Transcript PPT

PTYS/ASTR 206
Our Golden Age of Planetary Exploration
PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
1/11/07
Course Vitals
Photo by amateur
Wesley Higgins
• Location/Time
– Tuesdays and Thursdays
11:00AM -12:15 PM
– Kuiper Space Sciences 308
• Instructor
– Joe Giacalone, KSS 431, 626-8365
[email protected]
• Teaching Assistants
– Jade Bond
• [email protected]
– John Weirich
• [email protected]
• Course Homepage
PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/undergrad/classes/spring2007/Giacalone_206-2
1/11/07
/
What is the motivation for this class – what is it about?
• There have been 3 major
revolutions in planetary science
– Greek Philosophy (500 BC-200 AD)
– Copernican Revolution (1500-1700 AD)
– Age of spacecraft (1960-present)
• The Solar system is very accessible to
detailed examination
• We are currently in the Golden Age of
Planetary Exploration
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
Course Vitals (cont.)
• Prerequisites:
– Successful completion of two Tier 1 NATS
courses
– Familiarity with simple math tools (algebra,
trig, units)
– Willingness to solve problems related to
physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy,
and biology
• Textbook (required):
– Universe: The Solar System: (2nd
edition) by Freedman and Kaufmann
– Exam and homework questions will be
based partly on material in the textbook.
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
The Solar System
Emphasis
• This may possibly be your
last science class !
– But not the last time you
will encounter science
• Our Focus will be on scientific
UNDERSTANDING of the
basic physical processes at
work in the solar system
– And how they help us relate
the planets to one another
and to Earth
Comet McNaught, a bright comet
currently visible shortly after sunset
(Photo by amateur Stefan Seip)
PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
1/11/07
Course Vitals (cont.)
• Will there be any math?
– Yes … there will be some math in this class
• mostly in the homework assignments
• you can still do well if you do not have a strong math
background
• Please see us (TA or instructor) if you are having
difficulty with the math
– Generally speaking the math itself is no more
complicated than that which you will encounter
for the rest of your life!
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
Course Vitals (cont.)
• In the classroom
– Use common sense and courtesy
– Turn cell phones and other communication devices off!
– No food or drink allowed in the lecture hall (except bottled
water).
– Constructive participation is strongly encouraged (feel free to
ask questions – please!!).
• Outside the class
–
–
–
–
Do the reading assignments!
Start homework assignments early!
Be careful of Academic Integrity.
If you are having difficulty with the material or anything else
about the class, feel free to contact any of us – we are here
to help!
PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
1/11/07
Course Vitals (cont.)
Grading Scale
•
•
•
•
•
> 89%
78–88%
67-77%
56-66%
< 55%
PTYS/ASTR 206
A
B
C
D
E
We do not intend to use a statistical
grading curve, but MAY if special
circumstances warrant it.
Factors considered in borderline cases:
+ positive performance gradient
+ in-class participation
+ participation in out-of-class
activities
+ In order to be considered for
moving up a grade, you MUST
have handed in all of your
homework!
Course Orientation
1/11/07
Course vitals (cont.)
Grading Breakdown
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
20% Best of 2 mid-term exams
10% Worst of 2 mid-term exams
20% Final exam
25% Homework
10% In-class activities
5% Quizzes
10% Term Paper
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
Active Region on the Sun
Course Vitals (cont.)
• Course Assignments
– 2 in-class, closed book exams + a final exam
• In-class activities
– About ½ will be graded (decided by a coin toss)
• Homework
– worth the most towards your final grade, will take the most time
– You are encouraged to work together on homework, and in-class
activities.
– You MUST turn in your own (original) work
– It is not acceptable to turn in work identical to that of another student
(use your own words!)
• Term Paper
– Details to be discussed Course
later Orientation
PTYS/ASTR 206
1/11/07
Please turn in the personal information
sheet today (last page of the handout)
• We will have
preceptors in this
course -- please
indicate if you wish
to be one
• Preceptors will hold
weekly study
sessions
PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
1/11/07
Gas clouds on Jupiter
Why study the solar system?
• Importance to Earth and its inhabitants
– we must understand the environment in
which we live to understand how to survive
• Importance for understanding the origin of
life
• Subject of many research projects
• Many basic properties are a mystery
– How did Earth get its water?
– Did Mars once have oceans of water and a
thick atmosphere?
– How thick is the ice crust of Europa?
– Why does the number of spots on the Sun
go up and down on an 11-year cycle?
PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
1/11/07
General list of topics to covered in this course
• Planetary orbits, Ancient Planetary
Astronomy, Imaging
• Structure and Formation of the Solar
System
• Fundamental Planetary Processes
– Cratering,Surfaces,
Interiors,Atmospheres
Schematic of the greenhouse effect
• A detailed look at each planet, and
other objects in the solar system
(Sun, asteroids, comets, etc.)
• Astrobiology -- Extraterrestrial life?
