SPRING 2022 ERTH-101 On-Line Materials (Introductory Astronomy)
The bold items are the main lectures or more noteworthy items of the class (so check those out first).
Click here for a list of just the Zoom Chats with Scientists / Alumni.
- These Welcome Videos are for students enrolled in the class and go into detail about assignments. You can skip these if you are not in the class.
- Instructor Bio: Erin O'Connor
- Text: OpenStax Astronomy (entire book, specific chapter sections given each week)
Week 1
- VIDEO Instructions for this week's reading(9min) - For those enrolled in the class (goes into detail about assignments)
- Lecutre 1: Introduction, Size & Scale of the Universe
FULL Video (69min), SHORT Video (60min)
- Lecture 2a: Celestial Motions
Full Video (37min), SHORT Video (27min)
Here you will learn about Rotation, Revolution, Precession, the Ecliptic, and Astrology.
- Lecture 2b: Ancient Astronomy
FULL Video (24min), SHORT Video (18min)
Important developments in astronomy up to the Copernican Revolution.
- Lecture 2c: Galileo Galilei & Science
FULL Video (25min), SHORT Video (18min)
The development of modern science as we know it!
- Galileo Feather Experiment (Demo) - not historically accurate, but see what you think...
(Filmed on location, in the field, with me and my son)
- Lecture 2d: Arab/Islamic Astronomy (Optional - Not Required)
PDF of slide show
Prepared to honor the important and significant contributions of the Arab world in Astronomy. Presentation put together by Dr. Jatila van der Veen.
- Reading:
Chapter 1 - Science & and Universe
Chapter 2 - Observing the Sky
- Activity: What's Up in the Night Sky
- Crash Course #1 Video: Introduction to Astronomy
Crash Course #2 Video: Naked Eye Observations (Extra Credit)
- End of Week video (4min) - For those enrolled in the class (goes into detail about assignments)
https://youtu.be/fM1S-SyPYhM
Week 2
- Lecture 3a: Developments in Western Astronomy from Tycho Brahe to Johannes Kepler
FULL Video (26min), SHORT Video (21min)
- Lecture 3b: Developments in Western Physics and Astronomy: Isaac Newton
FULL Video (30min), SHORT Video (20min)
- Lecture 4a: Seasons and Moon Phases
FULL Video (1hr6min), SHORT Video (1hr)
- Extra Credit Video: A Private Universe (only the first 3 minutes were assigned to the class)
- Extra Credit Lecture on Tides
FULL Video (36min), SHORT Video (22min)
- Reading
Chapter 3 - Orbits & Gravity
In this chapter you will learn of the development of Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion and Newton's laws of physics and his Universal Law of Gravitation. Chapter 4 - Earth, Moon, & Sky
In this chapter you will explore the changes of daylight hours and seasons by latitude, time zones according to longitude, the development of the calendar, seasons, moon phases, eclipses, and tides.
- Activity: Gravity & Orbital Motion
There seems to be some difficulty with the program that you will use in this activity when using some browsers. Whenever you change your initial speed and launch angle, be sure to click on the "Initialize" button before hitting "Play". You should only need to use these two buttons. The "Reset" and "Clear Path" buttons doesn't seem to work for me (and you don't need them). If the program freezes up on you, click the "Refresh" button.
- Crash Course Video #7: Gravity
- Extra Credit Crash Course #8 video: Tides
Week 3
Week 4
- Lecture 7a: The Solar System
FULL Video (49min), SHORT Video (32min)
- Lecture 10a: The Planet Venus
FULL Video (30min), SHORT Video (23min)
- Lecture 10b: The Planet Mars
FULL Video (1hr8min), SHORT Video (1hr3min)
- Lecture 7b: Radioactivity (23min, 2pts Extra Credit, Optional)
FULL Video (23min), SHORT Video (19min)
- Orsen Well's Radio Adapataion of H.G.Wells "War of the World"
(Listen from 0-3:00,
9:20-10:25, and 14:30-18:00)
- Spirit Rover Launch and Simulation of Landing
Watch this video of the Spirit Rover being launched and a simulation of it landing
(no... it's not actual footage... the Martian's wouldn't give it to us). Only need to watch (0-30sec, 1:10-2:55, and 3:30-4:00).
