ASTR 1504L - Astronomy Laboratory
Fall 2026 Syllabus, Section 02, CRN 40986,
Credit hours: 1
Course Meeting Times
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Instructor
John Feldmeier
Email: jjfeldmeier@ysu.edu
Course Description
Course Readings
| Group | Title | Author | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | ASTR 1504 Lab Manual | Durrell | 9781645657996 |
The Astronomy 1504L Laboratory Course Packet is available from the YSU Bookstore, and is the only book that you need for this class. You might want to refer to the free online Astronomy textbook for help with the concepts, which is at: https://openstax.org/details/astronomy
The pre-reading is all in the Course Packet, and is tied to each experiment:
Experiment 0 - Semester Observing Project - pgs. 25-31
Experiment 1 - The Scale of Things - pgs. 69-71
Experiment 2 - Sky Motions - pgs. 79-82
Experiment 3 - Kepler's Laws - pgs. 93-98
Experiment 4 - Introduction to Spectroscopy - pgs. 105-116
Experiment 5 - Telescopes - pgs. 123 - 130
Experiment 6 - Parallax - pgs. 137 - 143
Experiment 7 - Standard Candles - pgs. 151-156
Experiment 8 - Types of Stars - pgs. 161-169
Experiment 9 - Clusters of Stars - pgs. 177-182
Experiment 10 - The Milky Way Galaxy - pgs. 189-198
Experiment 11 - Galaxy Classification - pgs. 205-222
Experiment 12 - Studying Extra-Solar Planets - pgs. 231-236
The course readings are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, research developments, current events, and/or to ensure better learning.
Assignments/Assessments
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Schedule of Topics and Assignments
| Week of | Reading(s) | Proposed Topic | Due/To Prepare for Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/24 | Introduction, Observing Project | ||
| 8/31 | Experiment 0 Experiment 1 |
The Scale of Things | |
| 9/7 | Experiment 2 | Sky Motions | |
| 9/14 | Experiment 3 | Kepler's Laws | |
| 9/21 | Experiment 4 | Introduction to Spectroscopy | |
| 9/28 | Experiment 5 | Telescopes | |
| 10/5 | Experiment 6 | Parallax | |
| 10/12 | Experiment 7 | Standard Candles | |
| 10/19 | Experiment 8 | Types of Stars | |
| 10/26 | Experiment 9 | Clusters of Stars | |
| 11/2 | Experiment 10 | The Milky Way Galaxy | |
| 11/9 | Experiment 11 | Galaxy Classification | |
| 11/16 | Experiment 12 | Studying Extra-Solar Planets | |
| 12/7 | Final Exams - No labs |
The course schedule, policies, procedures, and assignments in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, by mutual agreement, and/or to ensure better learning.