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Introductory Astronomy

Warning

For those students who don't attend lectures for the first two weeks

If you planned to take the course but couldn't register during normal period and registered in Add/Drop period:

I allow all students/people to the course for the sake of astronomy.
Who hold you back in coming to the class for the first two weeks?
The semester was ON from the day-one and you take not just this course but other courses.
There is no "special" regulation for students having registration problems (in normal or add/drop period) that gives the right "NOT to attend lectures".
"I was rushing around to complete registration" cannot be an excuse because you have planned to take the course in your schedule.
So, you should ATTEND to the courses "ahead" of formal registration.

If you didn't plan to take the course in normal period but finally ended-up registering this course during Add/Drop period:

Your plan for "elective courses" failed and registered to the course.
So, you will loose two weeks of attendance and the content can be recovered via online course material.

Abovementioned two cases cannot be distinguished from each other:

It is student's responsibility to attend to the course and therefore instructor cannot take "add/drop period registration" as an excuse.

Course Content

This is a General Astronomy course. It is usually thought in two semesters covering astronomy content from basic understanding of sky to Cosmology. However, in this course it is compacted to a single semester. Therefore some of the minor content has been omitted or emphasis lowered.

The content starts with a long introduction:

Where we are in the universe
Comprehending the sky: local vs space
Scaling up/down in the universe
Making sense of observations: The change
Linking perceived data to scientific outcome

After the introduction, a space journey starts and the traveler (aka. student) starts exploring the universe from the local sky towards the end of observable universe, finalizing with a general view of Cosmos (i.e. including things/thoughts beyond the observable universe).

Assessment

Content of each exam will not include previous exam's content (see above table).

Grading

Regardless of your registration aim (to get a high letter grade or to comprehend basics of observable universe), as a student you should be attending to all classes. While grading you, this will create a positive discretion on your final grade.
The same discretion comes from the astro-post work. (a) They should reflect your thoughts (which should have been built during the semester), (b) You should demonstrate that you spend time and care on the astro-post.
Exams are fully on you. You collect points in the exams as you comprehend more in the course.
Summing all your activity during the course gives you a number, which is NOT equivalent to what you have grasped (or not grasped) during the semester.
Final letter grading method will depend on the whole class's performance. However, at the end, students will always get the advantage of the method.
Note that I am not revealing the method or showing an equation that outputs a letter grade.

Astro-Post

(A) Scientific

Concepts must be: Correct and Coherent and At appropriate level.
Avoid: (a) Misleading simplifications, (b) Pure copy-paste definitions

Part-1 (Visual):

One central concept represented visually
Must be scientifically correct
Must include labels or minimal annotations
No heavy text (max ~20–30 words)

Part-2 (Text - no image):

Clear definition (2–3 sentences)
Cause–effect explanation
One example or implication
Must reflect student understanding, not raw AI output

(B) Administrative

Select one topic from the list; no duplicates: First-comes-first-served
Submit as a single graphics in PNG

Grading Rubric:

Submission: choose (1 points), submit (2 points)
Scientific Correctness (4 points)
Clarity of Explanation (4 points)
Visual-Text Coherence

(C) Technical

One PNG file, two side-by-side parts, each part in 1080 x 1080 pixels (square format)

Design:

- Readable font size
- High constrast
- Minimal clutter
- Use arrows, labels, simple diagrams

AI Usage Policy:

- Allowed for generating visuals, and drafting explanations
- Not sufficient alone
- Student is accountable for correctness.

Common Failures:

- Overcrowded visuals
- Incorrect scale/labels
- Pure AI text with no structure
- Mixing unrelated concepts

(D) The List of Main Topics

Worlds & Light
Stars & Exremes
Galaxies & Cosmos

Text-book(s)

Physical book titles (first three) are adapted as textbooks to the course at different years through out the history of the course. Any of them will be a good starting point for this course as well as a good reference guide for your astronomy education. The links on the books are search results in well known book sellers. You have to buy the book and get a pass-code to access the "student content".

The last link (OpenStax) is a free online astronomy book prepared by astronomers all around the world. You should register to the site.

Astronomy Today

by Chaisson, E., McMillan, S.

The Cosmic Perspective

by Bennett, J., Dohahue, M., Schneider, N., Voit, M.

Explorations

by Arny, T.T., Schneider, S.E.

Astronomy (2e)

by OpenStack

Google Sites

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