- V4 Video: Seven Minutes of Terror (5min) (Curiosity Landing on Mars)
- Chapter 7 - Other Worlds (The Solar System)
General overview of the Solar System - how it formed; terrestrial planets, gas giants, ice giants, and magnetic fields
- Chapter 10 - Earthlike Planets
Detailed look at Venus (and the spacecraft visits to Venus) and Mars (and the spacecraft and rovers on Mars)
- C4 Crash Course #9: Introduction to the Solar Systemm (10min)
- EC4 Crash Course #14: Venus (10min, 2pts Extra Credit)
- EC4 Crash Course #15: Mars (10min, 2pts Extra Credit)
Week 5
- Lecture 11a: The Planet Jupiter
FULL Video (56min), SHORT Video (47min)
- Lecture 11b: The Planet Saturn
FULL Video (47min), SHORT Video (38min)
- Lecture 11c: The Planets Uranus & Neptune
FULL Video (33min), SHORT Video (28min)
- Lecture 12a: Pluto & the Kuiper Belt
FULL Video (19min), SHORT Video (17min)
- Chapter 11 - The Giant Planets
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and the spacecraft missions to explore these Jovian planets.
- Chapter 12 - Rings, Moons, and Pluto
Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.
- EC5 Crash Course #16: Jupiter (10min, 2pts Extra Credit)
- EC5 Crash Course #17: Jupiter's Moons (10min, 2pts Extra Credit)
- EC5 Crash Course #18: Saturn (10min, 2pts Extra Credit)
- EC5 Crash Course #19: Uranus & Neptune (10min, 2pts Extra Credit)
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
- Lecture 5a: Classical Physics of Light (Wave properties of Light)
Only as correlates to sections 5.1, 5.2, and 5.6 of the text (we will do the rest of the chapter next week)
FULL Video (2hr4min), SHORT Video (1hr54min)
- V8 Video James Webb telescope (31min)
Watch the video on the newly launched James Webb Telescope (the most powerful telescope in the world)
- V9 Video James Webb Telescope (9min) - OPTIONAL
Just a short video on the Webb Telescope but the other one mostly covers all this plus more
- Lecture 6a (Optional): Telescopes (History, Development, Theory, and Examples of Famous Telescopes)
Lecture PowerPoint PDF Presentation
- Chapter 5 - Radiation and Spectra
Only sections 5.1, 5.2, and 5.6 (we will do the rest of the chapter next week)
Electromagnetic Radiation - The wave properties properties of light
- Chapter 6 - Astronomical Instruments (Optional! You are not required to read this chapter, though it's super interesting.)Advanced telescopic imaging systems here on Earth and out in Space
- A8a Activity Light & Color PDF (click here for Word)
- C8 Crash Course #24: Light
- EC6 Crash Course #6: Telescopes (10min, 2pts Extra Credit)
Week 9
- Lecture 5b: Modern Physics of Light (Quantum Mechanics of Light - Spectra)
Only as correlates to sections 5.3, 5.4, and 5.5 of the text (we did the other sections last week)
FULL Video (1hr45min), SHORT Video (1hr32min)
- Lecture 17a: Star Brightness, Magnitudes, Temperature, Proper Motion, and Spectral Classification
We will apply the concepts of black body radiation and absorption spectra to identify the temperature and composition of stars.
Students usually have difficulty with this material, so many examples are included (except for the MINI video version).
FULL Video (1hr22min), SHORT Video (1hr13min), MINI Video with examples removed (55min)
- Chapter 5 - Radiation & Spectra
Only sections 5.3, 5.4, and 5.5 of the text (we did the other sections last week)
The internal workings of the atom and how stellar spectra is used in astronomy
- Chapter 17 - Analyzing StarlightOverview of stars and stellar spectra, specifically looking at Star Brightness, Magnitudes, Temperature, Proper Motion, and Spectral Classification.
