Astronomy 161 - new course - Page 2

goober (Doug) · #21 04-12-2007, 11:11 AM

Thanks for the tip - listened to a couple already. Very enjoyable listening for the daily commute.

sheeny (Al) · #22 04-12-2007, 12:59 PM

I've been listening to bits and pieces of 161 even though I've already listened to the 2006 161 but I've just finished the 2006 162, which I found more interesting - a bit meatier!

I'd like to find a "163"...

Al.

iceman (Mike) · #23 04-12-2007, 01:03 PM

I agree Al, 162 is great. I enjoyed both immensely.

goober (Doug) · #24 18-03-2008, 04:59 PM

Took three months, but I've just finished Astronomy 161. Very good, great to listen to an episode every day on the hike home. I really enjoyed the first 15-20 lectures tracing the history up to Newton. It gets a little tough to follow as the maths kicks in for the next 5 lectures. Ends up with a very thorough series of lectures covering the solar system.

I'll move onto 162 after Easter.

Brian W (Brian) · #25 18-03-2008, 11:17 PM

as with the others I am working my way through it and I will get to the end. Will download the 62 too.
Brian

spacezebra (Petra) · #26 19-03-2008, 04:48 PM

Hey there

Bring on 163 I say!!! I have enjoyed both 161 and 162! more please.........

Cheers Petra

tbentley · #27 25-03-2008, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceman

So, Astronomy 161 podcast has just finished for the season.

Anyone except me keep listening right to the end?

Only just found it because of this thanks Mike. I'm starting to download it now and it'll go straight onto the mp3 player. Sounds fascinating anyway.

Travis

Meadehead · #28 27-03-2008, 11:42 PM

I've finished 161 & up to 14 of 162. I listen during my drive to work, but I find at times hard to concentrate.

Great lectures

shane shaw · #29 30-03-2008, 10:20 PM

is there a link or a way to download them all at once . like a all lessons link download ?

thanks

iceman (Mike) · #30 01-04-2008, 05:06 AM

I'm not sure Shane, but if you use a podcast-grabber tool like iTunes or Zencast etc, then it'll have the whole list there and it's pretty quick and easy to just double-click on it each one.

Or maybe even those tools have a "download all" option when showing you the list of podcasts.

shane shaw · #31 01-04-2008, 10:11 AM

thanks mate I will have to get myself a pod to listen when I am driving

erick (Eric) · #32 01-04-2008, 01:36 PM

I finally took the plunge and listened to a lecture from 161. Very good! Useful to be monitoring the lecture notes and diagrams at the same time.

iceman (Mike) · #33 01-04-2008, 01:44 PM

You slacker Eric! Get into it!

erick (Eric) · #34 01-04-2008, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceman

You slacker Eric! Get into it!

And I have an hour drive to and from work every day!

How do I read the lecture notes at the same time

Oh, that's right - I go through more than 80 sets of traffic lights and too many of them are always RED!

goober (Doug) · #35 01-04-2008, 02:18 PM

There are lecture notes?

I'm about four into 162 ... still good stuff.

erick (Eric) · #36 02-04-2008, 11:13 AM

OK, got them all down - started 161 this morning in the car. Do I ever need an in-car Mp3 player, else a CD/tuner with Aux input!! Any recommendations? Currently balancing a CD/Mp3 player on the passenger's seat with FM transmitter dongle trnansmitting to the radio. Finally realised I need to put my antenna down to get the best result, down around 88.1-88.7! There are a couple of stations there on my drive to work.

He seems to be a good lecturer, but simple stuff at present - seems like my PhD in Science was useful for something! We'll see when we get into the depths of 162!

erick (Eric) · #37 21-04-2008, 11:55 AM

OK, it cost me a new Sony headunit for my car so I could play mp3s from CD (It's for educational purposes, Dear), but I'm close to the end of 161. The head unit was a fairly simple drop in, but had to cut and solder the wiring, but same colour coding - sometimes you win!

Learnt lots of details I didn't know, enjoying his style - the hyper-enthusiastic, slightly absent-minded professor!

Currently he's getting overly excited about the moons of the gas and ice giants, and rightfully so!

From the start of the lecture on Jupiter and Saturn, he was missing the red channel on his data projector - he struggled on, but I can only imagine what the images of those two planets look like minus the red channel!!

At some stage he moves his laptop and the full image appears! VGA plug connection, obviously. (As I've always said - the most interesting sight at a University is a handful of professors trying to get the slide projector working!)

Every minute of car travel is devoted to listening now. I'm looking forward to the wrap up of 161 and then move on to 162. Thanks for the links to these lectures.

ps. He gives shoutouts to some of his podcast listeners who contact him. He seemed chuffed with a listener in Tasmania, but hoped for one at the antipodes to Columbus, Ohio, which he calculated to be 300km (or was it miles

) west of Perth. Maybe Perth would do! However, his calculation seems to be way out?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipodes

Ian Robinson · #38 22-04-2008, 05:47 PM

I started but pulled out of a Phys200 level subject called Astronomy a few years ago , I wanted to do it as an extraneous subject (was doing yet another undergrad program at the time) but when I was told it would cost me full fees - I ditched.

It was the course given by Dr.Pavel Smrz.

Here's the link http://webapps.newcastle.edu.au/hand...atalog_id=2100

Alchemy (Clive) · #39 22-04-2008, 07:06 PM

just finished the 161 course... passed with flying colours

got promoted to the 162 course.... discovered a few things i didnt know about spectrography .... all those absorption lines arent what i thought they were , halfway through the explanation .... then the battery went flat...... charging at the moment

i got to listen to 4 hrs worth at work today, not the usual entertainment on a buiding site!!!!

renormalised (Carl) · #40 24-04-2008, 01:06 PM

Hey guys, since you're all interested in doing online astronomy courses, why don't you take the plunge and try doing a full degree online, like a masters degree. Swinburne and James Cook Uni both offer online masters degrees (as well as other courses). They're full on degrees, nothing mickey mouse about them. You may have to pay full fees, but you can get help to pay the fees. The government has 2 plans, FEE-HELP and HECS-HELP. FEE-HELP is probably the better one as it pays for your fees and all you do is pay back a small percentage yearly in tax later, after you finish. Actually the JCU course is looking for students to start in 2nd semester, now. Go and have a look and find out. You'll be pleasantly surprised.