1. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 PTYS/ASTR 206 Our Golden Age of Planetary Exploration

2. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Course Vitals Location/Time –Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00AM -12:15 PM –Kuiper Space Sciences 308 Instructor –Joe Giacalone, KSS 431, 626-8365 giacalon@lpl.arizona.edu giacalon@lpl.arizona.edu Teaching Assistants –Jade Bond jbond@lpl.arizona.edu –John Weirich jweirich@lpl.arizona.edu Course Homepage http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/undergrad/classes/spring2007/Giacalone_206-2 / Photo by amateur Wesley Higgins

3. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 What is the motivation for this class – what is it about? There have been 3 major revolutions in planetary science –Greek Philosophy (500 BC-200 AD) –Copernican Revolution (1500-1700 AD) –Age of spacecraft (1960-present) The Solar system is very accessible to detailed examination We are currently in the Golden Age of Planetary Exploration

4. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Course Vitals (cont.) Prerequisites: –Successful completion of two Tier 1 NATS courses –Familiarity with simple math tools (algebra, trig, units) –Willingness to solve problems related to physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy, and biology Textbook (required): –Universe: The Solar System: (2nd edition) by Freedman and Kaufmann –Exam and homework questions will be based partly on material in the textbook. The Solar System

5. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Emphasis This may possibly be your last science class ! –But not the last time you will encounter science Our Focus will be on scientific UNDERSTANDING of the basic physical processes at work in the solar system –And how they help us relate the planets to one another and to Earth Comet McNaught, a bright comet currently visible shortly after sunset (Photo by amateur Stefan Seip)

6. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Course Vitals (cont.) Will there be any math? –Yes … there will be some math in this class mostly in the homework assignments you can still do well if you do not have a strong math background Please see us (TA or instructor) if you are having difficulty with the math –Generally speaking the math itself is no more complicated than that which you will encounter for the rest of your life!

7. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 In the classroom –Use common sense and courtesy –Turn cell phones and other communication devices off! –No food or drink allowed in the lecture hall (except bottled water). –Constructive participation is strongly encouraged (feel free to ask questions – please!!). Outside the class –Do the reading assignments! –Start homework assignments early! –Be careful of Academic Integrity. –If you are having difficulty with the material or anything else about the class, feel free to contact any of us – we are here to help! Course Vitals (cont.)

8. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Course Vitals (cont.) > 89% A 78–88% B 67-77% C 56-66% D < 55% E We do not intend to use a statistical grading curve, but MAY if special circumstances warrant it. Factors considered in borderline cases: + positive performance gradient + in-class participation + participation in out-of-class activities + In order to be considered for moving up a grade, you MUST have handed in all of your homework! Grading Scale

9. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Course vitals (cont.) 20% Best of 2 mid-term exams 10% Worst of 2 mid-term exams 20% Final exam 25% Homework 10% In-class activities 5% Quizzes 10% Term Paper Active Region on the Sun Grading Breakdown

10. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Course Vitals (cont.) Course Assignments –2 in-class, closed book exams + a final exam In-class activities –About ½ will be graded (decided by a coin toss) Homework –worth the most towards your final grade, will take the most time –You are encouraged to work together on homework, and in-class activities. –You MUST turn in your own (original) work –It is not acceptable to turn in work identical to that of another student (use your own words!) Term Paper –Details to be discussed later

11. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Please turn in the personal information sheet today (last page of the handout) We will have preceptors in this course -- please indicate if you wish to be one Preceptors will hold weekly study sessions Gas clouds on Jupiter

12. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Why study the solar system? Importance to Earth and its inhabitants –we must understand the environment in which we live to understand how to survive Importance for understanding the origin of life Subject of many research projects Many basic properties are a mystery –How did Earth get its water? –Did Mars once have oceans of water and a thick atmosphere? –How thick is the ice crust of Europa? –Why does the number of spots on the Sun go up and down on an 11-year cycle?

13. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 General list of topics to covered in this course Planetary orbits, Ancient Planetary Astronomy, Imaging Structure and Formation of the Solar System Fundamental Planetary Processes –Cratering,Surfaces, Interiors,Atmospheres A detailed look at each planet, and other objects in the solar system (Sun, asteroids, comets, etc.) Astrobiology -- Extraterrestrial life? A more-detailed schedule is on the course website and in today’s handout Schematic of the greenhouse effect Schematic of plate tectonics

14. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Topical Lectures There are often rapid advances made in Planetary Science because of accessibility of the solar system to humans –We will try to discuss these as they happen Other topical subjects include: –Global warming –Greenhouse effect –Asteroid and comet impacts –Water on Mars & HiRISE –Solar Storms and Space Weather –Cassini at Saturn –Is Pluto a planet? Phoenix lander mission to Mars: due to be launched in August 2007

15. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Water on Mars – discovered by a team in this Department (images from Mars Global Surveyor) New Discoveries

16. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 A small list of highlights from 2006 Arrival of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at Mars –HiRISE ! Launch of several new missions … including –New Horizons (mission to Pluto) –STEREO (Solar mission) –Venus express (mission to Venus) Pluto is demoted Discovery of many new extrasolar planets New Horizons mission to Pluto: launched last January

17. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 HiRISE UofA mission on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Currently in orbit around Mars Will map the surface of Mars at unprecedented resolution

18. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 MRO/HiRISE image of Mars’s Victoria Crater and rover

19. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07

20. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Cassini in orbit about the Saturn system

21. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Cassini/VIMS image

22. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 The spacecraft fleet observing the Sun and its Environment Ulysses ACE STEREO Voyager SOHO And MANY others not shown here

23. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 SOHO/LASCO (C3) movie of the Sun during the “Halloween” Storm period in 2003 The Sun is shielded from view in this movie by an occulting disk What is seen are stars, a planet, and the active solar corona This is a time-lapse movie

24. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Amateur photos can rival those produced by spacecraft cameras –www.astromart.com –webcam and CCD imaging –small and affordable telescopes –can search for extrasolar planets –comet hunting The increasingly important role of amateur astronomy

25. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07

26. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 The best film picture of Saturn – as of the early 1970s Photo by Steve Larson, this department

27. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Picture taken in my backyard (10” telescope and a webcam)

28. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Webcam video of Saturn

29. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 “stacking” of best images obtained from the webcam video

30. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Picture of taken by amateur Wesley Higgins

31. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Picture of taken by spacecraft Cassini

32. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 How did the solar system form? A perfectly valid and sensible question We use the scientific method to answer it Clues are obtained by observing the basic properties of the solar system and invoking Comparative Planetology –Planets and moons often have similarities –similarities and differences give clues to the origin of the solar system

33. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Comparing the Planets/Moons Amateur photo by Dominique Dierick Heavily Cratered Worlds Worlds with few (if any) impact craters Gas Giant Terrestrial Planet Planet Types

34. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 How Do We Measure Astronomical Objects? Angular measurements –Still need to know how far the Earth is from the object –How do we measure this? Spectroscopy –Measuring the light emitted (or reflected off of) the object –Need to understand the properties of light –Often requires going into space (i.e. some forms of radiation do not make it to the ground) Picking it up and looking at it –Requires going there! Other clever ideas are also in use –Must be innovative because these objects are so far away!

35. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 If you draw lines from your eye to each of two stars, the angle between these lines is the angular distance between these two stars Angular Measure

36. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Angular Measurements Subdivide one degree into 60 arcminutes –minutes of arc –abbreviated as 60 arcmin or 60´ Subdivide one arcminute into 60 arcseconds –seconds of arc –abbreviated as 60 arcsec or 60” 1° = 60 arcmin = 60´ 1´ = 60 arcsec = 60”

37. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Practice (or brush up on) Unit Conversion! The conversion of a value from one set of units to another is an important and often overlooked step in any science calculation. You must include units in your quantitative calculations to receive full credit. Read Chapter 1 of the text for more information on important units in astronomy and examples of unit conversion A Martian solar eclipse seen by the rover Opportunity (Phobos is the moon)

38. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Common Prefixes FactorNameSymbol (billion) 10 9 Giga-G (million) 10 6 Mega-M (thousand) 10 3 kilo-k (hundredth) 10 -2 centi-c (thousandth) 10 -3 milli-m (millionth) 10 -6 micro-  (billionth) 10 -9 nano-n Powers-of-ten notation is a useful shorthand system for writing numbers

39. PTYS/ASTR 206Course Orientation 1/11/07 Announcements Reading Assignment –Chapters 1 and 4 There will be an in-class activity on Tuesday (1/16) The first homework assignment will be assigned (available for download from the course website) on Tuesday (it will be due 1/25)