AST 101 - Astronomy of the Solar System

▲ = Fulfills a General Education Requirement
This course provides a survey of the nature and underlying physics of all the solar system objects: sun, planets, satellites, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. Astronomical discoveries are put into historical perspective. This course includes a laboratory section that has experiments and activities specifically designed to facilitate knowledge acquisition of course subject matter. Experiments are carried out in the William Miller Sperry Observatory to determine the mass of the earth, phases of the moon and Venus, and more, using only high school math. Topics in optics, motion, heat, and properties of states of matter are introduced. The use of sky charts and coordinate systems is presented. Certain labs can only be completed at Sperry Observatory on the Cranford campus – students unable to come to the Observatory for these labs can opt to do alternate labs. Students must register for a lab component of this course.
Prerequisite(s): ENG 096, if required
3 lecture hours and 3 laboratory hours per week
4 credit hours