- A8b Activity Light & Temperature (Click here for Word)
- C9 Crash Course #26: Stars
Week 10
- Lecture 18a: Binary Stars and Mass Luminosity Relation
FULL Video (58min), SHORT Video (48min)
- Lecture 18b: Spectra, HR Diagram, Size, Mass, Stellar Evolution, Spectral Class Distribution
FULL Video (1hr4min), SHORT Video (1hr1min)
- Lecture 19a: Distances, Spectroscopic Parallax, Main Sequence Fitting
FULL Video (30min), SHORT Video (27min)
- Lecture 18c: More on HR Diagram, Stellar Spectra in detail [OPTIONAL]
PDF Document 18c
- Lecture 18d: Measuring Mass from Luminosity [OPTIONAL]
PDF Document 18d
- Lecture 19b: Calculating Distances to Stars Mathematically [OPTIONAL]
PDF Document 19b
- Chapter 18 - A Celestial Census
Properties of Stars (from Starlight only), Binary Stars (all types), Mass-Luminosity Relation, Spectra, HR Diagram, Size, Mass, Stellar Evolution, Spectral Class Distribution, Stellar Spectra in detail, Measuring Mass from Luminosity
- Chapter 19 - Celestial Distances
Properties of Stars (from Starlight only), Distances, Spectroscopic Parallax, Main Sequence Fitting, Calculating Distances to Stars Mathematically
- A10 Activity Plotting Stars on the HR Diagram
- C10 Crash Course #34: Binary and Multiple Stars
- Zoom Chat with Scientist / Alumni, Thr Mar 31 at 10 am
We had a great Zoom Meeting. Here is the recording:
https://youtu.be/hdx1e1ch2rk
- Iair (pronounced, "ya-eer") Arcavi is an astronomer at Tel Aviv University in Israel. He earned his PhD in astrophysics from the Weizmann Institute of Science, and was later a NASA Einstein Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California Santa Barbara. Iair has been using the robotic telescopes of Las Cumbres Observatory, networked around the globe, to catch fleeting astronomical events such as exploding supernovae, stars torn apart by supermassive black holes, and the flare made by merging neutron stars, known as a kilonova. Iair is also an amateur photographer and enjoys an addiction to chocolate. Iair was very involved with our SBCC Astronomy Club for several years while working here in the US. He arranged special tours for us of the Las Cumbres facilities and telescopes. He has a passion and an interest in science education and we were sad to lose him when he returned to his teaching/research post in Israel.
- YouTube Video featuring Iair Arcavi and his research at Las Cumbres Observatory (Iair at 0:30, 1:45, etc)
https://youtu.be/aLCl2PpV-wo
Week 11
- Lecture 20a: Interstellar Gas/Dust and Star Formation
FULL Video (1hr2min)
- Lecture 21a: Exoplanets
FULL Video (1hr3min)
- Lecture 21b: AstroBiology
FULL Video (44min)
- Lecture 20b: More on Star Formation Regions with Specific Examples [OPTIONAL]
PDF Document 20b
- Drake Equation Calculators: these all calculate the same thing (see lecture 21b) [OPTIONAL]
Let's see how many communicable civilizations there are in our galaxy waiting for us to talk with them?
- Chapter 20 - Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space
Gas and Dust and Star Formation and Stellar Evolution.
- Chapter 21 - The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar System
Exoplanets and Habitable Zones.
- Chapter 30 - Life in the Universe (Astrobiology) - OPTIONAL (You do not have to read this)
Life elsewhere in the universe. Drake Equation and SETI Project.
- C11 Crash Course #29: Low Mass Stars
- Zoom Chat with Scientist / Alumni, Fri Apr 8 at 3 pm
We had a great Zoom Meeting. Here is the recording:
https://youtu.be/nfLo4SgdXuw
- Joseph "Zippy" Connell is finishing up his PhD in theoretical particle physics at UC Santa Cruz and has enjoyed teaching physics classes while in graduate school. He grew up in Hawaii and his science career started at SBCC when he took, and then tutored astronomy and its lab, physics, and math. After transferring to UCSB and completing his bachelor's degree, he moved to Santa Cruz for graduate school, bigger surf, and more access to Nature. His research includes searching for new fundamental particles called Higgs bosons, and student-focused teaching practices (as opposed to the traditional curriculum-based approach). In his free time, he surfs (a lot), writes songs, gardens, and delves into new hobbies such as painting, cloudspotting, and pouring wine.
Week 12
- Lecture 22a: Stellar Evolution of Low Mass Stars
FULL Video (53min)
- Lecture 22b: Clusters & Turnoff Points
FULL Video (16min)
- Lecture 23a: Stellar Evolution of High Mass Stars
FULL Video (44min)
- Lecture 22c: Advanced Material on Clusters & Turn-Off Points [OPTIONAL]
PDF Document 22c (Slides prepared by Jatila Van der Veen)
- Lecture 22d: Advanced Material on Cepheid Variables [OPTIONAL]
PDF Document 22d (Slides prepared by Jatila Van der Veen)
- Chapter 22 - Stars from Adolescence to Old Age
The evolution of low-mass stars, white dwarfs, and planetary nebula.
- Chapter 23 - The Death of Stars
The evolution of high-mass stars, neutron stars, pulsars, and supernova.
