This will be the course page for City College Course PHYS 454 in the Spring of 2025.
The course syllabus is here: Syllabus
The course will tackle introductory aspects and methods of modern astronomy, astrophysics, and planetary science. We will learn how to use some of the tools that have helped build modern astronomy and the physics that our current understanding of the cosmos is based on. Course work will be largely mini-project/lab-report format, rather than problem set based. Computers and coding are essential tools for modern astronomy, so be ready to write some elementary python scripts and plot some real astronomy data. Other more advanced coding needs will be addressed during the semester.
This course is listed as a zero-textbook course, which means no text book purchase is necessary. That doesn't mean you don't have to read anything. The class notes, and provided readings, will largely cover the material, however, you can supplement them with a number of other books if you feel like you need more information. Some useful ones:
Otherwise known as the Big Orange Book, this book covers just about everything that a full year course in intro astrophysics would cover. This is not a full year course, so there are obviously many sections we won't cover.
This is a more modern, and smaller introductory book. It covers less material and is somewhat more accessible.
The page about the projects/presentations can be found here: About the Projects
Course Content will be available here. Exact Dates are subject to change, but this represents the most likely dates.
| Date | Subject (& pdf) | Slides | In class | HW | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 27 | Intro (pdf) | Slides | Get Colab running! | On The Heavens | |
| Jan 29 | |||||
| Feb 3 | Origins (pdf) | Slides | HW 1 | ||
| Feb 5 | Origins (pdf) | Slides | |||
| Feb 10 | Celestial Mechanics (pdf) | Slides | |||
| Feb 12 | |||||
| Feb 17 | |||||
| Feb 18 | Celestial Mechanics | ||||
| Feb 19 | Planetarium | HW 2 | |||
| Feb 24 | Light (pdf) | Slides | |||
| Feb 26 | |||||
| Mar 3 | Light and Matter (pdf) | Slides | |||
| Mar 5 | Instruments(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Mar 6 | Stellar Classification(pdf) | Slides | HW 3 | ||
| Mar 10 | Stellar Structures(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Mar 12 | Stellar Structures | ||||
| Mar 17 | Stellar Evolution(pdf) | Slides | Race to Fusion | ||
| Mar 19 | HW 4 | ||||
| Mar 24 | Milky Way(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Mar 26 | Galaxies(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Mar 31 | |||||
| Apr 2 | Cosmology(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Apr 7 | Cosmology | ||||
| Apr 9 | Planetarium | ||||
| Apr 14 | |||||
| Apr 16 | |||||
| Apr 21 | Inner Solar System(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Apr 23 | Outer Solar System(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Apr 28 | The Great Debate (pdf) | HW 5 | |||
| Apr 30 | |||||
| May 5 | Relativity(pdf) | Slides | |||
| May 7 | Other Objects(pdf) | Slides | |||
| May 12 | Project Presents | ||||
| May 14 | Project Presents |
For email communication, please include in the subject: PHYS454. (This is to make sure I see it.)
To comply with FERPA guidelines, please use your ccny email to correspond with me. Include your name and section number, and EMPLID if you need administrative actions done. If you will be missing class or other activities due to illness, state that and that only. It's inappropriate and unprofessional to share details about vomiting, migraines, etc. Keep that between you and your medical provider or family, not your physics teacher.
Some student resources you might want to use can be found here: CCNY Campus Resources