| Date | Topic | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Tu Sep 1 | Course overview. The scientific method. | 1-1 |
| Th Sep 3 | The night sky, days, years & seasons | 1-5, 2.1 thru 2.5 |
| Tu Sep 8 | No class (Monday classes) | |
| Th Sep 10 | The Moon and eclipses. | 3-1 thru 3-5 |
| Tu Sep 15 | Motion of planets Geocentric Universe Model. | 3-6 & 4-1 |
| Th Sep 17 | The Copernican revolution | 4-2 & 4.-3 |
| Tu Sep 22 | Laws of planetary motion | 4-4 |
| Th Sep 24 | Galileo's clash with the Church | 4-5 |
| Tu Sep 29 | Newton and motion | 4-6 |
| Th Oct 1 | Newton and gravity | 4-7 |
| Tu Oct 6 | First Exam | |
| Th Oct 8 | Overview of the solar system & density | 7-1 |
| Tu Oct 13 | Spin | 2-6 |
| Th Oct 15 | Tides and their surprising consequences | 4-8 |
| Tu Oct 20 | Resonances | |
| Th Oct 22 | Atmospheres of planets | 7.4 & 9 thru 14 |
| Tu Oct 27 | Light and radiation | 5-1 thru 5-4 |
| Th Oct 29 | The age of the solar system | 7-6 & ch 15 |
| Tu Nov 3 | Information in spectra | 5-5 thru 5-9 |
| Th Nov 5 | Structure of our Sun | 16-1 & 16-2 |
| Tu Nov 10 | Second Exam | |
| Th Nov 12 | Testing our model of the Sun | 16-3 & 16-4 |
| Tu Nov 17 | Terrestrial planets | 9 - 11 |
| Th Nov 19 | Giant planets | 12 - 14 |
| Tu Nov 24 | Minor bodies | 15 |
| Th Nov 26 | Thanksgiving Break | |
| Tu Dec 1 | Magnetic fields in the Sun and planets | 9 thru 14 & 16-5 thru 16-9 |
| Th Dec 3 | Origin of the solar system | 8-1 thru 8-6 |
| Tu Dec 8 | Planets around other stars | 8-7 |
| Th Dec 10 | Life elsewhere in the solar system? | 28-1 thru 28-3 |
| F Dec 18 | Final exam | |