Syllabus: Ast 105: Introductory Astronomy Laboratory
Semester: 2024 Spring / Summer / Fall
Lab Coordinator / Course Instructor: David Jeffery
Summer Lab Section Instructor: Raymond Girard or as designated

See also: Course Website / Extended Syllabus.

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2. Class Coordinates:
   1. The 2022 Fall semester will be by In-Person Instruction (IPI): See below Class Coordinates: In-Person Instruction (IPI) and Ast105 In-Person-Instruction Procedure for the COVID-19 Pandemic Period.

   2. In-Person Instruction (IPI): Ast 105: Regular semester: MTWR 7:30 pm, BPB 248/249/250 / Summer semester: TWR 7:30 pm, BPB 248.

      To elaborate: Class times for regular semesters: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, OR Thursday night, 7:30---10:20 pm. Class times for summer semesters: Tuesday, Wednesday, AND Thursday night, 7:30---10:20 pm. See MyUNLV to find your section and your night. See MyUNLV: Search to find which sections are open.
      

      Note: Astro labs will START in the first week of classes.
      Of course, lab section periods that coincide with UNLV holidays do NOT meet at all, and so do NOT meet in the first week of classes if their first scheduled meeting is a UNLV holiday.
      

   3. Remote Instruction (RMI): Students set their own times and locations for completion of the Introductory Astronomy Laboratory Exercises, but in order to keep up, the students should follow the Lab Schedule which is supplemented by email messages.

      There will be a Webcampus Webex meeting each lab night at the scheduled start time: i.e., 7:30 pm. This meeting will be for a brief intro to the scheduled lab exercise and a questions-and-answer session that continues throughout the lab period for students who wish to work on lab exercises during the lab period. If all students leave the meeting, the instructor will leave the meeting too.

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3. Catalog description: Ast 105: Introductory Astronomy Laboratory: Laboratory exercises in astronomy presented in the tradition of the amateur astronomer. Instruction will include observation of celestial objects as well as laboratory exercises to investigate the physical nature of astronomical objects. Instruction on the use of telescopes and the process of the scientific method will be presented. Recommended for non-science majors. Prerequisite: AST 103 or 104, or concurrent registration in one of these courses. 1 credit.
   The pre/corequisite can be waived with permission of the course/section instructor.
4. Library: See also Library Search. There are NO library and NO specific external information resources recommended for this course.
5. Course Website / Extended Syllabus: Find by googling "unlv david jeffery astlab", but it may NOT be the first item.
6. Lab Manual: Introductory Astronomy Laboratory Exercises (IALE) which are free online lab exercises.
7. Required Readings:
   1. For ordinary, NON-pandemic periods: Doing the lab prep as required by your lab section instructor which will ordinarily include reading over the appropriate IALE BEFORE the night it is to be done.
   2. For COVID-19 pandemic period with IPI: See Ast105 In-Person-Instruction Procedure for the COVID-19 Pandemic Period below.
   3. For COVID-19 pandemic period with RMI: See Class Coordinates: Remote Instruction (RMI).
8. Assignment due dates: See Lab Schedule in the Course Website / Extended Syllabus. It is subject to change due to weather, lab section instructor preference, UNLV holidays, requirements of COVID-19 pandemic period (see Ast105 In-Person-Instruction Procedure for the COVID-19 Pandemic Period below).
9. Evaluation:
   1. Evaluation for In-Person Instruction (IPI): Labs 50 %, quizzes 40 %, Lab Final 10 %. NO extra credit. For details, see Evaluation for In-Person Instruction (IPI) in Course Website / Extended Syllabus.
   2. Evaluation for Remote Instruction (RMI): Labs 20 %, quizzes 40 %, Lab Final 40 %. NO extra credit. For details, see Evaluation for Remote Instruction (RMI) in Course Website / Extended Syllabus.
   3. Hybrid Instruction (HYI): This case is for when a switch between IPI and RMI is required. Evaluation in this case depends on when the switch occurs.
   See also Grading Policy in Course Website / Extended Syllabus.
10. Exam Schedule Including Lab Final Exam: See the Lab Schedule in Course Website / Extended Syllabus for the date of the lab final. The date may have to be adjusted.
11. Remote Istruction Qualifications: See Course Website / Extended Syllabus: Evaluation for Remote Instruction (RMI) and Course Website / Extended Syllabus: Evaluation Items Explicated for Remote Instruction (RMI).
12. Summer Semester Qualifications: See the Class Coordinates: In-Person Instruction (IPI) for the main ones.

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17. Ast105 In-Person-Instruction Procedure for the COVID-19 Pandemic Period (subject to change as needed): At the moment, we do NOT need this procedure. But it will be revived if needed.