Teaching
Dynamical Astronomy - ASTR 301
Lectures for the course Dynamical Astronomy, upper level undergraduate course at CSUN. Offered in the fall since 2018.
Syllabus
Notes
Chapter 1 (Spherical Astronomy);
Chapter 2 (Kepler's Laws);
Chapter 3 (Celestial Mechanics).
Slides
Course Structure
- Class 1
- Syllabus and overall overview.
- Class 2
- Celestial Sphere - Definitions
- Class 3
- Coordinate Systems - Horizontal and Equatorial
- Class 4
- Coordinate Systems - Hour and Ecliptic
- Class 5
- Spherical trigonometry - fundamentals
- Class 6
- Spherical trigonometry - conversions
- Class 7
- Spherical trigonometry - longitude
- Class 8
- Class 9
- Planetary motion - Elongation
- Class 10
- Class 11
- Superior and inferior planets
- Class 12
- Motion of the Earth - aberration
- Class 13
- Motion of the Earth - parallax
- Class 14
- Class 15
- Orbital period - finding Mars
- Class 16
- Class 17
- Class 18
- Class 19
- Class 20
- Equant model and Kepler's 2nd law
- Class 21
- Time and area - Kepler's equation
- Class 22
- Solution of Kepler's equation; Kepler's 3rd law
- Class 23
- Celestial mechanics: Gravity
- Class 24
- Celestial mechanics: From Newton to Kepler
- Class 25
- Celestial mechanics: Constants of motion
- Class 26
- Celestial mechanics: Types of orbit