Astronomy

Astronomy | Courses | Faculty

Degrees: Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts

Contact: Stephen Schneider, Chief Adviser

Office: 517K LGRC Tower B

Phone: 545-2076

Head, Department of Astronomy and Five College Chair:ÝRonald L. Snell. Professors Irvine, Kwan, Schloerb, Schneider, Weinberg, Young; Associate Professors Katz, Tademaru; Assistant Professors Lowenthal, Wang, Wilson, Yun; Research Professors Erickson, Predmore; Research Associate Professor Heyer; Research Assistant Professors Kanbur, Narayanan.

Other Astronomy faculty in the Five Colleges: Dennis, Dyar, Edwards, Greenstein, Hameed, Leonard, White.

The Five College Department of Astronomy is administered jointly with Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith colleges. The elementary courses for nonmajors are taught separately at each campus, but all advanced courses are given on a joint basis for students from the five participating institutions. Five College courses are identified in this catalog by ASTFC.

The Field

Astronomy is the study of the regions beyond the Earth: planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and the universe itself. Astronomers study these objects not only by observing them with telescopes and other instruments, but also with mathematical and computer models. Astronomers therefore make heavy use of physics, mathematics, and computer science.

Equipment used ranges from radio telescopes half a mile across and high speed computers to optical telescopes so big a truck could park on the mirror. The discipline ranges over many areas: radio astronomy; study of stars; their structure and evolution; origin of the universe and other astronomical systems; and the atmospheres and surfaces of planets.

Career Opportunities

Students receiving a degree in astronomy follow three primary career paths: 1) Graduate school and a professional degree. After completing an advanced degree, many astronomers are employed by universities as researchers and teachers. Professional positons are also available at national observatories, NASA, and in the aerospace industry in such companies as Lockheed, Boeing, and Grumman. 2) Astronomy-related mission support. With an undergraduate degree, positions are available at research centers supporting many major astronomical and aerospace projects, including the Space Telescope Science Institute, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and MIT Lincoln Laboratories. Support positions at national observatories and astronomy-related industries are also available. 3) Teaching and public outreach. Combined with preparation through the School of Education, teaching positions in middle- and secondary-school science are available. Astronomy majors have also gone on to work in museums and planetariums.

In addition, the major can provide a broad platform for learning about the wide range of sciences involved in astronomy, making it suitable preparation for science journalism or pre-medical studies, for example.

B.S. Degree in Astronomy

The Bachelor of Science degree in Astronomy offers two tracks geared toward different career directions. The Astrophysics track provides preparation for advanced studies in astronomy or allied fields after graduation; students acquire the substantial background in physics and math essential for pursuing a research career in astronomy. The Space Sciences track provides preparation for a career in astronomy-related mission support; it requires somewhat less physics and math than the Astrophysics track, and provides more flexibility for pursuing additional coursework suited to the individual student's goals. Students may change tracks after consultation with and approval by their adviser.

Requirements for both tracks:

114 Stars and Galaxies, or any introductory Astronomy course numbered 200 or higher.

191 Freshman Seminar (recommended)

335 Modern Astrophysics

Junior Year Writing: ASTRON 224 or PHYSIC 381

Astrophysics Track

Advanced astrophysics: ASTRON 451 Stars and Stellar Evolution or 452 Galaxies

One additional Astronomy course at the 300-level or greater

MATH 131-132 or 135-136 Calculus I and II

MATH 233 Multivariate Calculus

MATH 331 Ordinary Differential Equations for Scientists and Engineers

PHYSIC 171-174 Physics I and II (with labs)

PHYSIC 282 Techniques of Theoretical
Physics

PHYSIC 283-286 Physics III and Modern
Physics I (with labs)

PHYSIC 421 Mechanics

PHYSIC 422 Electricity and Magnetism

PHYSIC 423 Statistical Physics and Thermodynamics

PHYSIC 424 Modern Physics II

Additional courses, approved by the Astronomy adviser, to reach a total of at least 60 credits in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Space Sciences Track

