Prof. Rafael Guzman
Office: 216 Bryant Space Science Center
Office Hours: Wednesday 1-4pm
Phone: 2-2052 (x 212)
email: guzman@astro.ufl.edu

Course Content:

This course is a survey of the changes in humankind's cosmological worldview from ancient times to the present. We will explore how early man envisioned the heavens and the celestial sphere, how the first models of the solar system were developed and how modern technology revealed the Universe as we now see it: a universe of galaxies created after a Hot Big Bang. Since cosmology involves observations of objects very far away (therefore, very faint) advancement in our understanding of the cosmos has been very slow due to limits in our technology. This has changed dramatically in the last few years with the construction of large telescopes and the launch of space-based observatories. This course is meant to be an introduction to this new era of discoveries.

The specific goals of this course are:

• To gain an understanding of basic science that underlies Astronomy (the forum is modern cosmology).
• To see how the history of cosmology has changed with time.
• To explore the properties of the fundamental units that make up the visible Universe: Galaxies.
• To formulate a coherent philosophy for interpreting the observational evidence of the hot Big Bang and relating this worldview to new areas of research.

Course Organization:

Most lectures in this course will be delivered electronically. The lecture pages may be put on the Web in HTML (hypertext mark-up language) format so that they are accessible from any computer on campus. All students are required to obtain computer accounts on Gatorlink (or any Internet server of your choice) since all the course material is in Web format. The address for this course is http://www.astro.ufl.edu/~guzman/ast4402.

In addition, we will spend a significant amount of time working out simple mathematical exercises in class. If you miss class, please make sure you get the notes of the blackboard examples from a classmate since they will not be posted at the website.

Grading:

Grading will consist of the following:

• Two exams worth 40% of your grade.
• Three projects worth 50% of your grade.

In addition, you will be earning 'bonus points' for solving simple mathematical exercises in class. These points will count as much as 20% towards your final grade (i.e., an extra 10% bonus). These exercises may be similar to some of the exam questions, and provide a good way to prepare yourself for the exams.

Please note that there will be no make-up exams, unless there is a well documented medical or family emergency. If you miss any of the two exams due to a medical or family emergency, you may be required to take a final exam of all the material covered in this course.

The homework assignments (and their due dates) are at this web site. The three projects consist of:

• writing an observing proposal to a major observatory.
• calculating physical properties of astronomical objects from actual data.
• making an oral presentation of a topic related to this course.

You are welcome to work in study groups; however, the work you hand in should be your own analysis and writing.

Textbook:

There will be no textbook in this class. The class notes and the information you will find in the various web pages selected for this course should suffice.

Academic Honesty:

You are all welcome to work in groups on the assigned Projects. However, exams must be based on individual work only (i.e. don't look at someone else's exam). It is degrading to impose draconian security measures to enforce honesty. Instead, we will use the honor system in this course and allow each of you to uphold your personal standards of conduct.

Accommodations:

If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please see me as soon as possible. And please request that the Counselor for Students with Disabilities send a letter verifying your disability.