, the Milky Way-- and the chemical elements in our bodies were forged in the cores of the older generation of stars before being blasted out into space to seed our solar system. Something like 90% of all stars have planetary systems... and life as we know it? This is our current picture of our place in and connection with the universe. It bares little resemblance to what our ancestors believed. How will our ancestors view themselves?

In this context, we will study the details of the objects in the universe and how they evolve. Most important are the concepts of gravity and energy generation. Each star is a delicate balancing act between the two. Though the details may be many and often times numerous, what is desired is that you, the student, walk away with the big picture of the lives of stars, the structure of galaxies, the ecosystem of the universe, and its history and fate as we presently understand it.

CREDIT AND GRADING
This is a four (4.0) credit course. The Lab component is one (1.0) unit and the Lecture component is three (3.0) units. Attendance to the lectures and to all labs is mandatory and will be charted. In summary (as outlined in detail below), the following will be counted for credit: attendance points ; four required midterm exams (of which your three highest scores will be counted- your lowest score is dropped) ; a cumulative final exam ; your lab scores.

Grading will be weighted as follows:

• Attendance = 10%
• Labs = 25%
• 1st midterm exam = 15%
• 2nd midterm exam = 15%
• 3rd midterm exam = 15%
• Cumulative final exam = 20%

There will be four (4) midterms. Your lowest midterm score will be dropped, so only three of the midterms are included in your grade. You must take ALL four midterms and the final exam in order to pass the class. However, here is an incentive to rock on the midterms: If you earn a 90% or greater on each of all four midterms, then you will not be required to take the final exam (this is the only condition by which you can not take the final exam and still pass the class). Yes, you read that. If you are eligible, and you choose to opt out of the final exam, then you must provide the professor a written and signed note no later than the last day of regular classes stating your intention to opt out of the final exam. In this case, your final exam score that will be recorded in the grade book will be the average of your midterm scores. If you do not notify me of the opt out, and you do not take the final exam (whether you are eligible to opt out or not), you will receive an "F" in the course. Please don't do that!

PREREQUISITES/MATH AND WRITING SKILLS
There are no prerequisites for this course.

In Lecture, there will be very little quantitative analysis; however, there will be qualitative logical analysis that requires stringing together a sequence of observational facts and using them to draw conclusions about the physical world. We will describe how we develop experiments to "ask" nature how she works. We will discuss the limits of human knowledge and what can and cannot be learned. You will be exposed to charts, graphs, and simple mathematical formulae and will be taught how to to interpret them- stuff like, if I double the temperature of this star, then its luminosity increases by a factor of 16. You will be quizzed as we go along, so that you can obtain feedback on your skill development.

In the Lab, you will want to have a calculator that can perform scientific notation. And if you can "take" a logarithm, you are way ahead of the game. If not, fear not, in practice it involves pushing a single button labeled "log". We will teach you how to use your calculator and what a logarithmic scale is. We will teach you how to make "order of magnitude" estimates (a skill that can help you in everyday life, such as deciding whether you can afford a new car or a house!). Astronomy covers a lot of ground, from atoms that are a half of a billionth of a meter in size, to clusters of galaxies which are millions of light years in size (and one light year is some 100,000 billion meters). Your first Lab will be a review of scientific notation. The Labs will be your opportunity to experience applying basic math to unlocking the riddles of the cosmos.

LECTURES
The lectures are designed to introduce and explain scientific concepts, to stimulate interest in the material, and to develop the skill sets of logical reasoning and basic quantitive analysis. You are encouraged to ask questions during the lectures!

All lecture material is available on line and can be downloaded at anytime. The notes are PDFs of the Powerpoint slides presented in class. It is highly recommended that you download and review the lecture notes prior to lecture. It is also recommended that you bring print outs of the lecture notes to class so that you can minimize note taking. That is, instead of writing down every detail and drawing every diagram by hand during lecture, what you do is make small annotations in the margins of the lecture notes during lecture. This will allow you to concentrate on what the professor is saying instead of trying to madly write everything down.

TEXT BOOK (OPTIONAL)
The recommended OPTIONAL textbook that best fits this course is Foundations of Astronomy (any edition past 9) by Michael Seeds. A different free on-line text book can be read at http://www.teachastronomy.com/textbook. Chapters 10-17 will be most relevant to this course.

COURSE HOMEPAGE
The course will be administered on CANVAS. In addition, an external home page will be continually updated for this course: http://astronomy.nmsu.edu/cwc/Teaching/ASTR110/.

ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY
Attendance will be recorded every class meeting and attendance points will comprise 10% of your total points toward your grade. A sign up sheet will be made available as you enter class. Your name will appear in print and you sign next to it. There will be a separate sheet for each Lab section, so know what section you are in! Ten minutes after class starts the sign up sheets are removed and so that late arrivals can be recorded. You will receive one attendance point for the day if you sign the sheet before it is removed. If you are late, come sign the attendance sheet after class (the professor will have it) and you will receive half an attendance point. Tardiness, and "bugging out" of class early will be spot checked. Talk to the professor if you have a daily or weekly scheduling constraint that may result in consistent tardiness so that arrangements can be set up. You can lose a whole grade level if you have poor attendance.

IN CLASS POLICY
CELL PHONES: No "live " cell phones in class. Cell phones are to be completely turned off in class, or in a case where an "important/emergency" call is expected, placed on silence mode (not vibrate). Please inform the instructor prior to class if such a case pertains to you. No texting allowed in class. No surfing the internet or Facebook, etc. during class. No nothing during class. Am I being clear? If you are seen using your cell phone in the class room for any reason you will be asked to hand your cell phone to the professor- you can retrieve it after class. If you are a repeat offender you will asked to leave for the remainder of that class period and you attendance point will be nulled. If you expect an "important/emergency" call and it comes in during class, you are to leave the class room before answering the call (after which you may return). Please stand far enough away from class that your conversation does not disrupt or distract the other students.

LAPTOPS: You may use you laptops in class ONLY to take notes. You must obtain the permission of the instructor PRIOR to exercising this privilege. If you use your laptop (after obtaining permission), you may not connect to the wireless internet during class. If you are found to be misusing your laptop privilege during lecture, your laptop privilege will be revoked for the remainder of the semester.

FOOD: No food in class. Drinks are OK. No food in class. No food in class. No food in class.

LABS AND CAMPUS OBSERVATORY
At some level, the lab projects will be equivalent to doing homework assignments. The lab section is your opportunity to apply what you have heard in lecture. Doing is knowing, so this is where you will most often really begin to obtain a deeper appreciation for astronomy. Take advantage of the one-on-one time and exploit the chance to improve your exam scores by learning in lab.

LAB MANUAL: You are responsible for obtaining your personal copy of the Lab Manual, which will be used as a work book. A PDF version of the full manual can be downloaded gratis from:
http://astronomy.nmsu.edu/astro/Ast110Fall2015.pdf. Alternatively, you can purchase your own copy at Kinkos.

ALL ISSUES PERTAINING TO LAB are to be worked out with your Lab Instructor, not the professor. If the Lab instructor deems it necessary, he/she will bring the issue to the professor. Of course you are encourage and invited to consort with the professor for any and all issues related to the exams and lecture section- just not administrative and grading issues regarding Lab, those are you Lab instructors responsibilities. Do not hand in your observing projects to the professor during lecture meetings. Hand them in to your Lab instructors in your lab meetings.

LAB SCHEDULE: The Lab schedule is available on CANVAS and on the external course web page. You are responsible for knowing it. Prior to lab meeting, print out the lab materials for that lab being given that week and being them to lab.

LAB ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING: Lab meets weekly. There will be weekly lab assignments. Lab reports, Lab summaries, and Observing Projects together account for 25% of your course grade. Each Observing Project is worth 100 points. Each lab is worth 100 points total and has two parts. The first part is the lab exercise (in class practicum) and the lab report; both must be completed in class by your group and the report must be handed in before the end of class. The lab report is worth 65 of the 100 points. Everyone in a group must participate equally in the lab exercise and the writing of the report; one grade is given for this component and each member of the group is given this grade. The second part is the lab summary. Each individual will write a summary; it must be typed and submitted on CANVAS by 5:00 pm on the Friday of the week that Lab met. The summary is worth 35 of the 100 points. Your lowest lab report score and your lowest lab summary score will be dropped. Labs for which your score is "0" will not be dropped. This means that you cannot miss a lab, take "0", and expect that this missed lab will be dropped.

MISSING LAB ASSIGNMENTS: You must complete ALL Lab assignments. If you do not hand in an Observing Project, a lab report, or lab summary for a given Lab, you will receive a "0" score. And, as stated above, a missed lab or lab with "0" score will NOT be eligible for your dropped lab.

LAB LATE POLICY: Late lab work is not accepted. However, make-up labs are available. It is your responsibility to select and attend an appropriate ASTR 110 make-up section for the lab in question. To see what other section are giving a lab that you may have missed and wish to make up, see http://astronomy.nmsu.edu/astro/. Introduce yourself to the TA, join a lab group, but do all your own work on an individual lab packet or answer sheet. For full credit, you must hand in the lab report and typed summary to YOUR Lab instructor the same week as the make-up lab took place. Contact your Lab instructor with any questions. Extenuating circumstances are handled on a case-by-case basis.

