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ASTR 230 |
Section 1 |
Fall 2005 |
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Instructor:
|
Prof.
Leslie Looney |
Email: |
lwl1@1illinois1. edu |
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Office:
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218
Astronomy |
Phone:
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244-3615 |
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Office
Hours: |
T:
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You have chosen a
great time to take this course. The search for extraterrestrial life is making
larger and larger strides. In the last 10 years, we have gone from knowledge of
only 9 planets around only our Sun to 100s of planets around many suns. In the
near future, NASA will have missions that may find signs of life on Titan or
under the oceans of Europa, evidence of life on Mars, or even imaging
Earth-like planets around nearby stars. In this course, you will get an
understanding of arguably the biggest astronomical question of all time: Are
we alone? We will address this
question with scientific methods, but also perhaps with some philosophy and
science fiction thrown in too.
My goals for a
graduate of this course are that they will understand our current scientific
view of life in the universe, conceptualize the factors involved with the
ultimate question, propose what the future may hold for the field, make
informed decisions about science policies, and hold any “discovery”
of extraterrestrial life to a personal scientific standard of proof.
Nonetheless, this
class is designed to be fun. It will endeavor to teach the student about
extraterrestrial life, but it will also combine various topics. This course will revolve around an equation
(discussed in Chapter 1 of the text) called the "Drake Equation". The
Drake Equation looks like an attempt to calculate how many intelligent
extraterrestrial civilizations exist with whom we might be able to
communicate in our Galaxy. However, the equation actually helps us understand
our ignorance about the subject and illuminates the various topics and issues
worth thinking about when we ask the question, “Is there life out
there?”, with an open mind.
After some
introductory material to get us thinking about what we mean by life, we review
some basic astronomy, which I'm hoping you will remember from your introductory
astronomy classes. After that, we cover topics in: planetary and solar system
astronomy; biology and biochemistry; geology, paleontology, and evolution; some
more detailed planetary astronomy; history and the future of mankind on Earth;
and finally, interstellar communication and travel, including UFO's. In
addition, the class presentations will allow us to adventure wherever the
interests of the class take us. Take part in the journey, and let’s enjoy
the ride!
This course gives 3
hours credit. Students should have taken Astr 100,
121, 122, or 210.
|
Requirement |
Percentage of Grade |
Points |
|
|
Class Participation (will drop 1 or 2) |
|
8% |
100 |
|
Presentation Synopsis |
|
2% |
20 |
|
Homework Assignments |
10 x 1% each |
10% |
100 |
|
Oral Presentation |
|
15% |
150 |
|
Research Paper Draft |
|
5% |
50 |
|
Research Paper |
|
10% |
100 |
|
Midterm |
|
20% |
200 |
|
Final Exam |
|
30% |
300 |
|
Total |
|
100% |
1000 |
The following table shows the approximate grading scale in this course.
|
Grade |
Approximate
Range |
|
A |
90-100% |
|
B |
80-89% |
|
C |
70-79% |
|
D |
60-69% |
|
F |
< 60% |
Final course grades
will follow these guidelines. Plusses and minuses will be used.
The
ranges are approximate in that I may have to adjust them if, for example, I
give an exam that is a little too hard. In any case, I will not increase the
minimum cutoffs for each letter grade.
You
are expected to attend lectures. I will cover material here that will not
always be in the text, and the lecture material will be included on the
exam. In addition, one of the main
points of this class is to develop an estimate of the likelihood of extraterrestrial
intelligent life in our Galaxy. This
estimate is a fundamental aspect of the course making class participation
required.
Class time is the most valuable for you if you come prepared, having done the reading and ready to actively engage the material. To encourage your engagement, the lectures will often be punctuated by opportunities for your feedback, in the form of asking questions, "voting" on the possible outcomes of observations or demonstrations, brainstorming answers to open-ended questions, or listening to fellow student presentations. To reward your participation in these activities, you will occasionally be asked to write down and hand in your response.
These
participation surveys are not "quizzes" in the usual sense, in
that you are not required to get all answers right. Rather, to get full credit
you simply must offer a scientifically reasonable response. The point of
this is that the survey is always an opportunity to gain points as long as you
are actively engaged, even if you are still a little confused. Indeed, the most
difficult and potentially confusing subjects are precisely those that most
require you participation!
