PHYS  333: Fundamentals of Astrophysics

Spring 2008


Class News for Apr. 9

HW#5 now available from hw5.pdf ; due  Wed. Apr. 16, 2008

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The solutions for HW#1 are now available in PDF format from hw1-solns.pdf
The solutions for HW#2 are now available in PDF format from hw2-solns.pdf
The solutions for HW#3 are now available in PDF format from hw3-solns.pdf

An update to 2nd set of notes, on stellar spectra, is available as: DocONotes2-spectra.pdf


General Info:

This is an intermediate level survey course on general astrophysics. It will provide quantitative overview of astronomy and astrophysics, including treatments of stars, the interstellar medium, galaxies, and cosmology.

The course is intended for students with a good background in calculus and college level physics. Prerequites are MATH243 and PHYS208, although students who are currently taking these courses may be ask for instructor's permission to enroll.

Further details are given in the course syllabus and course calendar.

Instructor: Stan Owocki
Office: 205 Sharp Lab
Voice mail: (302)831-8357
E-mail:  astroprof at bartol.udel.edu
http://www.bartol.udel.edu/~owocki/phys333/


 Lecture:   MWF   Time 11:15 am -- 12:05 p.m. --  105 Sharp Lab (SHL)
Final Exam:   TBA

Office hours: W 1:30-2:30; F 2:30-3:30 -- 205 SHL
Informal help/chat session:   M 4:00-5:00 -- South end Trabant Food court.
Additional hours as needed;  personal times upon arrangement.
For those interested, we might also occasionally do a lunch together....

The required course textbook is:

"Astronomy, a Physical Perspective",  2nd edition, by Marc L. Kutner (Cambridge Univ. Press, ISBN 0 521 52927 1 for paperback edition).

The bookstore should have this in stock.

There should also soon be a copy on reserve in the Physics library.

An text, Ostilie and Carroll, "Introduction to Modern Astrophysics", Addison-Wesley) is highley recommended as a good secondary reference. In many ways it is far superior to Kutner, but I decided it was too much above the level for this course.  But it is an excellent book to have if you plan to continue further study in astronomy and astrophysics past this course.

Finally, I have written some typeset notes from my lectures. The first set of these is available at: DocONotes1-stars.pdf

If you find any typos or factual errors in this document, please let the instructor know, either in person or by email ( astroprof at bartol.udel.edu ).
Last revision: 9-Apr-08