Fall 2006
Astronomy 1001 Laboratory Section 118
Wednesday 11:15 - 1:10, Physics B49
Astronomy 1001 Laboratory Section 128
Friday 11:15 - 1:10, Physics 450
Lab Instructor: Michael Milligan
My Office Phone: 626-9149
Email: mmilligan @ astro.umn.edu
Assignment Mailbox: 256A
Course Web Page: http://www.astro.umn.edu/courses/1001/
My Web Page: http://www.astro.umn.edu/~mmilligan
Astronomy TA Office: 451 Physics
My Office Hours: Wednesday 10 - 11 AM
Please read this syllabus carefully, as the contents are your responsibility. You are also responsible for any changes made to it during this course. Such changes will be announced in lab, and will be added to the class syllabus posted at my web page.
I am available during my office hours in room 451. You may reach me at the email address above. You may also attend any other TA's posted office hours.
Lab work will be collected at the end of every lab session. The labs are designed such that each group should be able to finish the lab during the two hour lab session; if a group has not completed the lab, their work must STILL be turned in. Late lab work will not be accepted
Late observational project reports are required to be turned in to me by hand. I will reduce your score by 10% of the total points possible for each day said assignment is late absent exceptional circumstances.
The course is worth a total of 1000 points with the lab portion of the course worth 380 of those 1000 points. Course Policy states that you MUST earn over half of the available points in lab to pass the course (so 120 out of a possible 240.) Also, to receive a passing grade, you MUST attend all 3 exams in lecture as well as earn at least 50% of the points in the moon project.
12 labs @ 20 points each
In this class, we will be using cooperative learning groups; therefore, one lab per group will be turned in. Because of this, it is necessary to show up to and arrive promptly at the beginning of lab. Also, labs cannot be "made-up" on an individual basis; however, if you have a known absence and let me know ahead of time, we can let you attend another lab section for that week, with the appropriate instructor's permission.
140 points.
This is a long-term project that will require consistent effort over the course of the semester. Your understanding of the moon and how to make astronomical observations are the main goals of this project.
Part I: 3 observations, 9 points, due Sept 22 by 5PM.
Part II: 6 NEW observations (total of 9), 26 points, due Oct 27 by 5PM
Part III: 10 TOTAL observations, 45 points, due Dec 1, 5 PM
Final Report: Completed "Final Report" section from lab manual, 60 points, due Dec 2, 5 PM
Parts II and III will be graded cumulatively; thus you will need 9 and 15 total ACCEPTED observations to get full credit. Also, in order to get full credit for your observations, you must have all 'accepted' observations. Any observations with red boxes or marked as 'needs work' will receive deductions. 'Denied' observations will not receive any credit.
Observations that are spread out over the entire month will yield more accurate results in the final report. Resist the temptation to put off your observations until the last minute; weather can make it impossible to observe the moon for days at a time, but a failure to plan ahead will not be an excuse for an insufficient number of observations.
This semester we are using a web-based submission procedure. You will be required to submit your observations online by the due dates listed above. After you take an observation, you will have 3 days to enter it into the computer. Also, note that you must wait at least 12 hours between observations. After you submit your observations, you may log back on to correct math errors and the like; however, DO NOT CHANGE YOUR MEASUREMENT. This is your measurement, and changing it is not a correction, but a misrepresentation of the data. Site to submit your observations:
https://www.astro.umn.edu/moonproject/php/studentlogin.php
YOU HAVE 4 DAYS TO INPUT YOUR DATA INTO THE COMPUTER.
OBSERVATIONS MUST BE TAKEN AT LEAST 12 HOURS APART.
DO NOT CHANGE YOUR MEASUREMENT.
Special Requests: If anyone has needs or necessities that require accommodation, please let me know during the first week of class.
Academic Standards: The College of Liberal Arts scholastic conduct and classroom procedures will be followed. You are responsible for knowing and following these procedures. Working in groups promotes learning from others. However, it is quite simple to discover cheating. Using other people's observations or plagarizing on essays, whether from classmates, strangers, the Internet, etc., will not be tolerated. University actions will be taken if this occurs.