Course materials will be put up here as they become available. They will mostly be in PDF format; if you don't already have Adobe Acrobat reader, you can download it here.

Week 1 (Jan 30)

Reading is Chapter 1, Chapter 7 (pp 163 -- 167), Chapter 10, and Chapter 18 of Goldsmith and Owen.

Week 2 (Feb 6)

Reading is Chapters 2 (all) and 6 (up to p. 144) of Goldsmith and Owen, along with Nick Strobel's Notes on Light

Week 3 (Feb 13)

Reading is on the birth, life, and death of stars --- Chapters 3, 4, and 5 of Goldsmith and Owen. This is about 61 pages.

Week 4 (Feb 20)

Reading for next week is on the origins of life on earth; Chapters 7 (all) and 8 of Goldsmith and Owen.

Week 5 (Feb 27)

Reading for next week is on the early development of life on earth; Chapter 9 of Goldsmith and Owen.

Week 6 (Mar 5)

No reading quiz next week; review class. First big assignment will be handed out, covering all of the first half of the course.

Week 7 (Mar 12)

Back to normal next week; reading quiz on Ch. 11 and 12. Andrew Puckett, from U. of Chicago, will be guest lecturing for me.

Week 8 (Mar 19)

Happy break! Only a short assignment today. On Apr 2, reading quiz on Ch. 13 and 14 --- all about Mars.

Week 9 (Apr 2)

Reading for next week is Ch. 15 & 16; we'll also talk a bit about the current Mars Rover missions. Assignment is Q1 in Chapter 13, and Q1,2,9,11 in Chapter 14; as a sixth question, go to the Mars Rover Web Page and write up one finding of the current Mars Rovers that isn't directly water related.

Week 10 (Apr 16)

Reading for next week is Ch. 17; we'll be talking about discovering extra solar planets and the results so far.

Week 11 (Apr 23)

Reading for next week is Ch. 19 and 20; we'll be talking about the prospects for direct communication with life elsewhere, through interstellar travel or interstellar communications.

Week 12 (Apr 30)

Reading for next week is Ch. 21 and 22, finishing off the text.

Week 13 (May 7)

Next week will consist of a short summary of the course and any student presentations.

Week 14 (May 14)

Ta da! Done!