Preliminary Course Syllabus (pdf)
Thursday, Aug. 27 (1142 GMT), Moon Waxing Quarter
Monday, Aug. 31 (10 GMT), Moon at Apogee
Sept. 1, 3 Birth of Astronomy/Getting Started
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§1.1-1.8
Duncan: Introductions and Chapter 1
^ Observations: Evans §§1.2, 1.7 in notebook
Assignments: Evans §1.5 in notebook, timelines
Make/use a shadow table (see §§1.5, 1.13)
before, on, & after the equinox
Friday, Sept. 4 (1603 GMT), Moon Full
Sunday, Sept. 6 (17 GMT), Mercury Stationary
Sept. 8, 10 Birth of Astronomy (cont’d)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§1.9-1.18; Duncan: Chapts. 2 & 3
Zodiacal constellations
_ Observations: Evans §§1.11, 1.16 in notebook
Assignments: Evans §§1.13, 1.15, 1.18 in notebook
Choose culture/calendar of interest
Saturday, Sept. 12 (0216 GMT), Moon Waning Quarter
Sunday, Sept. 13 (16 GMT) Mars 1.0° S of Moon
Wednesday, Sept. 16 (07 GMT), Moon at Perigee
Sept. 15, 17 Celestial Sphere
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§2.1-2.8; Duncan: Chapts. 4 & 5
` Aristotle: extracts from On the Heavens
Observation: Evans §2.8 in notebook
Assignments: Evans §§2.3, 2.7 in notebook
Culture/calendar paper proposal written,
corrected & critiqued, due 9/24
Friday, Sept. 18 (1844 GMT), Moon New
Tuesday, Sept. 22 (2118 GMT), Autumnal Equinox
Sunday, Sept. 20 (10 GMT), Mercury inferior conjunction
Sunday, Sept. 20 (12 GMT), Venus 0.5° N of Regulus
Sept. 22, 24 Celestial Sphere (cont’d)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§2.9-2.17; Duncan: Chapts. 6 & 7
a Observation: Equinox; Evans §2.17 in notebook
Assignments: Formal write-up of §1.18 due 9/24
Evans §§2.10, 2.12, 2.14 in notebook
Saturday, Sept. 26 (0450 GMT), Moon Waxing Quarter
Monday, Sept. 28 (03 GMT), Moon at Apogee
Monday, Sept. 28 (18 GMT), Mercury Stationary
Sept. 29, Oct. 1 Applications of Spherics
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§3.1-3.4; Duncan: Chapts. 8 & 9
b Aratus: Phenomena
Assignments: Evans: §§3.3-3.4 in notebook
Notebook check: notebooks due 10/8
Sunday, Oct. 4 (0610 GMT), Moon Full
Tuesday, Oct. 6 (3 GMT), Mercury at Greatest West Elongation (18°)
Oct. 6, 8 Applications of Spherics (cont’d)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§3.5-3.8; Duncan: Chapts. 10 & 11
Janus astrolabe instructions
c Assignments: Submit finished sundial 10/14
Evans: §§3.6, 3.8 in notebook
Sunday, Oct. 11 (0856 GMT), Moon Waning Quarter
Monday, Oct. 12 (01 GMT) Mars 1.1° N of Moon
Tuesday, Oct. 13 (12 GMT), Moon at Perigee
Tuesday, Oct. 13 (10 GMT), Venus 0.5° S of Saturn
Oct. 13, 15 Calendars and Time Reconing
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§4.1-4.6; Duncan: Chapts. 12 & 13
d Assignments: Evans: §§4.2, 4.4 in notebook
Culture paper due 10/22
Sunday, Oct. 18 (0533 GMT), Moon New
Oct. 20, 22 Calendars and Time Reconing (cont’d)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§4.7-4.12; Duncan: Chapts. 14 & 15
e Assignments: Evans: §§4.6, 4.8, 4.12 in notebook
Submit finished astrolabe with your plate 10/23
Monday, Oct. 26 (0042 GMT), Moon Waxing Quarter
Sunday, Oct. 25 (22 GMT), Moon at Apogee
Oct. 27, 29 Calendars and Time Reconing (cont’d)
MID-TERM EXAM
Saturday, Nov. 7 (07 GMT), Moon at Perigee
Monday, Nov. 2 (1914 GMT), Moon Full
Thursday, Nov. 5 (08 GMT), Mercury superior conjunction
Nov. 3, 5 Solar Theory
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§5.1-5.6
f Ptolemy: Extracts from the Almagest
Assignments: Evans: §§5.4, 5.6 in notebook
Monday, Nov. 9 (1556 GMT), Moon Waning Quarter
Nov. 10, 12 Solar Theory (cont’d)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§5.7-5.10
Assignments: Evans: §§5.8, 5.10 in notebook
Monday, Nov. 16 (1914 GMT), Moon New
Nov. 17, 19 The Fixed Stars
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§6.1-6.10
g Observation: Evans §6.3 in notebook
Assignments: Evans: §§6.5, 6.7 in notebook
Tuesday, Nov. 24 (2139 GMT), Moon Waxing Quarter
Sunday, Nov. 22 (19 GMT), Moon at Apogee
- - - - - - - - - - - - THANKSGIVING VACATION - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tuesday, Dec. 2 (0710 GMT), Moon Full
Thursday, Dec. 4 (14 GMT), Moon at Perigee
Nov. 24, Dec. 2, 4 Planetary Theory
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§7.1-7.14
Observation: Evans §7.3 in notebook
h Assignments: Evans: §§7.5, 7.8, 7.14 in notebook
Calendar paper due 12/4
Tuesday, Dec. 9 (0013 GMT), Moon Waning Quarter
Dec. 9 Planetary Theory (cont’d)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§7.15-7.22
i Assignments: Evans: §§7.16, 7.18, 7.22 in notebook
Wednesday, Dec. 16 (1202 GMT), Moon New
Friday, Dec. 18 (09 GMT), Mercury at Greatest East Elongation (30°)
Dec. 15, 8:00 am FINAL EXAM (Tuesday)
Sunday, Dec. 20 (14 GMT), Moon at Apogee
Monday, Dec. 21 (1747 GMT), Winter Solstice
Monday, Dec. 21 (15 GMT), Mars Stationary
Thursday, Dec. 24 (1736 GMT), Moon Waxing Quarter
Sunday, Jan. 3 (19 GMT), Earth at Perihelion