Announcements:
Thursday Nov 17, 1:00-3:00 pm FINAL EXAM in regular classroom.
Office hours this week: by appointment, and as below
Monday from 1:30-2:30pm
Wednesday from 4:15-5pm
Thursday from 4:15-5pm
Friday from 4:15-5pm
Wednesday Oct 26: Special class trip to the Schenectady Museum and Suits-Buche Planetarium
Monday Oct 10: Midterm in class
Thursday Nov 17, 1:00-3:00 pm FINAL EXAM in regular classroom.
Special course on Celestial Navigation by Astro 51 student Julie Teetsov on Saturday Nov 19.
Unless noted above future office hours will be the same.
Physics Help Center: Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7-10pm in N300 of S&E (not far from my office).
Venus can be seen low in the Southwest after sunset. Mars rises at about 7:00 pm and is a bright orange object low in the East. Mars will be exceptionally good this Fall, especially in late October and early November. Mercury can be seen by someone who knows where to look very low in the evening sky after sunset during October and early November. Binoculars recommended. Autumn is a good time to see the distant planets Uranus and Neptune in the evening sky with binoculars or a telescope. I've seen them both recently with binoculars. What's up in the sky now? Check here.
Do not look at the sun with your spectroscope!!!! It does not provide protection. If you want to know the sun's spectrum, you can simply look at blue sky, well away from the sun, or look at the moon at night, which reflects the sun's spectrum. Is the spectrum of blue sky continous?
Note on labs 2-4: We will be outside at a place that's pretty windy, so dress warm! Bring whatever you think is enough, then grab an EXTRA sweater, you may need it!!! Don't forget to bring your star and planet locator for lab 2.
Check out the spectacular Astronomy Picture of the Day!
Daily Image of Sun from Big Bear Solar Observatory Recent movies of solar activity taken by SOHO can be found at the following site. We are currently near the minimum of the solar activity cycle.
LinksAstronomy Picture of the DayLearn the Constellations Sky & Telescope Online Astronomical Image/Movie Collection Images from Hubble Space Telescope NASA Spacelink Hot Topics Examples of Bad Astronomy Intellicast Satellite Imagery Intellicast Weather Forecast |
Current Moon Phase
