Astro 100

             The Solar System

             IUPUI (Fall 2023, Daytime)

                    Brian Woodahl (2023)

                    Brian Woodahl (2022)

                    Brian Woodahl (2021)

                    Brian Woodahl (2019)

                    Brian Woodahl (2007)

                    bwoodahl@iu.edu

                    (Don't Use Canvas to contact me, use email link)

                    Office: LD 156-S, 278-9244

                    Class: LE 101 on Tues and Thur 10:30 - 11:45

                    http://woodahl.physics.iupui.edu/Astro100

                    Is the University open/closed today?

Reminder: Exam 3 is Thursday, December 7

• Exam 3 will be at 10:30 AM on Thursday, December 7. It's not comprehensive, it only covers the material that follows Exam 2.

• Do not be late, door closes at 10:50 AM. Like the other exams, permitted time is 75 mins: Exam 3 ends at 11:45 AM. Same location: LE 101.

• About 70 multiple choice questions.

• Rememberize to bring a #2 pencil.

• ''.. I brought my pencil, gimme something to write on, man ..'' OpScan sheets will be provided, pick one up when you enter.

• There is no final exam. After this exam, the course ends.

Exam 3 Study Guide

• Exam 3 Study Guide (PDF)

Week 16 Images

• The Big Bang Theory

• The Beginning of Time

• Temperature of the Universe as it Cools

• The Eight Main Eras of Big Bang Theory

• Planck Era: Quantum Foam

• More Quantum Foam

• GUT Era: Only Two Forces Exist: GUT and Gravity

• Electroweak Era: Three Forces: Gravity, Strong, and Electroweak

• Particle Era: Elementary Particles (and Anti-Particles) are Abundant

• Nucleosynthesis Era: Quarks Bind to Form Protons and Neutrons

• Nuclei Era: Protons and Neutrons Join to Form Nuclei

• Atoms Era: Universe is Cooled so that Nuclei Attract Electrons to Form Atoms & Molecules

• Galaxy Era: Gravity Clumps Matter to Form Galaxies

• Evidence for the Big Bang Theory: Penzias and Wilson and their Microwave Antenna

• Spectrum of Microwave Radiation Closely Matches Big Bang Theory

• High-Tech Big Bang Detector in Your Home: Snowy Channel on an Antenna-Fed TV

Week 15 Images

• Isaac Newton

• Albert Einstein

• Travelers on Earth's Surface (Curvature) and Orbiting Objects (Forces) Follow the Same Path

• Rubber Sheet Analogy: Matter and Energy Warps Space (and Time)

• The Equivalence Principle

• Dimensions

• Relative Time: Moving Clocks Tick Slower: A 50 Years Long Trip Takes Only 2 Years for the Astronauts

• The 3 Possible Ways For Spacetime Curvature

• Sun Curves Spacetime, Planets Follow the Straightest Paths

• Worldline (Includes Space and Time) of Earth as it Orbits the Sun

• Blackhole: Spacetime Sufficiently Curved so that the Slope is Greater than Velocity of Light

• Karl Schwarzschild (Developed the First Relativistic Theory of Blackholes)

• Blackhole's Singularity: Infinite Density and Pressure, Classically

• Orbit Path (Perihelion) of Mercury Moves (Precesses)

• General Relativity Allows for Wormhole Solutions for Faster than Light Travel

• "Back To The Past": General Relativity Allows for Wormhole Solutions for Time Travel

Week 14 Image

• Enjoy your Thanksgiving Break!

Notice: No Lecture on Tuesday, November 21 (Week of Thanksgiving)

• Enjoy the break!

Week 13 Images

• The Sun's Fusion Rate is Self-Regulated

• Photon Takes About 200,000 Years to Escape the Sun

• One of the Many Vibrational Patterns in the Sun

• Neutrino (Rendition)

• Homestake South Dakota Neutrino Detector

• Ray Davis Jr, 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics for the Detection of Cosmic Neutrinos (Homestake Detector)

• Three Types of Neutrinos (To Make for Six Leptons, Similar to the Six Quarks)

• Looking For Life Beyond Planet Earth

• Geological Time Scales on Earth

• 3.5 Billion Year Old Stromatolites Show Microbial Evidence, Including Photosynthetic Microbes

• Charles Darwin

• Double-Helix Structure of the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Molecule

• Stanley Miller of the Famous 1950's Miller-Urey Experiments: Life's Basic Ingredients Made in a Flask

• The Evolution of the Origin of Life (and therefore Evolution)

• Liquid Water Can Only Exist on a Planet's Surface in the Habitable Zone

• Astronomer Frank Drake and His (Full) Drake Equation

• Attempting to Make "CONTACT" Using the NRAO-VLA

• 64-Meter Parkes Radio Telescope in Australia Listens for Extraterrestrial Communications

Week 12 Images

• ".. If you only knew the power of the BRIGHT side, .. Obi-Wan never told you ..."