Two additional Astronomy courses at the 200 level or above

One additional Astronomy course at the 300 level or above

MATH 131-132 or 135-136 Calculus I and II

MATH 233 Multivariate Calculus

PHYSIC 151-154 General Physics I and II (with labs) or PHYSIC 171-174

PHYSIC 261 and 262 General Physics III (with lab or PHYSICS

PHYSIC 290S Introduction to Computational Physics

Two additional Physics courses at the 400 level or higher

Additional courses, approved by the Astronomy adviser, to reach a total of at least 60 credits within the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

B.A. Degree in Astronomy

The Bachelor of Arts in Astronomy is intended to be flexible enough for a wide variety of career directions: teaching, museum work, science writing, pre-medical studies, etc. This degree program is aimed at students interested in pursuing a broader understanding of the sciences centered on astronomy, including cross-disciplinary fields such as astrobiology or archaeoastronomy.

This flexibility in the curriculum requires the student to work closely with an adviser to design a program of study that will meet the student's goals. A written plan should be developed and approved by the junior year.

Requirements

114 Stars and Galaxies

191 Freshman Seminar (recommended)

224 Stellar Astronomy or 225 Galactic and Extragalactic Astronomy

335 Modern Astrophysics

Junior-Year Writing: ASTRON 224 or PHYSIC 381

Two additional courses at any level in Astronomy, or in closely related courses offered in other departments.

Upper-division courses: at least 8 additional credits at the 300 level or higher in courses in Astronomy courses or in closely-related courses in other departments.

Introductory Physics (with labs): PHYSIC 131-134 or 151-154

Introductory Calculus: MATH 127-128 or 131-132

Notes

1. ASTRON 100 Exploring the Universe, or 101 The Solar System may be substituted (with permission) for ASTRON 114.

2. "Closely-related courses in other departments" include PHYSIC 116 Relativity, PHYSIC 120 Big Bang to Black Holes, PHYSIC 354 Meteorology, GEO 354 Climatology, and GEO 567 Planetary Geology. Other courses may be substituted with written approval of the Astronomy adviser.

3. Up to three credits of independent study in Astronomy may be applied to the major requirements.

Research Opportunities

Independent study and honors work are encouraged for all majors. Opportunities for theoretical and observational work are available in cosmology, radio astronomy, planetary science, relativistic astrophysics, astronomical instrumentation, stellar astrophysics, and extra-galactic astronomy. Local facilities available to qualified students include several optical and infrared telescopes of sizes 16, 18, and 24 inches, equipped with optical and infrared photometers, CCD cameras, and spectrographs. Another local facility is the 14 m radio telescope at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory located at Quabbin Reservoir. The 14 m telescope has unique imaging capabilities at millimeter wavelengths that are exploited to study the physics and chemistry of galactic and extragalactic interstellar clouds, circumstellar envelopes, planetary atmospheres, and comets.

The University is leading a project, called the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), which is currently mapping the entire sky at infrared wavelengths for stars and galaxies as much as 50,000 times fainter than the previous survey carried out 25 years ago. The two 50-inch telescopes and cameras for 2MASS are located in Arizona and Chile. The University is also involved in a collaboration with Mexico to build the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT), which when completed around the year 2004, will be the world's largest millimeter wavelength telescope. The LMT is a 50-m diameter telescope of novel design which takes advantage of recent advances in structural design and active control of surfaces. The University is also participating in the Infrared and Optical Telescope Array (IOTA), a collaborative project with Harvard University, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the University of Wyoming, and MIT's Lincoln Laboratories. IOTA's emphasis is on the detection and imaging of faint astronomical sources at high angular resolution in the optical and infrared.

Opportunities for summer research internships are also available. Original publications have resulted from undergraduate research.

The Minor

The minor requires five Astronomy courses of at least three credits each:

114 Stars and Galaxies (ASTRON 100 or 101 may be substituted with consent of the Astronomy adviser)

Four additional courses at the 200 level or above.

Astronomy | Courses | Faculty