About Me
My name is Dr. Patrick M. Len, and I will be your instructor for this course. You can watch this video to find out more about me!
Contact Information
Instructor: Dr. Patrick M. Len, Ph.D.
E-mail: pLen@cuesta.edu
About This Course
Here are some important details to know about this course before the start of the fall 2023 semester. You will gain full access to this course on the first day of the semester (Monday, August 14). This course is fully online with no mandatory meetings or proctored exams.
In this course you will be learning how telescopes work, how to use remote robotic telescopes and a historical reproduction of Galileo's telescope to observe, document and explore celestial objects in the night sky, and keeping up with present-day discoveries and developments in astronomy.
Together we will explore the universe, while being respectful of everyone's backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints. We will have an opportunity to learn about astronomy and from each other in an enthusiastic and welcoming environment. Your feedback is valuable, and so please let me know what can be done to maximize your learning experience.
Online Course Information
We will be using Canvas (a web-based learning management system) for course materials and links, pre-recorded asynchronous video lectures, lab worksheets, current events quizzes, grades, e-mail and discussion boards. There are no in-person meetings. Please be prepared to spend 3-4 hours per week for this course on self-directed reading, viewing, studying, and writing.
If you are unsure if taking an online course is right for you, go to Cuesta College's Online Readiness Resources webpage and go through the questions listed there, to self-assess your ability to succeed.
Refer to the Technical Frequently Asked Questions regarding specific minimum computer and browser requirements for Canvas.
Cuesta College has resources on Getting Started with Canvas, and offers a "Being Successful Online" tutorial.
Cuesta College has a technical support page available to help you with Canvas problems.
Course Catalog Description
This course presents the principles of measurement, data collection and analysis to the astronomical phenomena of celestial motions and characteristics of planets, stars, galaxies in the planning, execution, and presentation of research projects. Prerequisite: elementary algebra or eligibility for college-level math using the current college process. Corequisite: ASTR 210 (enrolled during this semester, or completed in a previous semester).
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Describe present-day discoveries and developments in astronomy (current events)
- Make observations of astronomical objects using the naked eye, actual telescopes, and/or
remote telescopes.
- Develop procedures to make observations.
- Document observation data and conclusions.
- Prepare presentation materials, such as a report or poster, to share results of experiments
and studies.
Required Materials
Please contact me if you have problems purchasing or accessing your Slooh Robotic Telescope account; breaking or losing your Project STAR telescope; or with scanning and uploading written work using a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.
- Slooh Robotic Telescope student annual membership for remote access to schedule, reserve, and take photos with telescopes in the Canary Islands and in Chile. Use the link below to purchase your membership with a 50% discount:
Discount link: https://www.slooh.com/at/7A566-A8692
- A "Project STAR" refracting telescope kit, available through the Cuesta College Bookstore. This is a very low-end, low-quality (cheap) cardboard model of the typical refracting telescopes used by Galileo and his contemporaries, deliberately chosen in order to compare its capabilities to modern commercial and research telescopes.
(Or if you already own or can borrow a telescope or binoculars, check in with me to see if that could be an acceptable substitute, and we can adapt the lab instructions for whatever you have.)
- Any ruler with centimeter markings, available through the Cuesta College Bookstore (or anywhere else) to make measurements of your refracting telescope.
- A camera-enabled smartphone, tablet (or laptop webcam) to upload your written work in an image (JPEG, HEIC, GIF, PNG) or a compatible document (DOC, PDF) format.
Accommodations
You can arrange reasonable learning accommodations for this course (or for selected components that may be inherently inaccessible) through Cuesta College Disabled Student Programs & Services, and they will coordinate with you and me on the specific details.
Academic Standards
In this course, you will learn a lot of astronomy, and you will need to show me how much astronomy you have learned. In order to do this, I will:
- Help each student learn to the best of their ability.
- Be fair in grading work done by each student.
In return, you must study and learn, and do only your own individual work on the current events quizzes, lab worksheets, and discussion boards. Together we can do this, and successfully explore the universe and our place in it!
(Review the Cuesta College Student Code of Conduct for a complete list of acceptable and unacceptable behavior.)