• Kelvin and Helmholtz

• Einstein (and his friend Kurt Godel)

• Sun is in Hydrostatic Equilibrium

• Long Filament Recorded in August of 2012

• Sun's Structure

• Proton: Two Up Quarks and One Down Quark Having Color Charge: Red, Green, and Blue (Gold arrows are the Spin Vectors)

• Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion

• Fusion of Nuclei Only Possible at Large Velocities

• Effective Fusion Reaction in Sun: 4 Protons Produce Helium and Energy

• Fusion in the Sun: Proton-Proton Chain

• Proton-Proton Chain (Movie)

Week 11 Images

• Large Planet Orbits Star 51 Pegasi (Rendition)

• The Sun and Jupiter Orbit a Center-Of-Mass Point

• Sun's Motion About the Solar System's Center-Of-Mass Point

• Doppler Shift Technique for Finding Extrasolar Planet

• Velocity Data Derived from Doppler Shift of Spectra

• Eccentric Orbits Produce Non-symmetric Velocity Plots

• Calculating an Extrasolar Planet's Mass and Orbit

• Discovered in 2010, Probable Earth-like Planet: Gliese 581 G

• Planets of Star Gliese 581

• Current Wiki on Gliese 581 G

• Current Wiki on Extra-Solar Planets

• Current Listings

Exam 2 (Tuesday, October 31)

• 80 questions, multiple choice, review all your notes following the Exam 1 material

• There is much material to know, please study some amount each day.

• Rememberize to bring a #2 pencil

• ''.. I brought my pencil, gimme something to write on, man ..'' OpScan sheets will be provided, pick one up when you enter

Exam 2 Study Guide

• Exam 2 Study Guide (PDF)

Quiz 8 (Thursday, October 26)

• 4 questions, multiple choice, review your notes from previous four lectures

Quiz 7 (Tuesday, October 24)

• 4 questions, multiple choice, review your notes from the past five lectures (focus on the most recent 3 lectures)

Week 10 Images

• Asteroids Move Significantly During Long-Exposure Photos

• Ceres, 1000 km Across is the Largest Asteroid (Dwarf Planet) in the Asteroid Belt (bright spots theory: brine crystallization)

• Smaller Asteroids Have Nonspherical Shapes

• Asteroid Mass Obtained from the Motion of 'Roid-Moon

• The Asteroid Belt

• The Ahnighito Meteorite from Greenland (34 tons), Displayed at New York Museum of Natural History

• Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997

• Nucleus of Comet Vilt-2 Photographed by Spaceprobe Stardust in 2004

• Coma, Plasma Tail and Dust Tail of Comet

• Comet Dynamics

• Comets Come From Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt (Previous Image)

• Pluto

• Eris

• Pluto and Eris Orbits (Previous Image)

• Comet SL9 Impacting Jupiter in 1994 as seen from Io (Rendition)

• Impact Scars (Hubble Space Telescope)

• KT (K = Cretaceous, T = Tertiary = Paleogene) Boundary has Thin Layer Rich in Earth-Rare Iridium (red arrow)

• Another KT (K Pg) Boundary Layer

• Mass Extinction Events of the Past 540 Million Years

• Large Asteroid Impacting Earth (Rendition)

• The 1908 Tunguska Event: Forest Damage

• Asteroid Impact Rates on Earth

• Gravity Forces of the Jovians May Send Impactors to Earth

Week 9 Images

• Sizable Moons of the Jovian Planets

• Jupiter's Io: Volcanically Active

• Source of Io's Heat: Elliptical Orbit and Jupiter's Tidal Forces

• Orbital Resonances Produce Slight Elliptical Orbits

• Jupiter's Europa: Covered With Water Ice

• Europa's Composition

• Jupiter's Ganymede: Largest, Icy, and Dual Surfaced

• Jupiter's Callisto: Icy and Heavily Cratered

• Saturn's Titan: Nitrogen and Methane Atmosphere (Photo NOT Color-Corrected)

