PHYS 1210 Exploring the Universe

Spring 2017
Prof. Tim Cook

Lecture #1
 Contact information
• My e-mail address is
Timothy_Cook@uml.edu.
• My office is 101B Olney Hall
• My office hours are 11:00 am to 11:50 am
MWF and Wednesday afternoon 1:30 pm to
3:30 pm
 Class details - labs

• If you are registered for this class (PHYS 1210)

you must also register for the lab (PHYS 1210L)
• Labs meet every other week.
• The lab schedule is posted on Blackboard.
• You will need to check the schedule to find out
when YOUR lab meets.
• Labs will NOT meet this week, Jan. 15th to the
21st.
 Class details - assignments

• Homework will be due each Sunday starting

on January 22nd.
• There will be an on-line quiz each week
th
starting on January 27 .
• All homework assignments and quiz
information can be found on Blackboard
 Blackboard
• Blackboard is the school's web site for courses.
• All of the course materials for this course are available on line
on Blackboard.
• See the handout for instructions for logging into Blackboard.
• There is a new Blackboard address for on-campus courses this
semester.
• The homework assignments are on Blackboard.
• The quizzes will be taken using Blackboard.
• All of the lecture notes will be on Blackboard.
• You should still take your own notes. I will be saying and
explaining things which are not written on the slides.
 Blackboard On-Campus Access Information for Students
Login Information:
1. Go to https://lowell.umassonline.net/
2. Select the Lowell On Campus Login button
3. Enter your UMass Lowell username and password and click the Login button.
• Use your @student.uml.edu credentials

How to Get Technical Help:

If you are having problems with Blackboard, you can request help in three ways:
• Enter your own service desk ticket: helpdesk.uml.edu
• Email: Help@uml.edu
• Phone: (24/7)
• On campus, dial ext. 4-4357 or
• Call toll free: 866-435-7437

Blackboard Tutorials:
Once logged into Blackboard, information for students can be found by selecting
the Student tab in the blue ribbon near the top of the page.
 Grading
In-class questions 10 %
On-line quizzes 25 %
Hand-in homework 25 %
Final Exam 40 %

Your grade for in-class questions will be determined by dropping the lowest
scores for 8 of the lectures. In-class questions for the first 6 lectures will be
for practice only and will not count toward your grade. Correct answers to In
class questions will count for 3 points. Incorrect answers will count for 2
points.
Your grade for on-line quizzes will be determined by dropping the lowest 3 quiz
scores.
Your grade for hand-in homework will be determined by dropping the lowest 4
homework scores.
 Grading
The final score will be CURVED to yield APPROXIMATELY 10% As, 50% Bs
and 40% Cs for those fulfilling all course requirements.
You will earn no lower than a C- level grade for doing all required work on time.
One letter grade lower course grade will be deducted for missing more than 25%
of the assignments (homework, quiz, or in-class questions).
Turning in less than 50% of the assignments on time or missing the final
examination will result in an F.

Academic Conduct: You are responsible for proper academic conduct – please
refer to the university's academic integrity policy at the following URL:

http://www.uml.edu/catalog/undergraduate/policies/academic_dishonesty.htm
 Quizzes

Quizzes for this class will be taken on-line using
Blackboard.

Each quiz has a time limit of 20 minutes.

Each quiz will be 20 questions.

Once started a quiz time is active, it cannot be paused or
restarted.

Each quiz will be available starting at 2:00 pm on Friday
and must be completed before 2:00 pm on Monday.

The first quiz will be available at 2:00 pm January 27th.

There is a “practice quiz” in the “Week 1” folder on
Blackboard. This quiz will not count toward your grade.
Please take it to be sure that you know how to log onto
Blackboard and take a quiz.
 In class questions (Clickers)

UML (and this class) will be using Turning
Technology clickers.

You will each need a clicker.

One clicker will work for all of your classes
that use clickers.

They are available at the book store.

