West Visayas State University

College of Arts and Sciences

Physical Science Department

Course Outline in Astronomy

*Topic
I. The Sky
A. Constellations
B. Earth’s Motion
- Rotation, Revolution, Precession
C. Earth and Moon
- Phases, Tides and Eclipses

Midterm Exam (Short Coverage since I need to strengthen first their Earth and Space
science concepts before I jumped into Astronomy proper. Please see my guide
questions on how to detect their misconceptions)

D. History of Modern Astronomy

- Ancient Ideas, Newton and Einstein and Gravity
E. Light and Telescopes

II. The Stars

A. Starlight and Stellar Spectra
B. The Sun and Its Atmosphere
C. Measuring Stars
1. Distances to stars
2. Intrinsic Brightness
3. Diameter of Stars
D. Binary Stars

III. Life Cycle of Stars

A. Formation of Stars
1. The Birth of stars
2. The source of Stellar Energy
B. Stellar Evolution
1. Main-Sequence stars
2. Post Main Sequence Evolution
3. Variable Stars
4. Star Clusters
C. Deaths of Stars
1. Lower Main-Sequence Stars
2. Upper Main-Sequence Stars
3. The Evolution of Binary Stars
4. Neutron Stars
5. Black Holes

IV. The Universe

A. The Milky Way
1. Properties of Milky Way Galaxy
2. Origin of Milky Way Galaxy
3. Spiral arms and Nucleus of Milky Way
B. Galaxies
1. The Morphology of Galaxies
2. Measuring the Properties of Galaxies
3. The Lives of the Galaxies
C. Peculiar Galaxies

1
 1. Active Galaxies
2. Quasars
D. Cosmology
1. The Structure of the Universe
2. The Big Bang – Theory and Observation

V. The Solar System

A. The Origin of the Solar System
B. Planet Earth
1. Early History of Earth
2. The Solid Earth
3. The Atmosphere
C. The Moon and Mercury
D. Venus and Mars
E. Jupiter and Saturn
F. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto
G. Meteorites, Asteroids and Comets

VI. Special Topic

A. Life on other worlds
1. Nature and Origin of Life
B. Communication with Distant Civilizations
C. Astronomy versus Astrology
D. UFO’s and Pseudoscience

Final Exam Retake

*Reference
1. Foundations of Astronomy by Michael Seeds

Grading System
Long Exams, Midterm, Final Ex. 50%
Class Participation 50%
1. Stargazing
2. Reporting
3. Demonstration/Instructional Materials
4. Other Outputs/Projects
TOTAL 100%

Prepared by

Mr. Richelle O. Tuvillo

WVSU - CAS