• A more-detailed schedule is on the
course website and in today’s
handout
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
Schematic of plate tectonics
• There are often rapid advances
made in Planetary Science because
of accessibility of the solar system to
humans
– We will try to discuss these as
they happen
• Other topical subjects include:
– Global warming
– Greenhouse effect
– Asteroid and comet impacts
– Water on Mars & HiRISE
– Solar Storms and Space
Weather
– Cassini at Saturn
– Is Pluto a planet?
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Topical Lectures
Phoenix lander mission to Mars: due
to be launched in August 2007
Course Orientation
1/11/07
New Discoveries
Water on Mars – discovered by a team in this Department
(images from Mars Global Surveyor)
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
A small list of highlights from 2006
• Arrival of Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter at Mars
– HiRISE !
• Launch of several new missions
… including
– New Horizons (mission to Pluto)
– STEREO (Solar mission)
– Venus express (mission to Venus)
• Pluto is demoted
• Discovery of many new extrasolar
planets
PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
1/11/07
New Horizons mission to Pluto:
launched last January
• UofA mission
• on Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter
• Currently in orbit around Mars
• Will map the surface of Mars
at unprecedented resolution
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
HiRISE
MRO/HiRISE
image of Mars’s
Victoria Crater
and rover
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
Cassini in orbit about the Saturn system
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
Cassini/VIMS image
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
The spacecraft fleet observing the Sun and its
Environment
STEREO
Ulysses
SOHO
ACE
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Voyager
And MANY others
not shown
here
Course
Orientation
1/11/07
SOHO/LASCO (C3) movie of the Sun during
the “Halloween” Storm period in 2003
The Sun is shielded
from view in this movie
by an occulting disk
What is seen are stars,
a planet, and the active
solar corona
This is a time-lapse
movie
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
The increasingly important role of amateur
astronomy
• Amateur photos can rival those produced by spacecraft cameras
– www.astromart.com
– webcam and CCD imaging
– small and affordable telescopes
– can search for extrasolar planets
– comet hunting
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Course Orientation
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PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
1/11/07
The best film picture of Saturn – as of the early 1970s
Photo by Steve Larson, this department
PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
1/11/07
Picture taken in my backyard
(10” telescope and a webcam)
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
Webcam video of Saturn
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Course Orientation
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“stacking” of best images obtained
from the webcam video
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Course Orientation
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Picture of taken by amateur Wesley Higgins
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Course Orientation
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Picture of taken by spacecraft Cassini
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Course Orientation
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How did the solar system form?
• A perfectly valid and sensible question
• We use the scientific method to answer it
• Clues are obtained by observing the basic properties of the
solar system and invoking Comparative Planetology
– Planets and moons often have similarities
– similarities and differences
give clues to the origin of the solar
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Course Orientation
system
1/11/07
Comparing the Planets/Moons
Planet Types
Amateur photo by
Dominique Dierick
Heavily
Cratered
Worlds
Terrestrial Planet
Worlds
with few
(if any)
impact
craters
PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
1/11/07
Gas Giant
How Do We Measure Astronomical Objects?
• Angular measurements
– Still need to know how far the Earth is from the object
– How do we measure this?
• Spectroscopy
– Measuring the light emitted (or reflected off of) the object
– Need to understand the properties of light
– Often requires going into space (i.e. some forms of radiation do
not make it to the ground)
• Picking it up and looking at it
– Requires going there!
• Other clever ideas are also in use
– Must be innovative because these objects are so far away!
PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
1/11/07
Angular Measure
If you draw lines from your eye to each of two stars, the
angle between these lines is the angular distance between
these two stars
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
Angular Measurements
• Subdivide one degree into 60 arcminutes
– minutes of arc
– abbreviated as 60 arcmin or 60´
• Subdivide one arcminute into 60 arcseconds
– seconds of arc
– abbreviated as 60 arcsec or 60”
1° = 60 arcmin = 60´
1´ = 60 arcsec = 60”
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
Practice (or brush up on) Unit Conversion!
• The conversion of a value from one
set of units to another is an important
and often overlooked step in any
science calculation.
• You must include units in your
quantitative calculations to receive full
credit.
• Read Chapter 1 of the text for more
information on important units in
astronomy and examples of unit
conversion
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
A Martian solar eclipse seen by the
rover Opportunity (Phobos is the
moon)
Powers-of-ten notation is a useful shorthand
system for writing numbers
Common Prefixes
Factor
(billion)
109
(million)
106
Name
GigaMega-
Symbol
G
M
(thousand) 103
(hundredth) 10-2
(thousandth) 10-3
kilocentimilli-
k
c
m
(millionth)
10-6
micro-
(billionth)
10-9
nano-

n
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Course Orientation
1/11/07
Announcements
• Reading Assignment
– Chapters 1 and 4
• There will be an in-class activity on Tuesday
(1/16)
• The first homework assignment will be
assigned (available for download from the
course website) on Tuesday (it will be due
1/25)
PTYS/ASTR 206
Course Orientation
1/11/07