This will be the course page for City College Course PHYS 454 in the Spring of 2022.
The course syllabus is here: Syllabus
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.
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 31 | Intro (pdf) | Slides | Python for Astro | ||
| Feb 2 | Origins of Astro (pdf) | Slides | HW 1 (due Feb 16) | ||
| Feb 7 | Origins and Python Intro | Python/Queries Tutorial | |||
| Feb 9 | Planetarium | ||||
| Feb 14 | Celestial Mechanics (pdf) | Slides | |||
| Feb 16 | Celestial Mechanics | HW 1 due | |||
| Feb 21 | |||||
| Feb 23 | Lagrange Points (pdf) | Slides | |||
| Feb 28 | Light (pdf) | Slides | |||
| Mar 2 | Light & Matter (pdf) | Slides | HW 2 (due March 21) | ||
| Mar 7 | Stellar Classes(pdf) | Slides | Reading Quiz 1 | ||
| Mar 9 | Stellar Interiors(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Mar 14 | Stellar Interiors | ||||
| Mar 16 | Stellar Interiors | Solar Viewing | |||
| Mar 21 | Stellar Evolution(pdf) | Slides | HW 2 Due | ||
| Mar 23 | Stellar Evolution | ||||
| Mar 28 | Instruments(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Mar 30 | Rocky Planets(pdf) | Slides | HW 3 (due April 13) | ||
| Apr 4 | Rocky Planets(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Apr 6 | Planetarium | ||||
| Apr 11 | Gassy Planets(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Apr 13 | HW 3 due | ||||
| Apr 18 | |||||
| Apr 20 | |||||
| Apr 25 | The Milky Way(pdf) | Slides | |||
| Apr 27 | Galaxies(pdf) | Slides | |||
| May 2 | Cosmology | ||||
| May 4 | Cosmology(pdf) | Slides | |||
| May 9 | Presentations | Info | |||
| May 11 | Presentations | ||||
| May 16 | Presentations |
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