Each
survey is worth 10 points. Of these, your name is worth 5 points, while you
will receive the remaining 5 points for any scientifically reasonable
(but not necessarily correct!) response. There will be a number of these
through out the semester. However, they
are often spontaneous, so I do not know the exact number this semester. In general, we will have 10-15 a semester,
where 1-3 of them are dropped. That
means that you can miss 1-3 surveys without penalty,
Most
students in this class come with a topic that is of interest to them. The student is expected to build this
interest into a research project.
Logically, if one student is interested then other students will likely
be interested in the topic as well. This
forum provides the opportunity to investigate issues that may not be explored
or not explored in depth during class.
Examples of topics could include:
Faces
and Pyramids on Mars, Aliens in
When developing the research topic, make sure to address the following questions:
1. How relevant is the topic to the search for extraterrestrial life?
2. How interesting is the topic for the general class audience?
3. What is the extent of your knowledge of the topic?
4. What is the quality of the overall research?
5. Does the research have a solid scientific basis?
In the first 2-3
weeks, every student will have to submit a topic on which they will give a
10-minute presentation with an additional 5 minutes allowed for questions from
the audience. Students may give these
talks in any way that they chose-- powerpoint,
overheads, slides, etc. The grade for the presentations will be determined from
audience questionnaires that will assign 1-10 points on the above 5 aspects of
the presentation.
Each student must turn in a Presentation Synopsis that has 1-2 paragraphs describing the main idea behind the presentation, in particular addressing the above 5 points,
and a list of 5 or more
references for the presentation / research paper. This is necessary to help you avoid some of
the more questionable sources.
Research
Paper
You
will be writing a research paper this semester on the presentation topic. This paper must be
Below are two basic
forms of referencing sources from the WWW from Electronic Styles: A Handbook
for Citing Electronic Information, 2nd ed.
(1) Author/editor. (Last update
or copyright date). Homepage Title [Homepage of ...], [Online]. Available: URL
[Access Date]
(2) Homepage Title[Homepage
of ...], [Online]. (Last update or copyright date), Available: URL [Access
date].
You should adhere
to the following rules when citing web pages: (1) when author or editor is not
available, use the second basic form. (2) Treat homepages as edited or compiled
works, non-serial in nature. The names of the sites and services should be
treated as proper nouns. (3) If citing an editor or editors as the first
element, include a note "Ed." or "Eds." in parentheses. (4)
Indicate the last update of the homepage if available. Otherwise, give the
copyright date. (5) Provide a note indicating the information supplier in the
form of "Homepage of information supplier." (6) It is not necessary
to repeat the protocol (HTTP) on the WWW after the "available"
statement since it is stated in the URL.
An example:
In the main text:
… The Universe is
Freaky big (Looney 2005). …
In the Reference section:
Looney, Leslie ( 2005, 10 Aug-last update). Astronomy 230 - Extraterrestrial Life [Homepage of
Astronomy 230 Fall 2005, Astronomy Department,
If
a source is used in any form, reference it.
Keep in mind that I have access to google as
much as you do. Academic honesty is
vital! See the Academic
Integrity and Collaborative Work section below.
There will be 10
homework assignments given throughout the course. These will be simple answer
or short essay, and are meant to sharpen your thinking on the material covered
in lecture, and to help prepare you for the exams.
Homework is due at
the beginning of class or at the announced time, after which the answers will
be made available. No late homework will be accepted.
Exams
will be one midterm exam and a comprehensive final exam for this course. The
exams will consist of short answer essay and multiple-choice questions. Dates are as follows.
Academic honesty is essential to this course and the University. Any instance of academic dishonesty (including but not limited to cheating, plagiarism, falsification of data, and alteration of grade) will be documented in the student's academic file. In addition, the particular exam, homework, or report will be given a zero.
Guidelines
for collaborative work: Discussing course material with your classmates is in general a good
idea, but each student is expected to do his or her own work. On homework, you
may discuss the questions and issues behind them, but you are responsible for
your own answers. In writing observing and planetarium reports, you may discuss
with classmates during the activity, but again, you are must give your own
answers in your own words. Finally, on exams your work and your answers must of
course be your own.
For further info, see http://www2.illinois.edu/admin_manual/code/rule_33.html.
To insure that disability-related concerns are properly
addressed from the beginning, students with disabilities who require reasonable
accommodations to participate in this class are asked to see the instructor as
soon as possible.
Note
that the lecture material may vary, especially as the presentations are yet to
be decided. Remember to check the
webpage for the most up to date schedule.
http://eeyore.astro.illinois.edu/~lwl/classes/astro230/fall05/schedule.htm