Stars, Planets, Life
In the last thirty-five years, the study of life beyond our own planet has gone from science fiction to legitimate science. The course will initially focus on how stars form and evolve, starting from the formation of the universe, and continuing to a discussion of stars as both the synthesizers of heavy elements and the central energy source for stellar systems. From there, we will discuss current planetary formation theories, planet detection techniques, and the explosive discovery of planets outside our solar system in the past fifteen years. Finally, we will examine the conditions under which we think life evolves and whether any of the glut of planets we’ve discovered in the last year may support life.
Textbooks: The Cosmic Perspective (8th Edition) by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider & Voit
Lecture Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy (4th Edition) by Prather, Slater, Adams, & Brissenden
Planet Project Assignment
Planetary Systems Available
The planned schedule for the course is given below. Note that the “Problem Sets” column will be updated with the most recent problem sets as the term goes on.
| Week of | Topic | Reading | Problem Sets |
| February 17 | Foundations / The Early Universe Star Formation & The Sun | Ch. 20, 22-23 Ch. 16.1, 14.1-14.2 | Problem Set 1 |
| February 24 | Light | Ch. 5 | Problem Set 2 |
| March 3 | Light (cont.) + Surveying the Stars | Ch. 5, 15-16 | |
| March 10 | Surveying the Stars (cont.) + Stellar Evolution | Ch. 15-17 HR Diagram Animation | Problem Set 3 |
| March 17 | Stellar Evolution & Star Death | Ch. 17 & 18 | Problem Set 4 |
| March 24 | Cosmic Recycling & Planet Formation | Ch. 18 & 19.2 | |
| March 31 | Our Solar System & Tools for Discovery | Ch. 2.4, 3.3, 4.2, 4.5, 5 | Problem Set 5 |
| April 7 | Doppler Effect and Discovery of Extrasolar Planets (no class Tuesday) | Ch. 5.4 & Ch. 13 | |
| April 14 | Discovery of Extrasolar Planets | Ch. 13 | Problem Set 6 |
| April 21 | The Kepler Revolution (no class Friday) | Ch. 13 | Problem Set 7 |
| April 28 | Extrasolar Planet Demographics | Supplementary Reading | |
| May 5 | Habitability Conditions (No Class Tuesday) | Ch. 10, Seager et al (2013) | |
| May 12 | Early Life on Earth & in the Solar System | Ch. 10 & 24 | Problem Set 8 |
| May 19 | Life on Earth and The Search for Intelligent Life | Ch. 8, 9 & 24 | |
| May 26 | Final Projects |
