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Solar System Astronomy is about science, but it is NOT for science students. This course is for students studying commerce, the humanities or the social sciences who are required to complete UTM's science distribution requirement. Students who have completed a university course in chemistry or physics (except PHY205 or PHY206) are excluded from taking this course because they would have an unfair advantage over the other students.
Solar System Astronomy tries to answer questions such as these:
Because Solar System Astronomy is for the science distribution requirement, its primary goal is to present the general methods of science. Therefore, the many facts about the solar system presented in this course, such as the direct answers to the questions raised above, are not the primary focus. The goal of this course is to show how we have learned about objects we cannot examine directly. We concentrate on the logical connection between the physical cause, which is often familiar from our experience on Earth, and the observed astronomical effect.
WARNING: For some reason, it is widely believed that astronomy is a very easy subject. This is not true. The course evaluation done at the end of the term shows that previous classes have found this course to be about as difficult as their other courses, but that it was harder than expected. To do well, it is important to study as much for this course as for any other course.
TEXT - The Essential Cosmic Perspective, 3rd Edition, by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider and Voit.
Printable File of the Course Description (This is a "PDF" file, standing for Portable Document Format. It is widely used because it is not tied to a particular type of computer operating system. If your web browser cannot interpret the pdf file, you can download and install the Adobe Acrobat Reader appropriate for your computer at no charge by going to http://www.adobe.com/ and clicking on Downloads.)
| Course Science Prerequisites | Course Math Requirements |
| Course Lectures | Course Tutorials |
| Course Evaluation | Marking Guidelines |
| Course Calendar |
| Class List (19 Sept) |
| Tutorials |
| Studying the Text | Taking Lecture Notes |
| Previous Tests | Last Year's Marks Distribution |
I am in my office many other hours. I am happy to talk to you at any time. Please come by if you have any questions.
I am happy to respond to e-mail questions about the course material, with the understanding that I might also post my reply on the course web page under Frequently Asked Questions if I feel they are of general interest. My response will usually be within the working day, but I am unlikely to respond at night or over the weekend. Also, please consult the course web page for the information you want before sending me an e-mail. If your question requires a lengthy response, I will suggest you see me in my office or after lecture. Please include the course number and your name as given on the class list in the e-mail. Note that some commercial service providers can be unreliable in both sending and receiving messages. You are encouraged to use your UTM e-mail account.
