ECTS credits ECTS credits: 4.5
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Student's work ECTS: 74.25 Hours of tutorials: 2.25 Expository Class: 18 Interactive Classroom: 18 Total: 112.5
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: Applied Mathematics
Areas: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Center Faculty of Optics and Optometry
Call: First Semester
Teaching: Sin docencia (Extinguida)
Enrolment: No Matriculable
The course is of practical character but the basic theoretical concepts are also required. In this sense, development of each topic and practical classes are mixed in with the theory in order to apply the obtained knowledge rapidly. The students will simultaneously perform astronomical observations and class work with the aim to become familiar with the basic methods used in astronomy.
- Kepler's Laws.
- The Earth: shape and movements.
- The celestial sphere. Astronomical coordinate systems.
- Getting on the measure of time.
- Observable objects.
- Astronomical instrumentation.
- Introduction to Astrophysics
- ABAD, A.; DOCOBO, J. A. y ELIPE A.: “Curso de Astronomía”, Prensas Universitarias de Zaragoza, ed. 2017.
- ARRANZ, P.: “Guia de campo de las constelaciones” Equipo Sirius 2003.
- BAKULIN, P. I.; KONONOVICH,E. V. y MOROZ, V. I.: "Curso de Astronomía General", Editorial MIR, Moscova, 1985.
- DOCOBO, J. A. y ELIPE, A. “280 problemas resueltos” Ed. 1998.
- GALADI, D. y GUTIERREZ, G.: “Astronomía general: teoría y práctica” Omega 2001.
- GRAY, R. O. and CORBALLY, CH. J. “Stellar spectral classification” Princeton University Press, 2009.
- LING, J. F.: "Coordenadas astronómicas. Medida do tempo". Unidade didáctica 5. Ed. Vicerreitoría de Estudantes ,Cultura e Formación Continua e Servizo de Publicacións da USC 2013.
- MARTINEZ, V. y otros “Astronomía Fundamental” Univ. Valencia 2005.
- ORUS, J. J. y otros: "Astronomía esférica y mecánica celeste" . Pub. Universitat de Barcelona, 2007
- PASACHOFF, J. M.: Astronomy : from the Earth to the Universe Philadelphia [etc.] : Saunders College, cop.1991.
- VORONTOSOV-VELIAMINOV, B.A. : “Problemas y ejercicios prácticos de Astronomía”. Moscú Mir. 1979
The competencies that students must acquire in the subject Basic Astronomy, according to the Memory of the Degree in Optics and Optometry, are:
Basic and general
All: CB1, CB2, CB3, CB4.CB5 and CG1 (Memory of the Degree in Optics and Optometry, page 5)
Transversal
CT1 - That they acquire analysis and synthesis capacity.
CT2 - That they acquire capacity for organization and planning.
CT6 - That they acquire information management capacity.
CT7 - That they acquire the ability to solve problems.
CT8 - That they acquire skills in decision making.
CT9 - That they know how to work as a team.
CT12 - That they acquire skills in interpersonal relationships.
CT14 - That the student acquires skills for the issuance of a critical argument.
CT16 - That the student be able to perform an autonomous apprenticeship
CT17 - That they are able to adapt to the new situations.
CT22 - That they are motivated by the work quality
Specific
CE5 - That the student be able to express opinions, reports and overviews whenever necessary.
CE6 - That the student can assess and incorporate the technological advances necessary for the proper development of their professional activity.
CE9 - That the student can expand and update their skills for professional practice through continuing education.
Specific to the subject
- To make a first contact with the basics of Astronomy.
- Knowledge of instrumentation intended for optical astronomy.
- To train students for carrying out various astronomical observations
1. – Introduction. Kepler’s laws, law of gravity, types of orbits. (Lectures: 2 h.)
2. The Earth: shape and dimensions, motions. Geographical coordinates (Lectures: 2 h.)
3. The celestial sphere and its diurnal motion. Annual Motion. Ecliptic (Lectures: 2 h.)
4. Astronomical coordinates. Time measuring. (Lectures: 5 h.)
5. Observable objects. The Moon. The Sun. Planets, dwarf planets and satellites.
Comets, asteroids and meteoroids. Units of distance (Lectures: 3 h.).
Stars, constellations and the Milky Way. Star clusters, nebulae and galaxies (Lectures: 2 h.)
6. Astronomical instrumentation. Telescopes. Binoculars. Detectors and accessories (Lectures: 3 h.)
7. Electromagnetic radiation. Planck formula and Boltzmann Law.
Law of Weber-Fechner. (Lectures: 2 h.).
Stellar magnitudes. Luminosity. Spectral types. (Lectures: 4 h.)
