(3 units each section)
Professor Miguel Angel Moreno, Ph.D.
Atomic and Space Physicist
NASA Scientist former member of the Hubble Space Telescope Camera Team
Former Director NASA-MSET Program
Tel: 213-763-7322
E-mail: drmiguelmoreno@sbcglobal.net
Dr. Miguel A. Moreno The Exploration of Mars
The Phoenix Mission
Astronomy 1 – Elementary Astronomy
Solar System Exploration
This course meets the General Education Science Requirement lecture part
Please note that this class will have three required on campus meetings
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Required on campus meetings
1. Orientation and tutorial: Monday July 14, 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM room K-422
2. Review: Friday August 15 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM room K-422
3. Final Exam: Saturday August 16 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM room K-422
Scope: Astronomy 1 is a non-mathematical survey of modern astronomy.
Properties and evolution of the solar system, stars and the universe.
Dr. Moreno’s web site http://wellness.lattc.edu/mmoreno/moreno.doc
Tel: 213-763-7322 E-mail: drmiguelmoreno@sbcglobal.net
Office K-405, K-422
Office Hours: Wednesdays 3:00 to 5:00 PM online
Moodle system
You can send me an e-mail at any time with your questions and concerns and I will respond in real time or as soon as possible
This course is UC, USC and Cal State Transferable
Instructions
Please consider
The web site for this course is: http://www.whfreeman.com/aol/
The password is on the inside cover of the book Astronomy Online by Tim Slater
Also you need to complete the assignments posted on Moodle. LATTC Moodle you need to register with LATTC Moodle. If you have any problems registering please contact
Miss Linda Delzeit at “ Linda Delzeit-McIntyre” <ldm@youth.net>
The password for Astronomy 1 for Moodle is: Mars This password is only for you, my students, who are officially enrolled in the class, please protect it.
Textbook
Required
1 . Astronomy Online by Tim Slater, University of Arizona
Lessons you need to do: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, and 30
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Study each lesson and take the test.
You can take each test three times and make a copy of the test with the highest score. I will consider the highest score.
You don’t have to do the tutorials, only study the module lesson and take the test.
However, you are welcome to do the tutorials to help you improve your test scores. You can take each test three times. I will select the highest score.
Print two copies of the test with the highest score one for you to keep in a folder
at home all the time and one for a folder you are asked to submit when you walk in to
take the final exam.
2. CD for the class: Astronomy CD by Dr. Moreno (available in the LATTC bookstore,
Please ask at the counter)
Use the CD to learn about the main subjects of the course. Write a two paragraph summary of each of the 8 lessons in the CD and submit it at the end of the course as you walk in to take the final exam. The summary should answer the question: What are the main ideas and concepts in each lesson? Also, review the practice exams in the CD before the final
3 . Astronomy Lab Manual by Dr. Moreno. It is available at the LATTC Bookstore, please
ask at the counter.
4.
Very important. Required. Get a copy of the book “Discovering the Universe” Seventh
edition by Neil F. Comins and William J. Kaufmann. This book could be very helpful
because it closely parallels the text Astronomy Online by Tim Slater and it provides
valuable help and information to take the test for each lesson.
5. Get a copy of the magazine Sky and Telescope, Popular Astronomy, Summer Star
Gazing. You can get this at a magazine stand. Write a two page summary of the main
features of the night sky for the summer and put it in your folder.
6.
Visit the Griffith Observatory once. Write a three page report describing the content of the presentation in the planetarium, the exhibits and the viewing through the telescope upstairs and bring it at the end of the session and turn it in as you walk in to take the final exam. Make sure you attend the planetarium presentation and then go to see and read each exhibit and then go upstairs and see through the telescope. http://www.griffithobs.org/
1. Attend the planetarium show-keep the ticket stub as proof that you attended and attach it to a one-page Report and include it in your folder
2. Visit each exhibit and take notes and take pictures and write a report describing and explaining each exhibit and include it in your folder. Make sure you visit the exhibits downstairs, there is a large section with planetary exhibits below.
3. Go upstairs and see through the telescope-Write a one page report about the telescope, and your experience with the telescope and include it in your folder.
Put is all together in one report and attach it to your folder. You are expected to submit your folder as you walk in to take the final exam.
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7 . Visit the Santa Monica Planetarium once .
Go to the web site: http://www.smc.edu/planetarium/ for a schedule of presentations.
Write a one page report describing the content of the presentation and bring it at the end of the session and turn it in as you walk in to take the final exam.
Or visit two planetariums(a) and two observatories nearest to you.
Please note: The modules you need to do from the textbook, Astronomy On Line by Tim
Slater for this course are as follows: Total 12 simple lessons or modules
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, and 30
Each module is worth 100 points
Attendance: The planetarium and Observatory 400 points each
Attendance: The orientation meeting 500 points. This is a required meeting.
As you complete each module print the test you take and the answers you gave and put it in a folder, and turn in the folder as you walk in to take the final exam. Always keep a copy of all of your work at home. Make an extra copy and prepare the folder.
Additional Assignment:
1. Watch the IMAX film titled: Cosmic Voyage. Narrated by Morgan Freeman
It is available in DVD. Write a one-page summary and attach it to your folder.
400 points. Ask at your nearest library with a DVD section.
2. Watch the Nova DVD titled: Origins with Neil deGrasse Tyson. Write a one-page
summary and attach it to your folder.
DVD 1: Earth is born and How life began 400 points
Look them up in you tube
Extra credit: Select and watch four of the 7 DVD’s of the Cosmos series by Karl Sagan.
200 points each.
Final Exam: 1000 points
Grading Policy
Your work will be graded on a curve determined by the average of the class.
Grading Policy
Superior quality A
Good quality B
Average quality C
Poor quality D
Fail F
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Select only the following 12 modules or lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, and 30
 Module 1: Astronomy and the
Universe
 Module 2: Knowing the Heavens
 Module 3: Eclipses and the
Motion of the ……
 Module 4: Gravitation and the
Waltz of the...


 Module 5: The Nature of Light
 Module 6: Optics and
Telescopes
Module 7: Our Solar System
Module 8: Our Living Earth
 Module 9: Our Barren Moon
 Module 10: Sun-Scorched

Mercury
Module 11: Cloud-Covered
Venus
 Module 12: Red Planet Mars
 Module 13: Jupiter: Lord of the
Planets
 Module 14: The Galilean
Satellites of Jupiter
 Module 15: The Spectacular
Saturnian...
 Module 16: The Outer Worlds
 Module 17: Vagabonds of the Solar

System
 Module 19: The Nature of the Stars
 Module 20: The Birth of Stars
 Module 21: Stellar Evolution: After the Main Sequence
 Module 22: Stellar Evolution: The
Deaths of Stars
Module 23: Neutron Stars 
 Module 24: Black Holes
 Module 25: Our Galaxy
 Module 26: Galaxies
 Module 27: Quasars, Active
Galaxies...
 Module 28: Cosmology: The Creation and Fate...
Module 29: Exploring the Early 
Universe
 Module 30: The Search for
Extraterrestrial Life
Reference: Just view it and learn from it, an important web site for understanding the night sky
Tonight’s sky
Simply review this web site and find out what the sky looks like the day you are reviewing the site http://www.earthsky.com/skywatching/
Mars assignment.
Write a one page report about the content and operation of this web site
Web site for the exploration of Mars. Review this site and learn about the robotic exploration of Mars. Write a one-page report about the main points. 200 points http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/
Write a one page report about the Phoenix Mission, what are its objectives? What instruments does it have?
Also, call the Griffith Observatory and listen to the recorded message regarding the night sky for each week. Write a brief one-page description and include it in your folder. Get the number from the web site . http://www.griffithobs.org/
Learning outcomes
At the end of this course the student will have knowledge of the principles of science, the scientific method, the forces that control the universe, the origins of the solar system, the nebula theory, the properties of each planet, and the Earth’s environment as compared to other planets.
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The student will have an understanding of where we are in the universe. The student will have knowledge of where we are in the universe, what a galaxy is and the major components of the universe. The student should be able to name the major constellations and identify them as well as other objects in the sky, such as the North Star, planets, and galaxies. The student will have an understanding of the laws of Physics and planetary motion. The student will be able to organize and present his/her knowledge in a systematic way.
Important
Do the discussion forums in Moodle by answering the posted forum questions
Also, watch the videos posted on the Moodle Astronomy 1 page.
Use Moodle to communicate with me or the following e-mail drmiguelmoreno@sbcglobal.net
Important note: To submit your work for each lesson or module in the Astronomy online web site http://www.whfreeman.com/aol/ and when they ask for your Instructor’s e-mail please provide the following e-mail address morenoma@lattc.edu this is the e-mail I have registered with the system. To communicate with me please use drmiguelmoreno@sbcglobal.net
Important : Please make sure you prepare a folder with all your work. Always keep a copy of all of your work at home. Make an additional copy and prepare a folder to submit it as you walk in to take the final exam. Write a cover page and a page with a table of contents in front of the folder. I will show you an example of a course work folder during the orientation meeting.

Please use the following planning calendar
Summary
Required on campus meetings
1. Orientation and tutorial: Monday July 14, 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM room K-422
2. Review: Friday August 15 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM room K-422
3. Final Exam: Saturday August 16 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM room K-422
Please bring a Scantron form and a pencil
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