• Huygen's Spaceprobe Reveals Some of Titan's Surface Features

• MSNBC Article About Titan (Current)

• Saturn's Enceladus (Image 1)

• Saturn's Enceladus (Image 2)

• Saturn's Enceladus (Image 3)

• Saturn's Enceladus (Image 4)

• Saturn's Rings as Seen by Cassini Spacecraft

• Rings Close Up (Rendition)

• Gap Moon Pan Creates Ripples in the Rings of Saturn

• Origin of Rings

• Neptune's Triton: Captured, Geological Activity

• Triton Close Up

10 Bonus Points Opportunity

• In no less than 1000 words, TYPED, submitted as PDF (not Word or txt, etc.) to bwoodahl@iu.edu, explain in your own words the "Bethe Weizsacker Cycle". Make sure your paper includes a short discussion where you contrast it with the Proton-Proton Chain. Include your full name, the due date is Friday Nov 17th at 5:00 PM. Late submittals are not accepted.

Quiz 6 (Tuesday, October 10)

• 4 questions, multiple choice, review all your notes from the past three lectures

Week 8 Images

• Sources of Atmospheric Gases

• Mechanisms for Loss of Atmospheric Gases

• Mars' Orbital Ellipticity: Hemispherical Asymmetry in the Seasons

• Water Ice & Trace Amount of Dry Ice in Mars' North Pole Ice Cap During Northern Hemisphere Summer

• Mars' Global Dust Storm

• Venus' Atmosphere

• The Four Jovians

• Nonsphericity of Jovians

• Detailed Interior Structure of Jupiter

• Interior Structure of Jovians

• Jupiter's Three Cloud Levels: Ammonia, Ammonium Hydrosulfide, Water

• Jovian Cloud Types and Elevations

• Methane: Blue Neptune and Uranus

• Jupiter's Clouds: Different Colors and Different Elevations

• Coriolis Effect on Jupiter's Great Red Spot

• Animation of Jupiter's Cloud Bands and Great Red Spot

Quiz 5 (Tuesday, October 3)

• 4 questions, multiple choice, review your notes from last week's lectures

Week 7 Images

• Moon's Lunar Highlands and Lunar Maria

• Mercury's Caloris Basin

• Mercury's Giant Cliffs

• Theories on Mercury's Giant Cliffs

• Mercury Still Shrinking (Tectonically Active)

• Mars' Southern Highlands and Northern Plains

• Past Volcanism on Mars: Olympus Mons

• Mars' Tectonics: Valles Marineris

• Mars' Ancient Water Erosion by Rivers

• Mars' Ancient Water Erosion by Rainfall: Lack of Small Craters

• Evidence for Water Today (Oct 2005) on Mars: High Resolution Picture 1

• Evidence for Water Today (Oct 2005) on Mars: High Resolution Picture 2

• Evidence for Water Today (Oct 2005) on Mars: High Resolution Picture 3

• Evidence for Water Today (Oct 2005) on Mars: High Resolution Picture 4

• Images for Water on Mars (Sep 2015): High Resolution Picture 1

• Images for Water on Mars (Sep 2015): High Resolution Picture 2

• NASA Presser on Mars Flowing Water (Sep 2015)

• More Evidence: Large Sub-surface Water Lake on Mars (Jul 2018): Image

• Latest Data from Curiosity Rover (Sep 2013)

• Snow Evidence Today on Mars

• Cold Brines on Mars May Support Aerobic Life

• Venus' Surface from Magellan Spacecraft Radar Imagining

• Venus' Surface Close-Up from Soviet Union's Venera Lander Using an Optical Imager

• Terrestrial Atmospheres

• Gravity Creates Higher Pressure and Density Near Surface

• Atmospheric Absorption of EM Radiation

• In The Evening

• Atmospheric Scattering of Light: Blue Daytime Skies and Red Dawn

• Greenhouse Effect

• Pink Floyd DSOM: Scattering of Light: Violet and Blue Scatter More (Bending Angle Greater) Than Red and Orange

• Blue Sky and Red Dawn on Earth

• Coriolis Effect

Week 6 Images

• Galactic Recycling: Stardust = All the Elements Heavier than Hydrogen and Helium (and tiny bit of Lithium)

• Willie Nelson: Stardust (melody, the memory of love's refrain ...)

