STUDY SHEET FOR FINAL.

Final exam is on Chapters 10 in new edition through 13+epilogue, which includes lecture notes Sections 3 and 4.

You should also make sure to know Kepler's laws and Newton's laws of motion and gravity, since it is difficult to understand the detection and characterization of the orbits of extra-solar planets without understanding the basic laws of gravity and planetary motion.

The test will be about 20-30 questions, with multiple choice and short written answers required. You do not need a scantron. Test answers are to be written on the exam sheets. Please contact me with any questions. (rwalterb@nmsu.edu)

Use lecture notes on web pages as the main guide for followup study from sections in the book. Depending on your background and familiarity with science in general and astronomy in particular, you may need to spend more or less time studying the book. The list below lists most of the major topics we have discussed. I may have missed one or two but the notes will make that clear.

Chapter 10,11:

What is concept of "habitable zone"
What object(s) does this refer to?
What does it depend on?
How long can a star shine? How did we determine that? What is the mass-luminosity relation?
What determines the average temperature on a planet? Consider:
   properties of star
   distance from star
   albedo
   presence of absence of greenhouse effect
   rotation period
   shape of orbit
   does planet have seasons? What determines seasons on a planet?
Difference between hot and cool stars in terms of their light output
What is the "Main Sequence"
What are star clusters? Which two types did we discuss? Why are they useful objects to study?


Chapter 11:

Detection techniques for finding planets around other stars. Which 3 did we discuss?
What is the Doppler effect? How is it connected to finding planets?
What is a "transit"?
How much is the star light dimmed in a transit? How would we calculate that?
Are transits common?
Can we take pictures of extra-solar planets? Why is it hard?
What type of planets can we find these days? What is easier, finding them close to
   stars or far away from stars? Why?
Can we find earth-mass planets?
What has been discovered about extra-solar planets thus far? Make a list as you study that topic.
What is the most favorable orientation at which we can look at an extra-solar system and
  detect the planets? Does it depend on which technique we rely on in our search technique?


Chapter 12:

What is SETI?
What is the Drake equation? What quantities does it contain? Which can we know, which do
   we have to "guess"?
What is the best wavelength regime to send signals or search for extra-terrestrial intelligence?
Does it make sense to send signals out or to "listen"?
What are the best stars to listen to?
Have we sent any signals in the past? How were they encoded?
How would we decide a signal is not natural but artificial and likely due to an intelligence?
Challenge in looking for signals:
   were to look?
   broad wavelength range over which signals could be present. Finding needle in haystack.
   how much telescope time and money to devote to this?

Chapter 13:

What are the extra costs/risks involved with manned versus unmanned space flight?
Distinguish distance scales involved in:
    space missions to low-Earth orbit (what is that?)
    space missions to Moon
    space mission to planets in solar system
    missions outside our solar system. How long would it take at currently attainable speeds for
                 craft?
Why does it cost so much energy to launch something in space?  Why does it scale as
    velocity squared?
What is escape velocity?
What are the challenges for human space flight to other stars?
Einstein's theory of relativity, and the limits in implies to travel speeds
Time dilation, twin paradox
What is a "paradox"?
What is the Fermi paradox?
What are the possible "solutions" to the Fermi paradox?
What is the "rare Earth hypothesis"?
What are some arguments in favor of this?