ASTR 160 - Lecture 3 - Our Solar System and the Pluto Problem

Class begins with a review of the first problem set. Newton's Third Law is applied in explaining how exoplanets are found. An overview of the Solar System is given; each planet is presented individually and its special features are highlighted. Astronomy is discussed as an observational science, and the subject of how to categorize objects in the Solar System is addressed. The Pluto controversy is given special attention and both sides of the argument regarding its status are considered.

ASTR 160 - Lecture 1 - Introduction

Professor Bailyn introduces the course and discusses the course material and requirements. The three major topics that the course will cover are (1) exoplanets--planets around stars other than the Sun, (2) black holes--stars whose gravitational pull is so strong that even their own light rays cannot escape, and (3) cosmology--the study of the Universe as a whole. Class proper begins with a discussion on planetary orbits. A brief history of astronomy is also given and its major contributors over the centuries are introduced: Ptolemy, Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton.

Music

The Department of Philosophy at Yale offers a wide range of graduate and undergraduate courses in various traditions of philosophy, with strengths and a well-established reputation in the history of philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of art as well as other central topics. The Department has affiliated faculty members in the Law School, the Linguistics Department, the Political Science Department, and the Divinity School, and has close connections with the Cognitive Science Program and with the Program in Ethics, Politics, and Economics.

Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology

The Biology major at Yale is a joint offering of the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB). MCDB offers courses in six areas: biochemistry, molecular biology, and chemical biology; cellular and developmental biology; genetics; neurobiology; plant sciences; and biotechnology. Additional coursework includes classes in chemistry, physics, and math.

Italian Language and Literature

The Department of Italian Language and Literature at Yale houses linguistic, literary, and historical approaches to Italian culture in all periods, with an emphasis on Italy's influential role in the development of the core arts, philosophies, and materials of Western culture. The undergraduate program requires intensive language training and is at its core interdisciplinary. The department routinely offers courses in a wide variety of areas and specialties, including film, philosophy, literature, history, art, architecture, and music. Learn more at http://www.yale.edu/italian

Spanish and Portuguese

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese is known for its plurality of critical and theoretical approaches to the study of Spanish Peninsular and Latin American literatures as well as its academic rigor. The major in Spanish is a liberal arts major that offers a wide range of courses in the language, literatures, and cultures of Spain and the twenty-some Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.

Sociology

The Department of Sociology at Yale University provides concentrations in the fields of Comparative and Historical Sociology, Cultural Sociology and Social Theory, and Social Stratification and Life Course Research. In addition, faculty publish and teach in the areas of Gender and Sexuality, Political Sociology, Sociology of Religion, Economic Sociology, Urban Sociology and Ethnography, and Chinese Society. The Sociology department offers two undergraduate programs leading to the B.A. degree.

Religious Studies

The Department of Religious Studies at Yale provides opportunities for the scholarly study of a number of religious traditions and disciplines. At the undergraduate level, the Department offers a wide array of courses that cover the major religions of the world, with a strong emphasis on their history and their intellectual traditions.

Psychology

The Department of Psychology at Yale conducts research in major areas of the field, including behavioral neuroscience, clinical, cognitive, developmental, and social/personality psychology. The B.A. in psychology has been designed to provide undergraduates reasonable grounding in psychology in the context of a general liberal arts education. At the graduate level, the primary goal is the training of research investigators in academic and applied settings. Learn more at http://www.yale.edu/psychology

Subscribe to