• Solar Nebula to an Orderly Solar System

• Composition of Solar Nebula

• The Frost Line

• Early Solar System

• Terrestrial Formation

• Planetesimals must avoid being Shattered

• Jovian Formation

• Accretion Process

• Narration of Solar System Formation

• Surfaces of Terrestrials

• Differentiation of Terrestrial Interiors

• Sources of Internal Heat

• Radioactive

• Cooling Mechanisms

• Impact Cratering

• Volcanism

• Tectonics

• Erosion

• Role of Planet's Size, Distance, and Spin

Exam 1 (Thursday, September 21)

• About 70 questions, multiple choice, review all your notes and quizzes

• Bring a picture ID card (Driver's License, CrimsonCard, JagTag, Military ID, etc.)

• In LE 101, rememberize to bring a #2 (HB) pencil (failure to use a pencil results in a zero)

• ''.. I brought my pencil, gimme something to write on, man ..'' OpScan sheets will be provided, pick one up when you enter

Exam 1 Study Guide

• Exam 1 Study Guide (PDF)

Quiz 4 (Tuesday, September 19)

• 4 questions, multiple choice, review your notes from the last three weeks (this will also help prepare for the exam)

• Know everything about light

• Know about the fundamental particles (and other aspects of matter)

• Understand the distinction between chemical and nuclear reactions

Week 5 Images

• Saturn

• Uranus

• Neptune

• Planetary Data

• Dwarf Planets Pluto and Eris (with other Kuiper Belt Objects)

• Orbit Details of Eris

• The Asteroid Belt

• Kuiper Belt Objects and Oort Cloud Objects

• Jovians Versus Terrestrials

Quiz 3 (Tuesday, September 12)

• 4 questions, multiple choice, review your notes from the past two weeks

• Know all about Newton, his Laws of Motion, and his Law of Gravity

Week 4 Images

• Atoms

• The Fundamental Particles

• Atom Type (Element) Determined by the Number of Protons

• The Periodic Table (PDF)

• Water (H₂O) Molecule

• Photon (wavy line) Being Absorbed by Atom -> Electron (solid blue line) Jumps Up into Higher Orbit

• Atom Emitting a Photon (wavy line) -> Electron (solid blue line) Jumps Down into Lower Orbit

• Spectra of Helium, Sodium, and Neon

• At The Station

• Sound Produced by Stationary Source

• Sound Produced by Moving Source: Doppler Effect

• Doppler Effect on Spectra: Redshifting and Blueshifting

• Solar System: Sun and Planets (Ignore Pluto)

• Orderly Motion

• Sun

• Mercury

• NASA Mercury Mission (Messenger)

• Venus

• Earth

• Mars

• Ghost on Mars?

• NASA Mars Mission (Curiosity)

• Jupiter

• Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Quiz 2 (Tuesday, September 5)

• 4 questions, multiple choice, review your notes from the past four lectures

• Know the history of Foucault, Galileo, Kepler, Brahe, Copernicus

• Know the numbers/info regarding galaxies, and stars in galaxies

• Know the motion of Earth's path around Sun (ecliptic plane, perihelion = closest to the sun, etc.) and the seasons

• Know about the Moon's motion around the Earth and the phases of the Moon

Week 3 Images

• No Moon, No Gravity, No Tide(s)

• Moon's Gravitational Force Stretches (Pancakes) the Earth Thus Creating Two Tides (on Opposite Sides)

• Moon's Tidal Forces are Squashing (Pancaking) the Earth

• Moon is Lifting Itself into a Higher Orbit

• White Light Contains All Colors

• Duality of Light: Light Is Both a Wave and a Particle

• Wavelength and Frequency

• Inverse Relationship Between Wavelength and Frequency

• Electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum

Quiz 1 (Tuesday, August 29)

• 4 questions, multiple choice, review your notes from last week, know:

• The metric prefix names for various powers of ten

• Dividing two numbers and obtaining the "order of magnitude"

• The number of stars in a galaxy and the number of stars in the observable universe

• The speed-of-light in the metric units

Week 2 Images

• Ptolemaic Model

• Retrograde Motion (Updated)

• Nicolaus Copernicus

• Copernican Model

• Tycho Brahe

• Johannes Kepler

• Galileo Galilei

• Galileo's Venus Phases Supports Copernican Model

• Ptolemaic Model has Limited Phases of Venus

• Foucault Pendulum at Fermilab

• Change in Velocity (either speed or direction) is an Acceleration

• Sir Isaac Newton

• Newton's 1st Law

• Newton's 2nd Law

• Newton's 3rd Law

• Acceleration of an Object Due to Earth's Gravity

• Converting Energy from One Type Into Another Type

Week 1 Images

• Number of stars in the Universe?

