Astronomy 110G-M10 Spring 2009

Instructor: Roberto J. Avila
Email: ravila
(Append "@nmsu.edu")
Phone: (575)646-3000
Office: Astronomy 212
Office hours: Thursday 2:30 - 3:30pm

Lab: Mondays 2:30 - 4:30pm
Location: Biology Annex 102

Welcome

Hello there. Welcome to the wonderful world of astronomy. I hope that throughout the semester you begin to apprecaiate what makes this subject infinately interesting. Do not ever hesitate to ask me questions about lab, class, astronomy in the news or anything else you want. I am a graduate student so you can almost always find me in my office in the Astronomy building. Stop by and chat!

Lab Policies

  • Attendance is mandatory and will be reflected in your final lab grade. If you have to miss lab one week (for a legitimate reason, which is at my discretion) and let me know ahead of time, or if you are sick and have a doctor's note, it will not be held against you. You are still required to turn in the previous week's lab on time. If you miss a lab and you do not have an excuse, you will receive a zero for that day's lab. There are no make-up labs available.
  • Plagirism is bad, mkay. Do not copy from your friends, lab manual, textbook, Wikipedia or anywhere else for that matter. I have taught this lab many times and I know the tricks people try to use to cheat, so don't even try it.
  • Turn off your cell phones!! I mean it. Put it away, I don't want to see it on the table. If it rings I reserve the right to answer it and embarrass you.
  • Bring a scientific calculator to class. Yes, I know your phone has a simple calculator but it won't do logarithms or scientific notation. Besides, I don't want to see your phone on the table remember.
  • Labs are due one week from when they are assigned. Late labs will be penalized 10% for each day that they are late.

    • Sample summaries

    Each lab requires that you write a summary based on questions at the end of each lab. Please make sure these labs are typed, checked for correct grammar and spelling, well thought out, and that all answers are written in complete sentences. The following are examples of a good and bad summary, respectively:

  • A good summary
  • A bad summary

    • Schedule

    Week
    		 Date Lab Assignment Assigment due
    1
    		 January 26 Lab introduction (Lab 1)
    2
    		 February 2 Spectroscopy (Lab11) Lab introduction (Lab 1)
    3
    		 February 9 Gravity & Keplers Laws (Lab 6) Spectroscopy (Lab 11)
    4
    		 February 16 Our Sun (Lab 12) Gravity & Keplers Laws (Lab 6)
    5
    		 February 23 Parallax (Lab 9) Our Sun (Lab 12)
    6
    		 March 2 HR Diagram (Lab 13) Parallax (Lab 9)
    7
    		 March 9 Seasons (Lab 2) HR Diagram (Lab 13)
    Observatory Notebook 1
    8
    		 March 16 The Moon (Lab 3) Seasons (Lab 2)
    9
    		 March 23 Spring break!
    10
    		 March 30 Comets (Lab 4) The Moon (Lab 3)
    11
    		 April 6 Galaxy Morphology (Lab 15) Comets (Lab 4)
    12
    		 April 13 The Hubble Law (Lab 17) Galaxy Morphology (Lab 15)
    13
    		 April 20 Counting All Galaxies (Lab 16) The Hubble Law (Lab 17)
    14
    		 April 27 Review Counting All Galaxies (Lab 16)
    Observatory Notebook 2