Physics 405/406: Introduction to Astronomy

Welcome to "Introduction to Astronomy"!

  Course runs Mo, We, Fr, 2-3 pm, in the DeMeritt Hall Lecture Room, DeM 112.

Final Exam: We, May 14, 330 - 530 pm
Material for Exam: All Chapters, but heavy on recent material!
James G46: A–D; DeMeritt 240: E–J; DeMeritt: 112: K-Z

Take a look at the sky yourself!
This is part of what astronomy is about:
Taking in the wonders of the night sky.

Prof. Möbius is teaching Spring 2014

Some recent events

NASA's New Horizon Mission during its Countdown enroute to Pluto, bound for flyby in 2015.

ESA Comet Probe Rosetta wakes up before it encounters Comet.

Mars Rover Curiosity landed safely on Mars on August 5, 2012!

IBEX successfully launched on Sunday, October 19, 2008. The satellite and sensors (partially built at UNH) are working great.
In summer 2009 we displayed the first sky map taken with neutral atoms. IBEX has caught the interstellar wind through our Solar System; see the UNH Press Release from January 2012. As a consequence of IBEX results, there is no Bow Shock in front of the Heliosphere.The interstellar wind through the solar system may be changing.

NASA turned 50 on October 1, 2008! Check out their cool webcast videos!

Check your Class and Assignment Schedule! Reading is assigned for each class!

If you are interested in further discussions on Cosmology and Beyond
Join the Class "Cosmology and Our View of the World", INCO 796
always taught during the Spring Semester, coming year again with
Prof. E. Möbius (Physics), Prof. T. Davis (Genetics), & Prof. W. DeVries (Philosophy)
Meets Wednesday, 610 - 740 pm, in Morse Hall 401

Here is a list of the music pieces played during the walk-in period at the beginning of class.

Here is the article by John Gianforte, our local amateur astronomer expert, on Galileo Galilei that I pointed to in class.

Important class material and your Grade Updates can be found on Blackboard

Current Events in Spaceflight:

Helpful Links:

AstroEd: Astronomy Education Resources:

If you have trouble understanding Astronomy the way it is taught here or in the book, check out the websites from other Astronomy courses listed here.

The Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center:

The Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center, brought to you by the people at ACE, is designed to increase your interest in cosmic and heliospheric science. (The heliosphere is the HUGE area in space affected by the Sun.) It's an exciting subject to learn about, and science is constantly moving forward in understanding it. (ACE -- the Advanced Composition Explorer -- is one of the many satellite projects with which UNH has been involved, and promises to answer some of the more exciting questions about the formation of the solar system and our galaxy.)

Touching the Limits of Science:

One reason you are probably studying astronomy is that you are interested in the Philosophy behind science and are asking yourself where everything comes from. We will get to part of the story, but, as I make the point over and over, this is an endless enterprise. If you want to know more about this, you can either join us (Prof. Thomas M. Davis (Genetics), Prof. Willem DeVries (Philososphy) and Prof. Eberhard Möbius (Physics) in the seminar "Limits of Knowledge: Cosmology and the View of our World" and/or you may start by browsing the website for the seminar.