• The Milky Way Galaxy

• Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

• The Expanding Universe

• The Reason for the Seasons

• Details of Earth in Motion

• The Phases of the Moon

• Synchronous Rotation (figure on right-hand side)

Course Information

• Syllabus (PDF).   Please print and keep with your notes.

• Master Schedule (PDF).   Please print and keep with your notes.

• These documents may be changed/updated during the semester.  Please check that you have the latest versions.

The TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE of 2017 (Monday, August 21st)

• Totality (Marion, Illinois)

• Baily's Beads, Post-Totality (Marion, Illinois)

• Diamond Ring, Post-Totality (Marion, Illinois)

The Most Commonly Asked Question in Intro Astronomy

• Why don't solar eclipses occur every month (i.e, every New Moon) ?

A solar eclipse only occurs if the New Moon is about within half a degree of the ecliptic plane (defined by the orbit path of Earth as it travels around the Sun). The Moon's orbital path, around the Earth, is (unfortunately) inclined by about 5 degrees to the ecliptic. Thus, there are only two opportunities each moonth (punning) when the Moon passes through the ecliptic. These points are called the nodes (ascending, descending). The Moon passing through a node is not sufficient, it must pass through the node during the New Moon lunar phase.

About twice a year, during an approximately 45 day window (based upon the orbital speeds of the Earth and Moon), the New Moon is close enough to a node that a solar eclipse can occur. Further complicating the motion, the Moon's orbital plane precesses relative to the ecliptic. Hence, the nodes precess around the ecliptic, completing one rotation about every 18.6 years. In addition, because the Moon's path around Earth is elliptical, during many solar eclipses the angular diameter of the Moon is not large enough to fully cover the Sun. Only when the New Moon is near a node and near perigee (i.e. closest to the Earth), does totality occur. On average, it takes about 400 years for totality to occur again at the same geographical location.

Amazon.com Links for Textbooks (New and Used)

• The Cosmic Perspective: The Solar System (7th Edition)

• The Cosmic Perspective, Both Volumes (7th Edition)

• Amazon.com Textbook Rentals

Excellent Beginner's Telescope for General Astronomy

• Orion SpaceProbe 130ST Equatorial Reflector

• Other Telescopes Available in the Astro 100/105 Store

• Texts Also Available in the Astro 100/105 Store

Imagining the Tenth Dimension

• Many thanks to Ryan Bertram, who introduced me to this YouTube video (courtesy of Rob Bryanton, Canadian author) that discusses the ten possible dimensions of our universe.

• Imagining the Tenth Dimension

Gravity Simulator

• Many thanks to Tim McCormick, who introduced me to this webpage that models early solar system formation.

• Nowy Kurier's Gravity Simulator

FYI (and Just For Fun)

• Big Stig

• That's A Nice One, I Made That

• Top Gear

• Hans Stuck Around Nurburgring

• Is Newton's Second Law Correct at Small Accelerations?

• Top Gear's Review of GTI W12

• Rossi And a Yard of Bricks

• Video Images from 2008 Indy MotoGP

• The Official MotoGP.com

• Latest Hi-Res of Ferrari's 458

• Latest "Crash.net" News

• Mustangs and Corvettes Pray That They Do Not See This Dub At The Track (Warning: Contains Expletives)

• MotoGPod

• Latest Yamaha Racing News

• MotoGP at Indy

• The Old, Old Server

• Thanks for the new Hummer! (I need to get in there and get those windows washed.)

• F1 and MotoGP Technology Available Today in the Showroom

• DeLorean (in street mode) Side Profile

• Mobile Proton Accelerator Pack

• Time-Elapsed Solar Prominence

• Plage Cloud

• Rhubarb Pie

• Prominences, Filaments, Plages

• Wave

• Electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum

• EM Spectrum and relative sizes

• EM Doppler Shift

• White Light is All the Colors

• Photon Absorption and Emission

• Hydrogen Spectra

• Blackbody Spectral Profiles

University Policy Regarding Sexual Harassment

• Syllabus/Course Webpage Addendum

Department of Physics, IUPUI - Updated on November 30, 2023 at 1:44 PM EST