AST 1002 Topic List
- definitions -- speed, velocity, acceleration, mass
- dynamics (Newton) -- constant velocity if no external force, force = mass x
acceleration, action=reaction; circular motion: centripetal, centrifugal force,
angular momentum and what determines it
- law of universal gravitation, inverse-square dependence and consequences;
weight, surface gravity and dependence on mass, radius
- energy -- kinetic, including thermal (heat); potential, including gravitational
- gravitational two-body problem 1 -- Kepler for planets: elliptical orbits,
semimajor axis and eccentricity, orbital speed and Law of Areas, perihelion and
aphelion, Harmonic Law relating period to semimajor axis
- gravitational two body problem 2 -- Newton in general: closed/bound/periodic
orbits (ellipses, including circle) and open/unbound/one-time orbits (parabolas,
hyperbolas), circular/orbital speed and parabolic/escape speed (not exact
numbers), connection with orbital energy; conservation of orbital angular
momentum; revision of Harmonic Law including masses
- tidal forces, high and low tides and tidal bulges; combining lunar and
(weaker) solar: spring and neap tides vs. lunar phases; tidal friction, Earth's
rotation, and changes in the Moon's orbit
- electromagnetic radiation, including light -- wave vs. particle;
wavelength, frequency, energy, and interrelations (dependences but not
exact formulas); main regions of the electromagnetic spectrum and colors
of visible light in proper order (Remember Roy!)
- types of spectra -- 1) continuous; 2) emission-line (bright-line);
3) absorption-line (dark-line); sources, examples for each
- connection between heat, temperature, and kinetic energy of
particles; temperature scales: Fahrenheit, Centigrade, Kelvin or Absolute
- continuous-spectrum radiation -- thermal: shift in peak wavelength
(maximum intensity) with temperature (requires K), energy output per unit
area per unit time with temperature
- atomic structure -- nucleus (protons, neutrons; atomic number, atomic
weight/mass, isotopes), electron cloud, electron energy levels, ground
state and excited states (above ground), ionization
- emission- and absorption-line radiation -- energy-level transitions in
atoms or ions=charged atoms, unique to element and its ionization stage;
transitions in hydrogen and spectral region (ultraviolet, visible, etc.);
excitation and temperature, ionization and temperature when collisions
involved, giving temperature and pressure as well as chemical composition
- molecular spectra -- vibration of atoms in molecule, rotation of
molecule, complex energy-level structure; low energy of dissociation=
breakup
- Doppler effect for sound, esp. for light and electromagnetic radiation --
radial velocity vs. wavelength change, "redshift," "blueshift"
- telescopes -- refractor, chromatic and spherical aberration; reflector
(configurations:prime focus, Cassegrain, coude), coma; multimirror
reflector; light collection, resolution
- auxiliary equipment -- eyepiece, camera, photometer, spectrograph
- atmospheric "seeing," light pollution; atmospheric transparency across
spectrum
- radio telescopes -- resolution problem, interferometer
- overview of Solar System -- facts, including orbital properties, terrestrial
vs. jovian planets, Asteroid Belt, Kuiper Belt, and Oort Cloud
- close encounter or binary hypothesis for Solar System -- probability,
condensation problem
- nebular theory -- gravitational contraction of nebula, angular
momentum conservation and spin, protosun and protoplanetary disk;
angular momentum problem; condensation sequence (volatiles, refractories)
and temperature gradient in solar nebula, "frost line"
- planet formation -- accretion and planetesimals, nebular capture, solar
wind; asteroids and comets as "leftovers"
- cratering history and bombardment, lunar maria; giant impact theory of
Moon's origin
- other planetary systems -- direct detection and difficulties; indirect
detection using gravity, orbital motion; transits; brown dwarfs
- interior structure of terrestrial planets; differentiation; convection
and circulation
- Earth's magnetic field -- dynamo mechanism, geometry and solar wind;
other terrestrials
- geological activity of terrestrials -- plate tectonics, continental
drift; shield volcanoes on Earth, Mars, and Venus; relative activity levels on
terrrestrial planets and Moon
- atmospheres of terrestrial planets -- original and solar wind;
outgassing; thermal escape of gases from planetary atmospheres, albedo;
greenhouse effect, "runaway" greenhouse effect
- interior structures of jovian planets, effect of compression; energy
balance and energy sources
- atmospheres of jovian planets -- belts and zones on Jupiter, differential
rotation, convection and white ovals, Great Red Spot; differences with
Saturn and causes, other jovians; magnetic fields of jovians
- Galilean satellites of Jupiter -- interior structure, mix vs. distance
from Jupiter; Io volcanic activity, tidal heating, radial tides, resonance;
Europa ice melt, young surface; Ganymede, Callisto, and old surfaces with
craters
- Titan -- atmosphere, surface; Triton -- ice geology
- ring systems -- Saturn's: particles with ice coatings, gaps from Mimas
resonances, shepherd satellites; other jovians; Roche limit
- definitions -- asteroid, comet, meteoroid, meteor, meteorite
- Asteroid Belt -- location, orbital elements, Kirkwood gaps and chaos
theory, Hirayama families
- connection between asteroids and some meteorites -- colors and reflection
spectra, meteor orbits from radar; albedos and characteristics as function