The previous topics will be distributed as follows:
Part I, taught by Professor Ling, corresponds to topics 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Part II, taught by Professor Tamazian, corresponds to topics 5, 6 and 7.
Teaching will be done in person in the classroom with the use of masks.
There will be 4 practices to be carried out at the Ramón María Aller Astronomical Observatory facilities and attending to the health security measures established by Observatory and the USC.
Night Practice 3:
- Telescopic observations of various objects (Laboratory: 2h)
- Management of the Planisphere and Identification of constellations (2.5 hours laboratory). This practice is usually done in a dark sky location outside the urban area, where the students and the professors will be transferred by bus.
- Operation of an automated Altazimuth telescope (1.5 hour laboratory).
Daytime Practice:
- Assembly and disassembly of a telescope (Laboratory: 2h)
PART I
The grade of the Subject will not be lower than that of the final exam or that obtained by weighing it with Continuous Evaluation, giving the latter a weight of 30%.
The Continuous Evaluation will be assesed according to the following criteria (with a weight of 10% for each of them):
a) Attendance and active participation in classes
b) Delivery of practice reports.
c) Releasing a Subject Control, for which a grade equal to or greater than 5 points must be obtained. Both the Control and the final exam will consist of 10 short questions, where each of them will be worth 1 point, although those that are answered incorrectly will be negatively rated up to 0.5 points
Part II
The final grade will be calculated based on Continuous Evaluation, without final exam, and will be made taking into account the following criteria:
a) Attendance and active participation in expository and practical classes (max. 1 point)
b) Preparation of the practices reports (max. 1 point)
c) Voluntary reports proposed by the teacher and / or student up to a maximum of three reports (max. 4 points in total)
d) Voluntary Subject Control of the theoretical part (max. 4 points)
To pass the Subject, it is compulsory to attend the practices of the Subject.
The qualification of the Subject will be "not presented" when the student has incurred simultaneously in all the following circumstances: did not attend more than 75% of the lectures without duly justified cause; did not attend more than 50% of the practices; did not deliver any report; did not carry out the Subject Control of the Part I and did not appear to the final exams.
In the cases of fraudulent performance of reports, exercises or tests, the provisions of the Regulations for the evaluation of student academic performance or review of grades will apply.
Class room hours:
Room classes (theory and problems): 25
Tutorials: 5
Practice: 8
Individual work:
2h per week (13 weeks) of theory and problems and 8 h of practice
Final exam preparation: 10h
Elaboration of an individual written presentation: 20h
Assessment hours: 5
Total workload: 107 hours
The subject has a virtual classroom (Aula Virtual) on the Virtual Campus of the USC, where enrolled students have direct access to the essential material for monitoring and multimedia resources that improve the global vision of the concepts explained in the classroom, as well as the possibility of contacting the teaching professors through the communication tools in order to get answer to any queries or doubts.
In continuation, follows The Contingency Plan for the adaptation of this guide to the “Bases for the development of a safe classroom teaching in the academic year 2020-2021”, approved by the Governing Council of the USC in a regular session held on June 19, 2020.
Adaptations corresponding to the teaching methodology and evaluation system planned for:
Scenario 2
- Expository teaching will be taught in the faculty classroom by the teaching staff, with the health security standards established both by Observatory and the USC. However, students who do not want to attend in person will be able to follow the classes in real time through MS Teams, with which the capacity of the physical space would be reduced.
- The in person practices will be carried out in alternate turns with reduction of groups to 50%, while some may be replaced by others of on-line content (for example "Management of a virtual planisphere")
- The evaluation system will be in person, following the outline described in the general section of "Evaluation system" (corresponding to Scenario 1).
- The second chance exam will be done in person. Part I according to the same format described for the Subject Control. Part II will consist of 2-3 theoretical questions (max 7 points) and one or two exercises (max 3 points)
Scenario 3
- Expository teaching will be delivered online.
- The in person practices will be replaced by the preparation of reports proposed by the teaching team and / or some practice of on-line content such as the one cited for scenario 2.
- The Evaluation System will be carried out by telematic means (MS Teams, AV or email).
- The examination of the second opportunity will be carried out by telematic means. Part I according to the same format described for the Control. Part II will consist of 2-3 theoretical questions (max 7 points) and one or two exercises (max 3 points).
Josefina F. Ling Ling
Coordinador/a- Department
- Applied Mathematics
- Area
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Phone
- 881815011
- josefinaf.ling [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
Vakhtang Tamazian Arzakanyan
- Department
- Applied Mathematics
- Area
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Phone
- 881815029
- vakhtang.tamazian [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
| Monday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Classroom 1 |
| Tuesday | |||
| 13:00-14:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Classroom 1 |
| 01.13.2021 16:00-18:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 3 |
| 06.28.2021 16:00-18:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 3 |