Download CURRICULUM COMMITTEE COURSE PROPOSAL FORM

CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
COURSE PROPOSAL FORM
REVISED 9/13/11
We recommend that you begin the course development process by engaging in meaningful
conversations with your departmental colleagues. New courses may require additional resources
and/or internal review; please be sure to work closely with the sponsoring department chair to
ensure that all requirements have been met.
The course developer and/or the sponsoring department chair should attend and be prepared
to address questions at the appropriate department meeting, Curriculum Committee meeting
and Faculty Council meeting.
I. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
DATE: 9/14/2014
COURSE DEVELOPER:
Rick Lawrence
SPONSORING DEPARTMENT:
Science
THE PROPOSED COURSE
A TOPICS COURSE.
IS
WEEKLY CONTACT HOURS FOR COURSE:
COURSE EFFECTIVE DATE:
LECTURE HOURS:
LAB/STUDIO HOURS:
1
0
TOTAL CONTACT HRS:
1
spring 2015
WILL THIS COURSE BECOME A SUNY GENERAL EDUCATION COURSE?
IF YES, PLEASE CONTACT THE GENERAL EDUCATION PROJECT COORDINATOR.
no
WILL THIS COURSE REQUIRE SPECIAL FACILITIES AND/OR EQUIPMENT?
IF YES, PLEASE CONTACT THE VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS.
no
WILL THIS COURSE BE TRANSFERABLE? EXPLAIN.
free elective credit only
II. MASTER COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE PREFIX AND NUMBER:
COMPLETE COURSE TITLE:
CREDIT HOURS:
PHY180
Exoplanets
1
CONTACT HOURS:
1
COURSE DESCRIPTION FOR CATALOG:
The discovery of exoplanets is one of the greatest revolutions in modern astronomy. Over eighteen
hundred exoplanets have been discovered to date. The universe is teeming with planets - hot
Jupiter-like planets skimming the surfaces of their stars, free-floating planets far from any star,
super-Earths and even planets orbiting neutron stars. In this course students learn about the latest
research on exoplanets, and how it has revolutionized our understanding of solar systems like our
own.
COURSE PREREQUISITE(S): Placement into MAT101 or higher (IF THERE IS MORE THAN ONE
CONTINUE.)
and
student meets criteria for honors coursework.
COURSE COREQUISITE(S):
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none
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(IF THERE IS MORE THAN ONE CONTINUE.)
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IMPORTANT ADVISING NOTES:
This will be a one-credit 15-week course which meets one hour per week.
MEASURABLE STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES/COURSE OBJECTIVES:
•
Describe the four major techniques astronomers use to detect exoplanets: reflex motion,
transits, gravitational micro-lensing, and direct imaging.
•
Apply the concepts of a star’s reflex motion period and velocity to the characterization of
exoplanets.
•
Relate an exoplanet’s mass and distance from its star to the star’s mass and reflex motion.
•
Explain theories of planetary formation around pulsars.
•
Express the practical difficulties involved in directly observing stellar reflex motion.
•
Describe and apply the concept of Doppler shift to a star’s reflex motion.
•
Describe “Hot Jupiters” – exoplanets which have roughly the mass of Jupiter but which orbit
incredibly close to their stars.
•
Summarize theories of the origin of Hot Jupiters.
•
Apply the concept of a star’s dip in brightness due to a transiting exoplanet to characterize
an exoplanet’s radius and orbital period.
•
Relate the equilibrium temperature of an exoplanet’s surface to the luminosity of its star and
distance from that star.
•
Explain how the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect can be used to determine the relative direction
of a star’s spin to an exoplanet’s orbit.
•
Categorize “Super Earths” – exoplanets intermediate between Earth and Neptune in radius
and mass.
•
Describe the different biases which affect exoplanet surveys.
•
Analyze combined star/planet light curves to determine the temperatures of the hot and dark
sides of the exoplanet.
•
Apply the concept of a background star’s amplification in brightness due to the gravity of an
intermediate exoplanet to characterize an exoplanet’s mass.
•
Describe “Free Floating Planets” – exoplanets not in orbit around a star.
•
Compare the ratio of the brightness of an exoplanet to its star to an exoplanet’s radius and
distance from its star.
•
Comprehend how diffraction blurring places a fundamental limit on how sharp an image we
can get from a telescope, even in outer space.
•
Explain how astronomers use adaptive optics to undo the effects of atmospheric seeing on
ground-based telescopes.
•
Discuss why current technology only permits direct imaging of exoplanets in the infrared
region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
•
Distinguish among Brown Dwarfs, exoplanets, and stars.
•
Describe how the chemical composition of an exoplanet’s atmosphere can be modeled from
its spectra.
•
Define the concept of a star’s habitable zone.
•
Discuss the possibility of Earth-like planets around red dwarfs and other stars.
•
Estimate the number of potentially habitable planets in our galaxy.
COURSE OUTLINE:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
Pulsar Planets
Finding Planets Using Reflex Motion
More Radial Velocity Planets and Transits
Recent Transit Results
Gravitational Microlensing
Adaptive Optics
Direct Imaging
Earth-like Planets
III. APPROVAL
X
X
Sponsoring Department Chair
Curriculum Committee Chair
X
X
Faculty Council Chair
Vice President for Academic Affairs