You will need to register your clicker on the
web site. Instructions for registering are in
Blackboard.
 Homework
• Homework will be due each Sunday starting on
January 22nd.
• Homework assignments can be found on-line on
Blackboard in the “Start Here” folder.
• They will be turned in electronically using
Blackboard.
• Your homework MUST be in a single PDF format
document.
• You may type it (e.g. using Word or your favorite
editor) or hand write it and scan it. The final output or
scan MUST be in a single PDF format document.
 Cooperating on homework

When you do your homework you are allowed to
(encourged to) work together.

The homework you turn in should be your own work.

You may talk to anyone or use any reference (your
friends, your TA, the internet) to do the homework.

The assignment you turn in must be in your own
words. You may discuss your answers but you may
not copy someone else's answers word for word.

You may rephrase what you have learned from other
people in your own words and turn it in.
PHYS 1210 Exploring the Universe
Spring 2017
Prof. Tim Cook
Lecture #1
 How astronomers describe
numbers
• Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-
bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the
road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• To describe space we use different units. Things like
– Astronomical Units (AU)
– Light years
– Parsecs
• We can also use metric prefixes like kilo-, mega-, giga- etc.
• But sometimes there's no way around it and we need to compare
very big numbers to very small ones.
• To do that we use exponents, logarithms, and scientific notation.
 Exponents, Logarithms and
Scientific notation
• An exponent describes the number of digits
in a number.

Number Exponent Number Exponent

1 100 1 100
10 101 0.1 10-1
100 102 0.01 10-2
1000 103 0.001 10-3
2 100.3 0.002 10-2.3
2000 103.3
 Exponents, Logarithms and
Scientific notation
• A logarithm is the opposite of an exponent.

Number Exponent Number Exponent

Log(1) 0 Log(1) 0
Log(10) 1 Log(0.1) -1
Log(100) 2 Log(0.01) -2
Log(1000) 3 Log(0.001) -3
Log(2000) 3.3 Log(0.002) -2.3
 Exponents, Logarithms and
Scientific notation
• Scientific notation lets us do math with
numbers which are very different.

Number Is equal to Exponent Scientific Notation

1 =1x1 0 1 x 100
3 =3x1 0 3 x 100
10 = 1 x 10 1 1 x 101

50 = 5 x 10 1 5 x 101
7000 = 7 x 1000 3 7 x 103
5200 = 5.2 x 1000 3 5.2 x 103
 For example
• Distance to Boston • Distance to the Sun
– 53000 meters – 149,600,000,000
– 33 miles meters
– 53 kilometers – 8 light minutes
– 5.3x104 meters – 1 AU
– 149.6 gigameters
– 1.496x1011 meters
 In class question 1a

Log(100)=
1) 1
2) 2
3) 3
4) 4
 Combining Exponents
If we want to multiply numbers (factors)
together we must ADD the exponents:
2 x 10 = 20
Log(2)=0.3
Log(10)=1
0.3 1 1.3
10 x 10 =10
 Combining Exponents
If we want to raise a number to a power
together we must multiply the exponents:
2 2
20 = (2 x 10)
1 2
=(2 x 10 )
2 1 2
= 2 x (10 )
2
=4 x 10
=400
 In class question 1b

100.3 X 100.3 =
A) 1 = 100
B) 2 = 100.3
C) 3 = 100.5
D) 4 = 100.6
How we talk about where things are:
The Celestial Sphere

• Vast distances to stars

prevent us from
sensing their true 3-D
arrangement
• Naked eye
observations treat all
stars at the same
distance, on a giant
celestial sphere with
the Earth at its center
 Constellations

• Constellations are fixed arrangements of stars that

resemble animals, objects, and mythological figures
• They describe regions on the sky
• Stars in a constellation are not physically related
 Diurnal vs. Annular Motion

• Diurnal Motion • Annual Motion

– “Daily Motion” – “Yearly Motion”
– Sun, Moon, planets,
and stars rise in the east
– Due to the Earth’s
and set in the west revolution (orbit
– Due to the Earth’s around the Sun)
rotation – Causes the Sun to
move around the
Celestial Sphere
over the year.
 Diurnal Motion
• Daily motion can be
explained by the rotation
of the Earth underneath
the celestial sphere
• The north and south
celestial poles are
located directly above
the Earth’s north and
south poles
• The celestial equator lies
directly above the
Earth’s equator.
Star trails

