Astronomy 129: Introductory Astronomy I

Sections 9, 10, Fall 2026

 

 

Lecture: Tuesday & Thursday 

Location: RITA room 387 

Time: TR 12:15 -1:30 pm

 

 

Instructor: Dr. George Chartas

Office: RITA 307

Office hours: TR 3:00-4:00 pm

Phone: (843) 953-3609

Email: chartasg@cofc.edu

 

Co-requisite: ASTR 129 lab

 

A preliminary outline of the course can be found at the SCHEDULE website. Some of this material is subject to change and this site will be constantly up-dated so please check it before each class.

 

 

 

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Syllabus

Required materials:

The textbook for the course is Bennett, J., Donahue, M., Schneider, N., and Voit, M., titled The Cosmic Perspective 8th, 9th, or 10th Edition.  Important: only a hardcopy textbook and notes are allowed in tests and the final exam.  E-textbooks and computers/phones are not allowed in tests and the final exam. 

You will also need a scientific calculator capable of computing exponential functions.

 

1.

Print options available

Rental + Paperback

ISBN-13: 9780137898237

Cosmic Perspective, The

https://www.pearson.com/en-us/subject-catalog/p/cosmic-perspective-the/P200000009792/9780137898237?utm_source=copystudentlink&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=XXLEGP0423PCOM

 

 

2. Also acceptable are used copies of the Cosmic Perspective 8th,  9th, and 10th Editions which you may purchase online.

 

 

-       Used 9th edition from Amazon/AbeBooks ~ $57 - $52

-       Used 8th Edition from Amazon/AbeBooks  ~$14 - $21

 

 

Syllabus statement regarding absence due to illness

 

Students who are absent due to illness may use the online recordings and lecture notes provided on my course website to complete assignments and will be granted an extension to submit their work. 

If a student has the flu or COVID, they should not attend any classes until they are no longer contagious. I will provide reasonable accommodations for students who become ill or indicate a need to isolate themselves. If a student is absent from class for an extended period, a withdrawal (W) before the deadline should be strongly considered.

 

Syllabus statement regarding the use of generative AI programs 

 

You are welcome to use generative AI programs (for example ChatGPT) in this course. These programs can be powerful tools for learning and other productive pursuits, including completing some assignments in less time, helping you generate new ideas, or serving as a personalized learning tool. However, your ethical responsibilities as a student remain the same. You must follow CofC’s Student Code of Conduct. If you use a generative AI tool to develop content for an assignment, you are required to cite the tool’s contribution to your work. In practice, cutting and pasting content from any source without citation is plagiarism. Likewise, paraphrasing content from a generative AI without citation is plagiarism. Similarly, using any generative AI tool without appropriate acknowledgment will be treated as plagiarism. You may not use AI tools during midterm tests and the Final Exam.

Here are some specific expectations for your use of AI generation tools in this course:  

·       You can include AI generated content verbatim into a writing assignment with quotations and a citation. 

·       You can paraphrase AI generated content with a citation. 

·       You can include non-text AI generated content (images, video, code, etc.) with an appropriate citation, when expressly permitted in the assignment prompt. 

·       You will conduct your own research and generate bibliographies yourself for topics that you have researched. 

·       You will not use or present generative AI content that you pass off as your own work.  

·       You may use AI-generated content with a citation to create your AstroNews presentation.

 

Finally, it is important that you recognize that generative AI tools frequently provide users with incorrect information, create professional-looking citations that are not real, generate contradictory statements, incorporate copyrighted material without appropriate attribution, and sometimes integrate biased or offensive concepts. Code generation models may produce inaccurate outputs. Image generation models may create misleading or offensive content.  While you may use these tools in the work you create for this class, it is important to note that you understand you are ultimately responsible for the content that you submit. Work that is inaccurate, biased, unethical, offensive, plagiarized, or incorrect will be treated as such during the evaluation of your work.  

 

 

 

 

 

Course Objectives:

One of the goals of this class is to reveal to you some of the wonders of our cosmos. Astronomy 129 will cover the planets, their moons and our sun. You will learn how the scientific method is used to explain the underlying causes behind astrophysical phenomena. What lies beyond our solar system will be covered in Astronomy 130. I recommend that you review the material before it is presented in class. This will help you to better understand the concepts and enjoy the class.

 

General Education Natural Science Learning Outcomes:

1.   Students apply physical/natural principles to analyze and solve problems (This outcome will be assessed by writing a report of one of the labs. It will count as 7.5% of your final lab grade.) 

 

2. Students explain how science impacts society (This outcome will be assessed in the lab class using an assignment involving writing a letter to a public official about an astronomy-related current event. It will count as 2.5% of your final lab grade.)

