PřF:F3170 General astronomy - Course Information
F3170 General astronomy
Faculty of Scienceautumn 2021
- Extent and Intensity
- 3/1/0. 2 credit(s) (fasci plus compl plus > 4). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
- Teacher(s)
- RNDr. Jan Janík, Ph.D. (lecturer)
RNDr. Jan Janík, Ph.D. (seminar tutor) - Guaranteed by
- RNDr. Jan Janík, Ph.D.
Department of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics – Physics Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: RNDr. Jan Janík, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics – Physics Section – Faculty of Science - Timetable
- Tue 13:00–15:50 F3,03015
- Timetable of Seminar Groups:
- Prerequisites
- Graduation of first two the terms of physics. Knowledge of operations with matrices.
- Course Enrolment Limitations
- The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
- fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
- Applied Physics (programme PřF, B-AF, specialization Astrophysics)
- Physics (programme PřF, N-FY)
- Course objectives
- In this lecture student learns to explain motion of bodies on the sky, their rises and sets, what, when and where we can observe. Student will know how to calculate location of bodies at their orbit, master history of astronomy, timing and calendar.
- Learning outcomes
- Student will be able after completing the course:
- explaint differences between coordinating systems in astronomy;
- calculate rises and sets of celestial objects;
- calculate position of object in solar system;
- determine position on Earth;
- find out stellar and righ sollar time;
- describe differences between calendars;
- apply reduction with respect to parallax, precession and nutation; - Syllabus
- The subject and aim of astronomy. The meaning of astronomical observations and astronomical instruments. The origin and main stages of the development of astronomy. Egyptian, megalithic, Chinese, Babylonian, Greece and Arabian astronomy. European contemporary astronomy. Systems of coordinates, mutual transformation among them. Cartesian, cylindric, spherical CS, astronomical CS: equatorial, ecliptical, galactic. Motions of planets and stars on the celestial sphere. Geocentric and heliocentric systems, their substantiation. The asset of Aristotle, Ptolemaios, Copernicus, Kepler. The Newton gravitational law, laws of motion. The problem of two bodies, generalized Kepler laws. The geometry of the trajectory, the position, the motion of the body on the trajectory. Orbital elements, the motion of satelites of planets, the determination of mass of bodies of the Solar system. The problem of 3 bodies. Lagrange and Roche surfaces, Lagrangian points and their meaning. Gravitational disturbances, spheres of activity, tides. The Earth, its shape, mass, gravitational field, rotation, Coriolis force. The revolution of the Earth around the Sun, diurnal and annual aberration, parallax. Types of years, seasons. Sun dials, time equation, zonal time, summer time. Solar and lunar calendars. Lunisolar precession, its causes, consequences. Nutation.
- Literature
- ŠIROKÝ, Jaromír. Astronomie a astrofyzika. 2. uprav. vyd. Olomouc: Rektorát Univerzity Palackého, 1979, 340 s. info
- ŠIROKÝ, Jaromír and Miroslava ŠIROKÁ. Základy astronomie v příkladech. Vyd. 3. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1977, 158 s. URL info
- ŠIROKÝ, Jaromír and Miroslava ŠIROKÁ. Základy astronomie v příkladech. Vyd. 2. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1973, 158 s. info
- ŠIROKÝ, Jaromír and Miroslava ŠIROKÁ. Základy astronomie v příkladech. Vyd. 1. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1966, 156 s. info
- HACAR, Bohumil. Úvod do obecné astronomie. Vyd. 1. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1963, 511 s. URL info
- Teaching methods
- 3 h classical lectures + 1 hour class exercises, consultations, all is ended by the sophisticated oral examination
- Assessment methods
- 3 hours lecture, 1 hour class exercises. Potential for examination is credit for active participation on class exercises. In case of interest consultation will be given. During the examination student draws lots 2 question and has 60 minutes for preparation, student may use own helps including lecture notes. Examination is 30 minutes long, it is individual and relatively hard, aim of examination is to determine whether the student can understand the subject matter.
- Language of instruction
- Czech
- Follow-Up Courses
- Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
- Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught annually. - Teacher's information
- http://astro.physics.muni.cz/study/courses/f3170/
- Enrolment Statistics (autumn 2021, recent)
- Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/sci/autumn2021/F3170