Berkeley Astronomy/EPS C162/C249: Syllabus



Astronomy/EPS C162/C249

Planetary Astrophysics

Fall 2020

Instructor: Eugene Chiang
Office: Campbell Hall 605C
Phone: (510) 701-5996 (email is preferable)
E-mail: echiang{at}astro.berkeley.edu

Class Time and Place:  Tue/Thur 2:00-3:30 by zoom

Graduate Student Instructors:

Office Hours:

TALC = The Astronomy Learning Center:  This is a large, collaborative "office hour" where students work on their homework assignments in an informal, group setting.  TALC is staffed by GSIs who serve as guides, rather than tutors, in helping students with their homework problems. In addition to supervised group work, students may discuss difficulties in their conceptual understanding of lecture and reading topics with their peers and the GSIs.

TALC is held on discord.

Historically, students who attend TALC regularly do better in the course. However, it is crucial that you actively participate in TALC, and not just copy or passively absorb the answers to HW questions from others. Towards this end, you must start the HW problems BEFORE you come to TALC.


Required Text: Astro C162/C249 Planetary Astrophysics Course Reader, digital copy on sale through Copy Central

Suggested Texts: 

  • Foundations of Astrophysics by Ryden & Peterson. Readable, compact, but covers less material than Carroll & Ostlie.
  • Modern Astrophysics by Carroll & Ostlie. Can be more technical, and contains more current information.
  • Physical Processes in the Solar System by Landstreet. Readable, semi-quantitative, summarizes phenomenology well.
  • Encyclopedia of the Solar System edited by Weissman, McFadden, & Johnson. Pedagogical review chapters written by researchers.
  • Astrophysics of Planet Formation by Armitage. An introduction to the subject.
  • Theory of Planetary Atmospheres by Chamberlain and Hunten. Clear, especially the sections on radiative transfer.
  • Thermal Physics by Kittel and Kroemer. An introduction.
  • Gases, Liquids, and Solids by Tabor. My desert island textbook.

Class Overview:   Planetary systems from an astrophysics perspective.
                             Emphasis on physical first principles, scaling behaviors,
                             and order-of-magnitude estimation.
                             We explore the burgeoning science of extrasolar planets,
                             taking ground truth from our solar system.
                             Topics: Planetary interiors, atmospheres, magnetic fields,
                             gravitational dynamics, planet formation

Prerequisites:    Physics 7A/B/C or 5A/B/C, Math 53, Math 54/Physics 89  
                          The course is intended for upper division physical science majors
                          and beginning graduate students.


Grading:

For the Problem Sets, a problem set will be dropped ("free of charge") from your score in the following sense: the maximum total of all 11 problem set point values, divided by 11, will be subtracted from the maximum total to define a revised (smaller) maximum. Your Problem Set percentage will be the total number of points you received, divided by the revised maximum. It is possible in this scheme to achieve a percentage greater than 100%; percentages greater than 100% will be re-set to 100%.

Out of a total of 100 points:
A: >= 90, B: >= 80, C: >= 70, D: >= 60, F: < 60, P/NP: >=60/<60

The Astronomy Department's Policy on Academic Misconduct is here.

Homework is due at 2:00 pm Thursday starting Sep 12. Problem Sets should be placed in the special boxes in Campbell Hall, on the ground floor. "Something Interesting" write-ups should be posted on bcourses. The Problem Set boxes will be marked Astro C162/C249. Do not place your problem sets in any of the other boxes. The homework will be collected soon after 2:00 pm Thursday. Late homework will not be accepted except under special circumstances and with prior approval of the lecturer.

Write your name and section (and date & time) on each homework and please staple your sheets together.

Please start the homework questions yourself, independently of other students.
If, after serious effort, you remain unsure of how to proceed, you are welcome to discuss the homework with classmates or instructors. Under all circumstances, the answers must be written up individually. It is forbidden to use solution sets posted on websites such as gradebuddy.com.

If you miss the Final Exam for a good and well-documented reason, your grade will be an Incomplete.

Exam Dates:

  • Midterm: Thursday Oct 31 (in class)
  • Final: TBD