How to be an Astronomy Student

Astroprof has just started another semester:

But, this might be an interesting semester. I had my first lecture tonight. However, before I had even given my first lecture, I had two students asking questions about the homework problems! That’s right! They downloaded the syllabus and the homework assignments from my faculty web page, read the first chapter, and started working on the problems — all before we had even met our first class!!!! I had another student in tomorrow’s class email about the writing assigment due early in February, and one even emailed her term paper topic for approval (that is due late in March!). I have the feeling that several people in that class are going to turn in work due at the end of January tomorrow night, at our first class meeting. Hmm.

I can tell by reading his blog that this is a professor I would have loved to have as my intro astronomy teacher. He seems to really care about teaching, something most university faculty barely tolerate. For most of the professors in my physics program, teaching was a necessary evil. Something they had to get through to get to the research they were really interested in.

Anyway he doesn’t mention in his post if it is an introductory astronomy 101-type class he’s teaching or something more advanced, but the experience outlined in the above paragraph is not typical (and I think he’ll agree on that point). I’ll approach this post as if we’re talking about an intro class to astronomy, usually a freshman or sophomore’s first exposure to the best of all sciences.

OK, so you’ve just signed up for Intro Astronomy, and you’re all excited to learn new stuff about the universe. This is the class you’ve been waiting for, one you figure will be cool and fun. You’re absolutely right, this is the best class you’re going to take in your entire college career, but there are some things you should be aware of first.

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Here are some common misconceptions that students have when going into their Introduction to Astronomy class:

• It’s going to be easy. This is not a ‘blow-off’ course. You’re going to be exposed to some pretty sophisticated ideas and principles, some of which are impossible to visualize. This is what makes the course so great though. For example, the distances involved in astronomy and cosmology are enormous and our brains aren’t wired to visualize them very well. You’re also just not going to be able to get your head around dark matter or the idea of infinite density and zero volume (a singularity, or black hole) without some honest effort on your part. You’ll need to really stretch your brain to get some of this, these concepts still give me a hard time.
• There is no math. While most professors try to minimize the math that students have to do in this class, it isn’t zero. There is some math, usually lower level algebra, that is part of your homework problems. It’s a good place to face your fear of math though, because the astronomy is quite interesting and may be all the motivation you need to overcome any math blocks you may have.
• You’re going to look through telescopes. Sadly, this isn’t always true. It depends on your school and whether they have an observatory, or at least some telescopes in a closet somewhere. I’ve heard of many students going through this course without ever looking through an eyepiece, even if the school DID have an observatory.
• You’re going to learn where the stars are. This usually isn’t true. The curriculum for this course is usually split into two semesters: one focusing on the solar system – that’s normally first semester, and one focusing on stars and galaxies – that’s second semester. I’ve never seen one that had a section on constellations, but the first semester usually goes in depth into things like the seasons and lunar phases, but that’s about it. No star charts or things like that. Some professors though, do make you go out and try to identify a few constellation or planets, but I don’t think that’s the norm. You’ll need to motivate yourself to get out there and learn these things on your own. It isn’t all that hard anyway.

The quality of your experience will be directly tied to the professor. Most universities put their best teaching faculty in these courses. At the University of Colorado, Carl Wieman, the 2001 Nobel Prize winner in Physics and the 2004 Professor of the Year taught this course for a couple of semesters. Faculty and students not even signed up for the course usually attended his lectures. I did myself a few times. This is the best possible situation to find yourself in.

Other universities, however, do not. There are many bad professors out there and I’m sure you’ve learned to recognize them on the first day of class. If that is true for you this semester, then consider dropping the course right away and waiting till a better professor rotates into the class. If you just can’t do that because this may be your only chance to take it, then don’t give up. Here are some strategies for getting the most out a bad professor:

• Like Astroprof’s go-getters, get the syllabus as early as possible, they are almost always online now. Find out what’s going to be taught, but not just so you can get a head start on the homework. Find out if you’re going to be looking through telescopes, doing any lab activities that sound fun, or attending lectures in the planetarium, hang on to those moments, because they will be the most fun. If there are no such moments planned, ask the professor why not. Try to encourage him or her to do it.
• Ask questions every day. Especially if you’re not understanding the professor. You’re paying a lot of money to be there and you have every right to get the most out of it. I know you’ll have to be proactive and extroverted, but remember, this is the universe we’re talking about, you need to understand it and your place in it.
• Go to every lecture and lab, especially if you hate the professor. I know this is hard, and the last thing you want to do, but you’re already on shaky ground getting this information into your head, you may as well try to soak as much as possible. Even though it may not feel like it, you are getting some information.
• Rent and watch Carl Sagan’s Cosmos while you’re taking this course. It costs about the same as a textbook if you choose to buy it, it’s well worth the money. Carl will definitely overcome any deficits of a bad professor. The show will also spark some questions you can ask during the lecture or office hours.
• Buy one of those cheap planispheres and go outside for about a half an hour every night and learn some constellations. It really is not that hard.
• Visit my blog regularly. Email me or leave comments about your experience. I will do everything I can to help you out (short of doing your homework). We can talk about what you are interested in here and I’ll even make some videos for you if you tell me what you’d like to learn about. Don’t worry, I’ll help you get through it.

This class should be one of the most fun and mind-expanding that you ever take. I want your experience to be the best possible, and if it isn’t, don’t assume it’s you – and most DEFINITELY don’t take it out on astronomy. Sure, a poor teacher may leave a bad taste in your mouth, but your basic desire to learn astronomy is well founded, don’t ever give up trying to learn about the night sky. Everyone has a natural curiosity about the universe, it is engrained into our souls to want to understand our place in the universe. Intro to Astronomy should be your first step toward that understanding.

Keep in touch. Let me know how it goes, your interest in astronomy means you are a critical thinker – you want to learn about our universe in a rational, honest way. We need more students like you, critical thinkers are in short supply these days, I want to nurture you, turn you into an informed citizen. You are well on your way, dude (I’m so f*@cking hip, it’s scary huh? I’m a scientist, get out of my way…).

Good luck this semester and HAVE FUN!