 

Outcome 1 will be assessed in a lab report and outcome 2 will be assessed in the lab via a signature assignment. 

 

Course-specific Learning Outcomes

 

 

 

Astro-News

 

·       Each class will contain a segment called Astro-News. Every student will be expected to give a 3-5 minute presentation during Astro-News (only one presentation per student over the entire course). The presentation may be in PowerPoint, keynote, overhead or blackboard.  Astro-News will cover events that have been recently presented in a recognized astronomy media source.

·       Great sources of astronomy news include: 

·       (a) the Science Section of the New York Times

·       (see http://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/index.html), 

·       (b) the NASA News Website

·       (see http://www.nasa.gov/news/index.html), 

·       (c) the Hubble Space Station News website

·       (see http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/), 

·       (d) the Sky and Telescope news site

·       (see http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news), and 

·       (e) the spaceweather website

·       (see http://www.spaceweather.com/).

 

 

 

Midterm Exams Homework and Quizzes:

There will be 3 midterm exams over the semester. A quiz will be given at the end of each class. The quizzes will be based on material already presented in lectures. There will be a final exam that will cover most of the material presented in the lectures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grades

 

Your final grade will be calculated as follows:

 

 

Astro-News

10%

Quizzes

5%

Midterms

45%

FINAL  

40%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your number grade will be converted into a letter grade as follows.

 

>85%

A

80-84%

A-

76-80%

B+

72-76%

B

68-72%

B-

64-68%

C+

60-64%

C

56-60%

C-

52-56%

D+

48-52%

D

44-48%

D-

<44%

F

 

 

Special Needs

If you have any special needs or disabilities that might require special arrangements to be made for any aspect of this course, please let me know at the beginning of the semester or as soon as you become aware of them. 

1.                  Any student eligible for and needing accommodations because of a disability is requested to speak with the professor during the first two weeks of class or as soon as the student has been approved for services so that reasonable accommodations can be arranged.

                 

 

2.                  The College will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities.  Students should apply for services at the Center for Disability Services/SNAP located on the first floor of the Lightsey Center, Suite 104.  Students approved for accommodations are responsible for notifying me as soon as possible and for contacting me one week before accommodation is needed.

 

3.                  This College abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you have a documented disability that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please see an administrator at the Center of Disability Services/SNAP, (843) 953-1431) or me so that such accommodation may be arranged.

 

 

Weather Closure of CofC

If the College of Charleston closes and members of the community are evacuated due to inclement weather, students are responsible for taking course materials with them in order to continue with course assignments consistent with instructions provided by faculty. In cases of extended periods of institution-wide closure where students have relocated, instructors may articulate a plan that allows for supplemental academic engagement despite these circumstances. If the College of Charleston closes and members of the community are evacuated due to inclement weather, students are responsible for taking course materials with them in order to continue with course assignments consistent with instructions provided by faculty. In cases of extended periods of institution-wide closure where students have relocated, instructors may articulate a plan that allows for supplemental academic engagement despite these circumstances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class and Attendance Policies:

Cellular technology:  Please respect your class-mates and keep your cellular devices off.  You are expected to attend all classes.

 College of Charleston Honor Code and Academic Integrity:

Lying, cheating, attempted cheating, and plagiarism are violations of our Honor Code that, when identified, are investigated.  Each incident will be examined to determine the degree of deception involved.

 

Incidents where the instructor determines the student-s actions are related more to a misunderstanding will be handled by the instructor.  A written intervention designed to help prevent the student from repeating the error will be given to the student.  The intervention, submitted by form and signed both by the instructor and the student, will be forwarded to the Dean of Students and placed in the student-s file.   

 

Cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be reported directly by the instructor and/or others having knowledge of the incident to the Dean of Students.  A student found responsible by the Honor Board for academic dishonesty will receive a XF in the course, indicating failure of the course due to academic dishonesty.  This grade will appear on the student-s transcript for two years after which the student may petition for the X to be expunged.  The F is permanent.  The student may also be placed on disciplinary probation, suspended (temporary removal) or expelled (permanent removal) from the College by the Honor Board. 

 

Students should be aware that unauthorized collaboration--working together without permission-- is a form of cheating.  Unless the instructor specifies that students can work together on an assignment, quiz and/or test, no collaboration during the completion of the assignment is permitted.   Other forms of cheating include possessing or using an unauthorized study aid (which could include accessing information via a cell phone or computer), copying from others- exams, fabricating data, and giving unauthorized assistance.

 

Research conducted and/or papers written for other classes cannot be used in whole or in part for any assignment in this class without obtaining prior permission from the instructor.  

 

Students can find the complete Honor Code and all related processes in the Student Handbook at        http://studentaffairs.cofc.edu/honor-system/studenthandbook/index.php