- C12 Crash Course #30: White Dwarfs and Planetary Nebulae
- V12 Video on Neutron Star Collisions (5min)
- V12 Neutron Star Merger Causes Rare Kilonova, Gravitational Waves (4min)
- EC12 Crash Course #31: High Mass Stars (10min, 2pts Extra Credit)
- Zoom Chat with Scientist / Alumni, Wed April 13 at 7 pm
We had a great Zoom Meeting. Here is the recording:
https://youtu.be/x16XF94ofcc
- Clara, Mistea, and Bree are three dynamic women in STEM who met through SBCC Astronomy Club involvement and now are at three different stages of their Educational path. Each will share with us where they are at and what they are doing in working toward a STEM degree. Clara is a declared physics major at UCLA, Mistea is a declared physics major at Cal State San Francisco, and Bree is a declared physics/engineering major finishing up at SBCC and has been heavily involved with physics/engineering projects to build telescopes, launch cameras into space (yep... we at SBCC actually did that), and with other educational outreach programs events. We will discuss the transfer experience and the many ways STEM majors can get involved with STEM activities and opportunities at every stage of their educational path.
Week 13
- T2Q Solutions (43min, only available for 1 week)
- Lecture 25a: Our Milky Way Galaxy
FULL Video (28min)
- Lecture 26a: Galaxies, Supernova, and Cosmic Distance Scales
FULL Video (48min),
PDF Document 26a
- Chapter 25 - The Milky Way Galaxy
- Chapter 26 - Galaxies [OPTIONAL, except for 26.4]
- Chapter 28 - The Evolution & Distribution of Galaxies [OPTIONAL (for now)]
- C13 Crash Course #37: Milky Way
- EC13 Crash Course #38: Galaxies Part 1 (10min, 2pts Extra Credit)
- EC13 Crash Course #39: Galaxies Part 2 (10min, 2pts Extra Credit)
- Zoom Chat with Scientist / Alumni, Wed April 20 at 7 pm
We had a great Zoom Meeting. Here is the recording:
https://youtu.be/ITm4Wc8J4oM
- Jatila Van der Veen has for the past 30 years been involved with cosmology research, has spearheaded numerous science education projects, and has taught astronomy for UCSB and SBCC. More recently she has been working with several exciting projects. One involves propelling small, 10-gram or less, wafer-sized satellites (wafersats) out of the Solar System using coherent beams of directed energy. The destination is our nearest neighbor, the Alpha Centauri System, around 4.2 light years away. One of our ideas was to send tiny critters – the nematode C. elegans and the tardigrades H. dujardini, out of the solar system on these wafersats. She has also been working with a group at UCSB working on lunar surface operations, in particular dust mitigation. As NASA prepares to send the first crew back to the Moon in 2024-25, one of the biggest challenges is how to reduce the dangers of the lunar regolith – the surface dust, churned up by billions of years of bombardment by large and microscopic meteorites. Please join us live to ask questions about these amazing projects. For Jatila's full bio, click here.
Week 14
- Lecture 24b: Black Holes
FULL Video (44min)
- [OPTIONAL] Lecture 24a: Relativity
PDF Document 24a
- [OPTIONAL] Lecture 24c: Neutron Stars, Type 1 Supernovae, and Black holes SUPPLEMENTAL
PDF Document 24c
- Black Holes & Quasars (7min)
Supermassive black holes are central to our understanding of how galaxies formed. Quasars are the super-high-energy burst of supermassive black holes forming at the center of galaxies in the early universe.
- Supermassive Black Holes (9min)
Our galaxy, like other spiral galaxies, has a central supermassive black hole (SMBH).
- Ultramassive Black Holes (10min)
Supermassive black holes control star formation in galaxies. But bigger than supermassive black holes are ULTRAmassive black holes.
- Chapter 24 - Black Holes & Curved Spacetime
- Chapter 27 - Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes
- A11a Activity Nebulae with WWT (docx, pdf)
- C12 Crash Course #32: Neutron Stars
- EC14 Crash Course #33: Black Holes (10min, 2pts Extra Credit)
- Zoom Chat with Scientist / Alumni, Thr April 28 at 5 pm (Extra Credit if you attend LIVE)
We had a great Zoom Meeting. Here is the recording:
https://youtu.be/urKowMxoBOA
- Rob Geller teaches physics at UCSB, has done research with Black Holes, and is also the author of both a college level physics text and a college level math-based astronomy text. Although he enjoys doing research and working on textbooks, he especially loves to teach and has won several teaching awards at UCSB. In his spare time he rock climbs and we often philosophize about science, teaching, life, family, parallel universes, and how to keep our kids out of trouble!
Week 15
Additional Video Links: