ASTR 4201: Stellar Astrophysics and Radiation (Fall 2020)
Course Overview
The purpose of this course is to learn the basic astrophysics of stars. To best use the online-format, the live part of class will consist of working on problems and discussing the pre-recorded mini-lectures and assigned texts. Outside of class students will need to watch mini-lectures and read the (free) course textbook, To Build a Star by Ed Brown.Homework will be group assignments, where each group of a few students will be assigned a few problems, with individual students designated as problem leads. Much of the problem solving will happen in our in-class discussions, though of course it will be important to come prepared to discuss your progress towards a solution. See the Homework Procedure here.Exams will be one-on-one oral exams.
We want to learn about stars and to hopefully have fun while doing it, not to stress about grades. As such, this class will be "ungraded", so individual grades will not be assigned. Rather, a set of expectations are outlined and achieving these will correspond to a given final grade. We will check-in throughout the semester, so each student knows where they stand. My hope is that this will ameliorate some of the inequities that are inherent to the all-online format (and probably to higher education in general!).
Course information, such as lectures, assignments, and supplementary material will be posted here. Check back throughout the semester.
The course catalog description for ASTR 4201 can be accessed here.
Course Materials
SyllabusUngrading Guidelines
Homework Procedure
Course Schedule, Lectures, and Assignments
Textbooks:
The course textbook is the open-access book To Build a Star by Ed Brown.
Other not required sources you may be interested in are:
- Stellar Astrophysics by Ed Brown
- Radiation in Astrophysics by Ed Brown
- Numerical Techniques in Astrophysics by Ed Brown
- Stellar Structure and Evolution by Onno Pols.
- Understanding Stellar Evolution by Lamers and Levesque
- The ADS Digital Library
- An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics by Carroll and Ostlie
- Stellar Interiors by Hansen, Kawaler, and Trimble
General Information
- MESA Stellar Evolution Code and associated educational material at the MESA Marketplace.
- Harvard abstract service
- Brussels Library for Astrophysics Applications (BRUSLIB)
- JINA REACLIB Database
- National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC)
Academic Honesty
This goes without saying … but I'll say it anyways: you are expected to act in an academically honest fashion. This means abiding by the Ohio University Honor Code and adhering to the Code of Conduct.If you have any concerns as to what does or does not constitute academic dishonesty, please don't hesitate to ask me.