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120712.html
 In class question 1c
This point here is:
1) The celestial
equator
2) The celestial
pole
3)Where the sun
will rise
4)Where the sun
will set
 Annual Motion

• Other motions (like annual motion) are the motion of

things around on the celestial sphere.
 Annual Motion
• A given star rises 3
minutes 56 seconds
earlier each night
• This annual motion is
caused by the Earth’s
motion around the Sun,
the result of projection
• We use the periodic
annual motion to mark
the year
The Ecliptic
• The path of the Sun
through the stars on
the celestial sphere is
called the ecliptic
• The constellations
along the ecliptic are
the Zodiac.
 The Seasons

• The Earth’s rotation axis is tilted 23.5º from a line

perpendicular to the Earth’s orbital plane.
• The rotation axis of the Earth maintains nearly the same
tilt and direction from year to year
• This leads to the seasons!
The Seasons
 Seasons and The Ecliptic
• The tilt of the Earth’s rotation axis causes
the ecliptic not to be aligned with the
celestial equator
• Sun is above celestial equator in June when
the Northern Hemisphere is tipped toward
the Sun, and is below the equator in
December when tipped away
• Tilting explains seasonal altitude of Sun at
noon, highest in summer and lowest in
winter
The Ecliptic’s Tilt
 Solstices and Equinoxes
• Points on horizon where Sun rises and sets changes periodically
throughout year
• In summer months of Northern hemisphere, the Sun rises north
of east and sets north of west
• In winter months of Northern hemisphere, the Sun rises south of
east and sets south of west
• The solstices (about June 21 and December 21) are when the
Sun rises at the most extreme north and south points
• The equinoxes (equal day and night and about March 21 and
September 23) are when the Sun rises directly east
• Ancients marked position of Sun rising and setting to determine
the seasons (e.g., Stonehenge)
Solstices and Equinoxes
 The Moon
• Rises in the east and
sets in the west with
the celestial sphere
• The Moon moves
from west to east
relative to the
celestial sphere
(roughly the width of
the Moon in one
hour)
The Phases of the Moon
• During a period of
about 30 days, the
Moon goes through a
complete set of
phases: new, waxing
crescent, first quarter,
waxing gibbous, full,
waning gibbous, third
quarter, waning
crescent
 The Phases of the Moon

– The phase cycle is the origin of the month (derived

from the word moon) as a time period
– The phases of the Moon are caused by the relative
positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon
 Lunar Rise and Set Times

• The Moon
rises roughly
50 minutes
later each day
 Eclipses

• An eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon

are directly in line with each other
• A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes
between the Sun and Earth, with the Moon casting
its shadow on the Earth causing a midday sky to
become dark as night for a few minutes
Solar Eclipse from Space
 Lunar Eclipses

• A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes

between the Sun and Moon, with the Earth
casting its shadow on the Moon giving it a dull
red color
 Rarity of Eclipses

• Because of the Moon’s tilt • Twice a year the Moon’s

relative to the ecliptic, orbit will pass through the
eclipses will not occur at Sun giving the possibility
every new and full Moon of an eclipse – these times
are called eclipse seasons
 Eclipse Seasons

• Since the Moon’s orbit tilts • When a solar eclipse occurs at

nearly in the same direction new Moon, conditions are
through the year, twice a year right for a lunar eclipse to
the Moon’s orbit will pass occur at the full Moon either
through the Sun giving the before or after the solar
possibility of an eclipse – eclipse
these times are called eclipse
seasons
 Eclipse Periods

• Eclipses do not occur every 30 days since the

Moon’s orbit is tipped relative to the Earth’s
orbit
• The tipped orbit allows the shadow of the
Earth (Moon) to miss the Moon (Earth)
Recent and Upcoming Solar Eclipses