| # | Day | Date | Topic | Reading |
|---|
| 1 | W | 7/02 | Introduction; syllabus; cosmic voyage | Ch. E |
| 2 | R | 7/03 | Geocentric vs heliocentric solar system | 1.1,1.2 |
| | F | 7/04 | Independence Day; no class |
| 3 | M | 7/07 | Kepler's laws; Newton's laws | 1.3, 1.4 |
| | T | 7/08 | No class today; attend Astrofest instead (worksheet) | |
| 4 | W | 7/09 | Nature of light; blackbody radiation and relationship to temp | 2.1-2.4 |
| 5 | R | 7/10 | Structure of matter; emission/absorption of light; Doppler effect | 2.5-2.8 |
| 6 | F | 7/11 | Telescopes: past, present, and future; radio, optical, X-ray | Ch. 3 |
| 7 | M | 7/14 | Earth and Moon, Terrestrial planets, Jovian planets | Ch. 5,6,7 |
| 8 | T | 7/15 | Moons, planetary rings, and dwarf planets | Ch. 8 |
| 9 | W | 7/16 | Asteroids and comets; formation of solar system | 4.1-4.3 |
| 10 | R | 7/17 | Extrasolar planets: detection methods, characteristics | 4.4 |
| 11 | F | 7/18 | Properties of the sun; how stars shine; sunspots, flares | Ch. 9 |
| | M | 7/21 | Midterm: in-class exam | |
| 12 | T | 7/22 | HR diagram; luminosity/color/temperature/size/lifetime of stars | Ch. 10 |
| 13 | W | 7/23 | Star formation and the interstellar medium | Ch. 11 |
| 14 | R | 7/24 | Stellar evolution and death; observation and theory | Ch. 12 |
| 15 | F | 7/25 | The stellar graveyard: white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes | Ch. 13 |
| 16 | M | 7/28 | Most interesting stars in the sky; historical perspective | |
| 17 | T | 7/29 | The Milky way: disk, bulge, arms; distance ladder; observations | |
| 18 | W | 7/30 | Spirals and ellipticals; motion of stars; dark matter | |
| 19 | R | 7/31 | Colliding galaxies, starbursts; clusters of galaxies | |
| 20 | F | 7/01 | Active galaxies and quasars; outflows and jets | |
| 21 | M | 8/04 | Images of galaxies and quasars; modern surveys; astronomy on a PC | |
| 22 | T | 8/05 | Hubble's law; the expanding universe and its implications | |
| 23 | W | 8/06 | Formation of the universe: the "Big Bang", nucleosynthesis, galaxy formation | |
| 24 | R | 8/07 | Inflation; dark energy; cosmic microwave background | |
| 25 | F | 8/08 | Fate of the universe; anthropic principle; exotic theories | |
| 26 | M | 8/11 | Possibilities for life in the universe; detection, communication | |
| | T | 8/12 | Group project (if time, else catch-up) | |
| | W | 8/13 | Last day of class; review for final exam | |
