ASTR 308G / 461
Into the Final Frontier
Astronomy for Teachers

Section 1
MTWTh, 10:20-12:20
Biology Annex 102 (BX 102)

| home | schedule |


INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Professor

Dr. Chris Churchill
Office hours: W & Th 12:30-1:30
Office: Rm 206 ASTR (Bldg 55)
Phone: 646-1913
Email: "cwc"


COURSE OUTLINE

This course is introduction to the recent history of human space flight. We will cover the development of the rocket, both intellectually, and in practice. We will then review the US and USSR space programs, stopping to look at the milestones and their significance in the race to walk on the moon. We will pepper throughout discussion on the scientific method of understanding the universe and our place within it. Face the fact that 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 tens of thousands of years, it has been only in the last 100 years that we have begun to really grasp at the unfathomable expanse of time and space. Each galaxy is an "oasis" in space-- each an ecosystem in which hundreds of billions of stars are born, live out their lives, grow old, and die (sometimes quite catastrophically). 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. 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?
COURSE SPECIFICS


Credit
This is a three (3.0) credit course. Attendance to the lectures is mandatory and will be charted. In summary, the following will be counted for credit: Attendance will include your scores on occasional very short pop quizzes. There will be two required mid-term exams, There will be a required cumulative final exam. We will have a class debate (topics TBA) in which you will form in to debate teams. We will also have two days of class presentations (with visual aids), where each of you will report on some special topic of human space flight. However, see below for a possible "out" of the final exam!

Prerequisites
None. There will be very little quantitative analysis, but being able to make simple calculations will be helpful.

Lectures
The lectures are designed to introduce and explain scientific concepts, to stimulate interest in the reading material, to expand on the reading material, and, in some cases, to introduce topics not covered in the textbook. You are encouraged to ask questions during the lectures!

Required Reading
The required textbook for this course is Into the Final Frontier (Harcourt College Publishers) by Bernie McNamara. A copy will be put on two hour in-house reserve at the Zuhl Library. The book has been written for non-science majors and is not mathematical. You are responsible for knowing the reading schedule and keeping up with the required reading. Your best strategy will be to do the assigned reading the night before the material is presented in class.

You will also be required to read the book A Man on the Moon: Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts, by Andrew Chaikin. You can purchase it for $12.00 at amazon.com (or used for as little as $1.20)!

Course Home Page
A home page will be continually updated for this course, and its address is the following: http://astronomy.nmsu.edu/cwc/Teaching/ASTR308/SummII06/.

Attendance (Pop-Quizzes)
There will be occasional, yet very brief pop quizzes that will serve to assist in recording attendance. Tardiness, and "bugging out" of class early will be spot checked. Talk to me if you have a daily or weekly scheduling constraint. The quizzes will reflect items from lectures.

Exams
There will be two short 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. There is a required cummulative final exam. However, if you obtain an "A" on all assignments, including attendence, midterms, debate, and presentation, you may opt out of taking the final exam, in which case the average of your combined grades will be used to compute your final exam score. You must tell the professor ahead of time if you choose this option. Failing to do so will result in an "F" on the final exam.

EXAM DAY POLICY: (1) No hats or objects that obstruct your face; (2) All books and papers zipped shut in your back pack; (3) All exams 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 ME BY EMAIL OR PHONE MESSAGE NO LATER THAN THE DAY OF THE EXAM FOR THESE POLICY TO HOLD. CONTACT AFTER THE EXAM DAY WILL RESULT IN A ZERO SCORE. PERIOD. NO EXCEPTIONS. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.

Grading
Grading will be weighted as follows:

Drop Policy
IMPORTANT-- READ THIS: Wednesday, July 26 is the last day to drop the course with a "W" grade. You 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. If your name appears on the university grade roster at the end of the semester, you will receive a letter grade, which could result in an "F". You have been informed.

Office Hours
You are encouraged to come to my office hours for help with the course material. If you cannot make the appointed times, please make an appointment (my office hours are given above).

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 Division of Student Affairs Handbook. Plagiarism will be dealt with harshly.

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. If any of this is unclear, please investigate additional information at http://gervaseprograms.georgetown.edu/hc/plagiarism.html. These definitions will applied as matter of policy in this course.