THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Introduction and Overview II.  Powers of ten notation, basic astronomical units (AU, light 
year, etc).  Basic inventory of Universe (planets, stars, galaxies, etc... general appearance 
and features and relative sizes). Fundamental forces and the structure of atoms.

Chapter 1.  Features of the celestial sphere.  Definition of celestial equator, poles.  
Definition of angular diameter.  Ecliptic, Zodiac.  Cause of seasons.  Cause and appearance 
of eclipses and phases of Moon.  Contributions of Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, Aristotle, 
Ptolemy; the methods they used, and approximately when they lived.  Contribution of 
Kepler, Copernicus, Galileo and Newton and about when they lived.  Kepler's laws and 
their use.  The Kelvin Temperature scale.  BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT 
ASTRONOMICALLY DEFINES  THE DAY, MONTH, AND YEAR.

Chapter 2.  Law of inertia.  Newton's laws.   Law of gravity.  Escape velocity.

Chapter 3.  A CRITICALLY IMPORTANT CHAPTER.  GET THIS INFO DOWN OR 
YOU'RE DOOMED.  Nature of light: wave or particle.  Basic properties of light: 
wavelength and its relation to color and energy.  Kinds of Electromagnetic radiation (radio, 
infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays).  Structure of atom and nucleus.  Use of 
Wien's Law.  Types of spectra.  How spectra are produced.  Meaning of ionization.  
Doppler shift and its use.

Chapter 4. Earth. Cause of seasons.

Chapter 6.  Cause and appearance of eclipses.  Why eclipses are rare. 

Chapter 7.  Names of planets and their order from Sun.  Types of planets 
(terrestrial/Jovian) and which are which.  Asteroid belt and Oort cloud and their relation to 
asteroids and comets. Definition of density and approximate range of values.  Basic 
features of planetary orbits.  Bode's Law.  Theory of formation of the Solar System.  
Meaning and properties of solar nebula, planetesimal.

Chapter 11.  Size of Sun relative to Earth.  Structure of Sun: hydrostatic equilibrium, 
energy generation by conversion of hydrogen into helium.  Learn the proton-proton cycle.  
Solar surface features (spots, flares, prominences, granulation, and so forth).  Atmospheric 
layers (corona and chromosphere, solar wind).  Nature of solar cycle, its cause, and 
possible terrestrial effects.  Maunder minimum.

Chapter 12.  Another important chapter.  Parallax, its definition and use.  Inverse square 
law, its use.    Concept of magnitudes (i.e., brightness).    STEFAN-BOLTZMANN LAW 
AND ITS USE.  Features of the H-R diagram.  Approximate size and luminosity of stars 
relative to Sun.  Be able to draw and label H-R diagram.  Use of binary stars give 
information about stellar masses, radii, etc.  Be able to calculate stellar masses from binary 
data.

Chapter 13. Be able to write a three or so paragraph essay giving DETAILS of how a star 
is born, ages, and dies.  Know WHY things happen.  Basic features of stellar structure 
(hydro equilib, thermal equilib, energy generation, opacity, convection).  Basic features of 
nuclear burning and synthesis of heavy elements.  Life expectancy of stars.  Know 
difference in evolution for low- and high-mass star and be able to sketch changes of star's 
properties in HR diagram with an evolutionary track.  Know what causes a star's death and 
features of supernova explosions.  

Chapter 14.  Understand WHY some stars end up as white dwarfs, neutron stars or black 
holes.  Be able to describe properties of each and approximate sizes.  Definition of 
Schwarzschild radius and its derivation.  Features of pulsars, x-ray binaries.  Astro 
evidence for black holes.

Chapter 15.  Structural features of the Milky Way (size, shape, rotation, kinds of stars, 
mass, and HOW WE KNOW).  Location of Sun and origin of spiral arms.  Role of 
variable stars in measuring size of Milky Way.  Nebulas (dark, reflection, emission). 
Importance of radio observations for penetrating dust and mapping Milky Way.   Origin of 
the Milky Way.

Chapter 16.  Types of other galaxies and their differences and basic features (E, S, and 
Irr).    Theories of how these types form.  Properties of active galaxies (Seyfert, Radio, 
and Quasars).  Model for active galaxies.  Be able to use Hubble law.  Dark Matter 
problem.  Properties of galaxy clusters.

Chapter 17.  Evidence for expanding Universe.  Big Bang and relation of its date to Hubble 
constant.  Microwave background and its origin.  Olbers' paradox.  Geometry of model 
universes (open vs. closed, i.e., bounded or not), and what determines whether open or 
closed.  Properties of early Universe.  Nature of anti-matter.  Inflationary Universe and its 
relation to Big Bang.  GUTS.