ASTR 305G Syllabus

Astronomy 305G: The Search for Life in the Universe - Spring 2001

Instructor: Salman Hameed (shameed@nmsu.edu)
Department of Astronomy, Room 211B
646-2107

Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday 2:00 - 3:00 pm or by appointment

Teaching Assistant: Steven Nelli - Room 109; 646-3409; bmoorthy@nmsu.edu; Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday 1:30 - 2:30 pm or by appointment

Textbook: The Search for Life in the Universe, 2nd Edition , Goldsmith & Owen

Additional Reading: On class homepage

Homepage: http://charon.nmsu.edu/~shameed/astr305.html upper/lower case does matter

Prerequisite: Any 100-level general education science course. Mandatory.

Is there life in the universe outside the Earth? If so, in which forms? Is there an issue whichwould more profoundly affect our view of the place we have in the cosmos than the existence of life outside Earth? In this course, we will discuss the origin of life on Earth, existence of life in extreme environments, other planets and moons of the solar system that may harbor life, to the ultimate quest for intelligent life in the universe. We will also address the popularity of UFOs, Crop Circles, and Alien Abductions and the reasons why scientists don't accept these claims.

Grades:

Quizzes(4): 20%
Term Paper: 15%
Homework (Essays): 15%
Midterm (March 01 20%
Final exam (May 08; 10:30 AM): 20%
Class Participation: 5%

Notes:

1) There will be four quizzes in the semester. You may make up a missed quiz. All make up quizzes will be oral. Make up quizzes must be completed no later than one week after themissed quiz.

2) You will not receive extensive homework assignments. Rather, you will be assigned occasional homework problems in the form of small essays. The details of the term paper will be given out later in the semester.

3) The midterm and final exams will be comprehensive and will consist of questions similar in style to those of the quizzes. Both exams will include an essay question.

4) With prior consent of the instructor, the midterm - but not the final - may be made up. Make up will be 100% essays.

5) Students who do not take the midterm will be dropped from the course. Students who miss five lectures will be dropped from the class.

6) Students must successfully complete the course at a grade C level to receive a Satisfactory rating if they have opted for the S/U option.

7) If you have, or think you may have, a disability that interferes with your academic progress, you may contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 646-6840 (V) or 646-1918 (TTY) for an appointment.

8) If you detect a miscalculation in points received on an exam or quiz, please report this matter immediately so that I may adjust your grade. If you disagree with your scores prior to the final exam, you must present your reasons for the disagreement in writing within ONE WEEK of your receipt of this graded material. Your opportunity to appeal the grade on the assignment expires after that week has passed.

9) Attendance of the lectures is not mandatory. However class participation is a substantial portion of your grade. Also many of the topics we will discuss are not covered in the text. Thus regular attendance is necessary if you are to pass the course. If you miss five or more lectures, you will be dropped from the class.

10) An incomplete in this class is given only when the student is passing the course and cannot complete the class due to circumstances beyond her/his control. These circumstances must have developed after the last day to withdraw from the class. Appropriate circumstances include documented illness, documented death or crisis in the student's immediate family, and similar circumstances. Job-related problems are NOT appropriate grounds for an I.

11) I strongly encourage discussion during the lectures. You can always interrupt me forasking a question. You can also turn in written questions at the end of each lecture; these will then be answered in the next lecture. Regular active participation will be rewarded as idicated above.

12) This course satisfies the "Viewing a Wider World" component of the General Education Requirement only for those students with majors outside of the College of Arts & Sciences.

Approximate Course Schedule

Week	Dates	Subject
1	1/10	Introduction
2	1/15	Our location in the universe/Origin of elements
3	1/22	Life and Death of stars
4	1/29	Formation of the Solar System
5	2/5	Origin of life/ Water and Carbon
6	2/12	Evolution/ DNA
7	2/19	Intelligence
8	2/26	What makes a planet suitable for life
	3/1	MIDTERM
9	3/5	Mars/ALH84001
10	3/12	Evidence of water: Mars and Europa
11	3/19	Other places in the solar system/Life in extreme environments
12	3/26	Spring Break
13	4/2	Extra-solar planets
14	4/9	SETI/Where do we look for signals?
15	4/16	Drake Equation/"Rare Earth"
16	4/23	First Contact/Space Colonization
17	4/30	Roswell, Area 51, Crop circles, Ancient astronauts
	5/8	FINAL EXAM

Reading assignments for each lecture will be given in class.