LAB POLICY ON COLLABORATION: You may collaborate with other classmates for studying the questions and developing understanding for the solutions to the lab problems on the lab reports. However, the lab summary must be completed by you as an individual- no collaborating. It is an absolute rule that to receive full credit for a lab summary that you must write the answer in your own words on your own. It is a very easy science to cross correlate assignments and check for copying and close paraphrasing from your classmates and from the internet- and we have become most efficient at it, especially copying from the internet.

CAMPUS OBSERVATORY: There are two Lab Observing Projects that will require you attend the Campus Observatory. The observatory will have two "open nights" per week (constantly check the Campus Observatory white board in class for weekly details). Hand in your Observing Projects in to your Lab instructor when lab meets; do not hand them in to the professor when lecture meets.

ADVICE ON CAMPUS OBSERVATORY: Bad weather is the astronomer's enemy. Bad weather will be your enemy this semester. There are a limited number of nights that you can attend campus observatory for your sky observations (on which you will be graded). There are more than 250 students taking ASTR 110 that will need to access the telescopes for lab assignments during this semester! Thus, if you have not completed your current observatory assignment and there is a open night at the observatory and the sky is clear.... GO.... do not wait until next open night or you could get burned by bad weather and hurt your grade. The earlier you attend campus observatory the better chance you have of getting full credit for this component of the lab. If you wait until later, you may get weathered out. And if the weather is crappy for several of the open nights, every student who procrastinated will be running for the observatory. Mark these words... the lines can get mega long and you can spend hours just waiting to look in the telescope if you wait to go to observatory. Go to observatory as soon as possible. Listen up: if you miss all opportunities to attend campus observatory prior to the due date of an observing project, you will receive a zero score on the project. No exceptions and no dropped scores for observing projects.

EXAMS
There will be four midterm exams covering the material discussed in class and the assigned readings. Emphasis will be on the main concepts rather than rote memorization of details. "Trick questions" will be avoided, and the main concepts will be clearly emphasized in class lectures and in the book. Your lowest score of the four will be dropped; only your three highest scores will be counted toward your grade. You must take all four exams to pass this course, even if you require a make-up exam. You have been informed. There will a required cumulative final exam. However, if you obtain an 90% or greater on all four exams, you may "opt out" of taking the final exam, in which case the average of your midterm exams will be used to compute your final exam score. You must provide written notification to the professor no later than the last day of regularly scheduled classes if you choose this option. Failing to hand in a completed final exam without providing a written note that you chose the "opt out", will result in an "F" on the final exam if you do not take it.

EXAM DAY POLICY: (1) No hats or objects that obstruct your face; (2) All books and papers zipped shut in your back pack; (3) No cheating, copying your neighbor, etc. It is preferred that all exams are written in pencil only; Bring a No. 2 pencil with excellent eraser.

MAKE-UP EXAM POLICY: No make-up exams will be given except in cases of: (1) a medical emergency documented by an official physician's note; (2) official University business documented by an official from the University; or (3) death in your family with official documentation. The format of the makeup exam will be at the discretion of the instructor. YOU MUST CONTACT THE PROFESSOR BY EMAIL OR CANVAS MESSAGE NO LATER THAN THE DAY OF THE EXAM FOR THESE POLICY TO HOLD. NO CONTACT UNTIL AFTER MIDNIGHT OF THE EXAM DAY WILL RESULT IN A FAIL IN THE COURSE. Exceptions will be based upon documented demonstration of a total inability to make contact ONLY.

DROP POLICY
IMPORTANT-- READ THIS: You the student are responsible for taking the correct administrative steps for dropping the course. You will not "automatically" be dropped if you simply stop attending the class or the Labs. In fact, this is now University Policy- the instructor cannot drop a student; the student must instigate a drop. If your name appears on the BANNER roster at the end of the semester, and you have not taken all four midterm exams or the final exam, you will receive a letter grade of "F".

OFFICE HOURS
Office hours are posted at the top of this document. You are encouraged to attend office hours when you are seeking additional help with the course material. If you cannot make the appointed times, please make an appointment. The professor and Lab instructor are very open to scheduling time to meet with you... just make contact in class of send a CANVAS message to make arrangements (see below regarding communication).

Attending office hours is optional. They are scheduled to provide an additional resource for you. Office hours are a guaranteed way to talk to either the professor or the Lab instructor. If you have any questions about an assignment, or about what was talked about in class, you can come ask us in a one-on-one situation. If you feel that you are falling behind, or that what was covered did not make sense, please come talk to us and we would be happy to go over it with you. This is also your chance to come ask us general astronomy questions, that might not be covered in the class.

COMMUNICATION AND DAMAGE CONTROL
Direct and honest communication with your professor and Lab instructor will always serve your interest best. If you have personal issues that affect your performance and/or attendance, the responsible thing is to communicate these as soon as possible. For example, missing class for three weeks and then showing up (or emailing/messaging) to discuss your grade is NOT effective communication. If you want the best damage control for a situation going bad, communicate before things get out of control. We are here to assist you in successfully achieving your educational goals. We will gladly work out a program to help you complete the course, provided you do not request it in the "11th hour".

COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR PROFESSOR AND/OR LAB INSTRUCTORS: The professor does not have Voice mail. Written messages via CANVAS messaging are the preferred form of communication. However, if you wish to directly email the professor you need to include your full name, the course "ASTR 110", and your section number. Do not include your BANNER ID. If sending an email, put your full name, course, and section number in the subject line of the email. Communication with your instructors should never be treated like a tweet or text message. Be formal, be proper, be clear, be respectful, be mature.

ADVICE FOR DAMAGE CONTROL: Though we work hard to keep clear and accurate records, from which your grade will be determined, we are not perfect and mistakes can and do sometimes occur. We strongly encourage you to photocopy or save scanned copies of your lab work prior to submitting it on CANVAS so that you have a backup copy. KEEP ALL WORK (LABS AND EXAMS) HANDED BACK TO YOU WITH GRADES MARKED ON THEM for backup proof in the case that we make a mistake in our record keeping. In cases where there are disputes over lost work or grades entries in our records that do not corroborate your expectations or memory, we will work hard to resolve the issue to the best of our integrity. However, we cannot promise that the issue will always be resolved in your favor. If you have backup proof, the issue will always be resolved quickly and unambiguously.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY
All New Mexico State University policies regarding ethics and honorable behavior apply to this course (and they are taken very seriously). For details, please see the NMSU Student Code of Conduct. Plagiarism will be dealt with harshly. Both intentional and unintentional plagiarism is academic misconduct. They are treated equally. The NMSU Student Code of Conduct will be applied as policy in this course.

DISCRIMINATION POLICY
The following is a statement on discrimination is taken from Gerard Nevarez of the Office of Institutional Equity/EEO. "New Mexico State University (NMSU) is dedicated to providing equal opportunities in areas of employment and academics without regard to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, serious medical condition, sex, sexual orientation, spousal affiliation or protected veteran status as outlined in federal and state anti-discrimination statutes. As a federal contractor, NMSU’s affirmative action program also supports this effort. Further, NMSU is committed to providing a place of work and learning free of discrimination and harassment on the basis of a person’s age, ancestry, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, serious medical condition, sex, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, or spousal affiliation. Where a violation of policy is found to have occurred, NMSU will act to stop the conduct, to prevent its recurrence, to remedy its effects, and to discipline those responsible in accordance with the NMSU Policy Manual and/or NMSU Student Code of Conduct. For more information visit the Academic Misconduct Page within the NMSU student handbook.

We are also dedicated to these ideas and take them seriously. It will be expected that all students in this class will act in accordance to create a work and learning environment free of discrimination and harassment.

PLAGIARISM/CHEATING POLICY
PLAGIARISM includes, but is not necessarily limited to, "submitting examinations, themes, reports, drawings, laboratory notes, undocumented quotations, computer-processed materials, or other material as one's own work when such work has been prepared by another person or copied from another person." Both intentional and unintentional plagiarism is considered academic misconduct . Further definitions on plagiarism can be found at http://nmsu.libguides.com/plagiarism.

Since it is not possible to ascertain whether your work has been copied from another, or whether you copied from another, BOTH individuals who are judged to be copying or having being copied from, either fully or partially, will be contacted directly- the situation will be discussed and documented with signatures. Plagiarism has become epidemic at NMSU; we see dozens of cases every semester. It will not be tolerated. I'll be frank with you- justice will be dealt swiftly. I abhor being a police officer. All sections of the the course, including lecture, exams, labs reports and summaries, and observatory projects are covered under the below policy.

CONSEQUENCES: The following is a "cut and paste" from the NMSU Student Code of Conduct, III. Academic Misconduct:

For incidents that occur at the course or academic department level, the faculty member or department head must inform the student of the alleged offense within ten (10) working days of its discovery, and after an investigation and/or conference, will take one of the following actions:
1. The allegation may be dismissed as unfounded
2. The allegation may be dismissed for lack of evidence
3. The student may admit guilt and a sanction will be imposed
4. The Hearing Officer will determine guilt based on preponderance of evidence and sanctions imposed
5. The Hearing Officer will report the decision to the student and the Coordinator of Student Judicial Services

For this class, the "investigation and/or conference" will include the student, the professor, the TA (if necessary), the Astronomy Department Head, and the Hearing Officer from the Dean's Office. As such, bullets 4 and 5 above will apply. Disciplinary action may include suspension from the University, including expulsion. Be diligent; don't copy; don't lift from the internet; don't let others copy from you.

And on that note(!!!) HAVE A GREAT SEMESTER!

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