Intro Lab General Astronomy

Catalog description

This is an introductory laboratory course in Astronomy designed for non-science majors. It incorporates substantial number of contact hours at the Montgomery Hill Observatory, making use of the state of the art telescopes, CCD cameras, and various adapters for cell phones. Students will identify constellations and asterisms, measure the apparent motion of planets and stars, and investigate the geology of terrestrial objects throughout the solar system. A series of lab exercises will demonstrate main behaviors of light and its interaction with matter. This course will cover the different stages of stellar evolution, making use of computer simulations to illustrate changes in size and energy output of stars, as they age. Course work will conclude with explorations on large scale structures such as galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and the expanding Universe.