of distance
- meteorites -- falls vs. finds, primitive vs. processed; stony, stony-iron,
iron, carbonaceous chondrite and organics; Widmanstaetten figures and parent
meteorite bodies
- comet structure -- nucleus, coma, tail (dust, absorption-line, solar
radiation pressure; gas or plasma, emission-line, solar wind); development of
tail with distance
- loss of comets -- evaporation and breakup; ejection from Solar System;
collisions with planets or other bodies; resupply from Oort Cloud,
orbits of long-period comets; short-period comets (origin, wastage)
- Kuiper Belt -- orbits; Neptune's prediction and discovery, Pluto and its
discovery, moon
- meteors -- sporadic; shower, radiant, origins
- energy sources considered for Sun and reason for rejection (if any) --
chemical, gravitational potential, nuclear
- hydrostatic equilibrium -- gravity vs. pressure difference; gas pressure
and dependence on density and temperature
- energy transport -- radiation, convection, conduction; different zones
in Sun
- interior structure of Sun; nuclear energy, fusion vs. fission, iron at
boundary; proton-proton chain, carbon or CNO cycle, approximate temperatures;
neutrino problem
- solar atmosphere -- photosphere (limb darkening, granulation, sunspots,
magnetic field and "cooling"); chromosphere (plages, spicules); corona
(prominences, coronal holes); magnetic field geometry, flares; sunspot
cycle, "butterfly" diagram, Zeeman effect and polarity, true solar cycle;
Babcock mechanism
- observed properties of stars -- apparent brightness, magnitude system,
color index; spectral classification, Harvard types and MK luminosity classes,
and physical significance
- basic properties of stars -- mass, radius, luminosity, surface temperature,
chemical composition; how they are obtained from observed properties
(binaries, interferometer); mass-luminosity relation and main-sequence
lifetime
- distances of stars -- trigonometric parallax, spectroscopic parallax;
absolute magnitude and standard distance
- binary stars -- visual, eclipsing, spectroscopic (single-, double-line)
- Hertzsprung-Russell ("H-R") diagram -- coordinates, regions, connection
with radius; main sequence turnoff; evolutionary track
- variable stars -- erupting (novae, supernovae), pulsating (Cepheids,
RR Lyraes), eclipsing; period-luminosity relation for Cepheids, instability
strip
- star clusters -- open/galactic, globular: number of stars, location,
H-R diagram
- star formation -- gravitational instability, density and temperature,
molecular clouds; protostar, protostellar disk, protostellar wind, jet
- main sequence mass limits -- electron and neutron degeneracy pressure,
dependence on density; brown dwarfs; radiation pressure, dependence on
temeprature; most massive main-sequence stars
- stellar evolution -- H core-burning, H shell-burning, He core-burning,
He shell-burning (main sequence, red giant branch, horizontal branch,
asymptotic giant branch); triple-alpha process, approximate temperature,
"helium flash;" stellar winds, planetary nebulae, and mass loss; low mass,
intermediate mass, and high mass; nuclear exhaustion and Type II supernova,
supernova remnant and synchrotron radiation; close binaries, Algol paradox
and mass transfer, accretion disk
- white dwarf -- pressure, mass-radius relation, Chandrasekhar limit;
in binary systems: novae, carbon detonation supernovae (Type Ia)
- neutron star -- support; pulsars, mechanism; in binaries: spin-up,
X-ray bursters
- black hole -- definition, Schwarzschild type and radius, event horizon;
tidal force, gravitational redshift, time dilation; evaporation and
Hawking radiation; Cygnus X-1
- structure of Milky Way -- central bulge, disk with spiral arms, halo, Sun's
position (Shapley); orbits in central bulge, disk, and halo, chemical
composition and orbits, enrichment; thick disk
- stellar populations -- Population I, II: age, "metals," location
- galactic "recycling" -- cycle: mass loss (winds, planetary nebulae,
supernova remnants), bubbles, high velocity atomic hydrogen clouds,
molecular clouds, star formation
- spiral arms -- differential rotation, tracers, and "windup;" density wave
and "grand design;" sequential star formation: supernova remnants, OB
star winds, H II regions, and protostar jets, flocculent spiral structure
- galactic center -- radio (Sgr A*), infrared; motions and supermassive
black hole
- galaxy classification -- ellipticals, spirals, irregulars, lenticulars,
and terminology; populations, colors, gas and dust
- distances of galaxies -- Cepheids, Tully-Fisher relation, Type Ia
supernovae; Hubble Law and calibration
- Hubble expansion -- historical and philosophical context, cosmological
principle; Hubble time; wavelength stretching and cosmological redshift
- galaxy evolution -- formation, stripping and mergers, starbursts;
lookback time and early galaxies
- active galactic nuclei -- quasars (redshifts, sizes, radiation),
radio galaxies, Seyfert galaxies; supermassive black holes
- dark matter in galaxies -- rotation curves (Milky Way and other spiral
galaxies); virial theorem for ellipticals
- dark matter in clusters of galaxies -- virial theorem; hot (X-ray
emitting) gas and hydrostatic equilibrium; large-scale structure
(superclusters, voids); gravitational lensing
- cosmology and cosmological models -- general relativity, Friedman
models, mean density, acceleration and dark energy
- history of Universe -- four basic forces and unification; temperature
and density history; inflation; nucleosynthesis; recombination and microwave
background radiation
- Olbers's "paradox" -- question and answer