AST 233: Astrodynamics
(Spring 2020)

Lecture notes, Recommended reading and Problems


Instructor: Alice Quillen, Bausch and Lomb Hall 424, Phone:275-9625, Email:aquillen at pas.rochester.edu
Lectures: Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:05am-12:20, in Bausch and Lomb 315
TA/TI: none

Office hours: None officially, however I encourage students to drop by my office at any time. I am usually around between 9am and 5pm. To make sure I am available, send me a note, suggesting some good times that you are free, to arrange a meeting time in advance.

Overview: We will explore topics in the dynamics of astronomical objects such as satellites, moons, asteroids, comets, planetesimals, dust, exoplanets, stars, star clusters and galaxies. We will use a variety of techniques including an order of magnitude approach, numerical integrations and non-linear dynamics and chaos theory.

Prerequisities: The class is intended for undergraduate juniors and seniors with a general physics background and some familiarity with astronomy.

Topics
Course requirements: Grading: problem sets 50%, project 25%, exams 20%?, class participation 25%.

Collaboration policy: Collaboration is encouraged. However, problem set solutions and the project must be written alone by each individual in their own words. It is not acceptable to copy problem solutions or parts of a project.

Textbooks and Reading:
Some of these will be uploaded in pdf form to blackboard. The actual books will be on reserve at the POA.