OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY LAB (ERTH 102)
Spring 2015 -- M (4-7,7-10 pm), Tu (4-7,7-10 pm), W (7-10 pm), Th (7-10 pm)
(Official class syllabus posted online -- always check for updates)

WEB ACCESSIBLE SEMESTER SCHEDULES:  Mon Lab A , Mon Lab B, Tue Lab A, Tue Lab B, Wed Lab, Thr Lab
SOLAR OBSERVATION MAKE-UP:  If you are unable to attend the required solar observation, click here for the Solar Observation Make-up.

OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY LAB (1 unit):  Emphasizes night-time observation of the sky. Observations are used to examine motions of the earth, moon and planets.

COREQUISITES:  ERTH 101 or 101HR.             TRANSFERABILITY:  CSU, UC TRANSFER LIMIT
LOCATION:  Held in the Planetarium at the SB Museum of Natural History.  Click here for directions.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  This class is an interactive lab-based experience.  To aid in your comprehension of the appearance and motion of the objects that fill the nighttime sky, illustrations, data collection, and worksheets will be presented at a lecture which will precede most sessions.

TEXTBOOK:  There is no textbook, however, you are required to purchase an "ERTH-102 Astronomy Lab Packet" card from the SBCC Bookstore (at upstairs cashier).  These will be collected and exchanged for Lab Folders during class the second week.

ATTENDANCE:  Attendance is required.  I look forward to seeing all of you in class regularly.  See the "Grading" section below for more details.

COURSE WEBSITE:  Additional and/or updated information regarding this lab can be found at www.fieldstudy.com.  Scroll down to ERTH-102 Lab.

GRADING:  Your grade will be based on class participation, your completed folder, and a series of homework assignments and "in class" quizzes and activities.  Worksheets will be worked on each night you come to lab, stamped for completion, and turned in for evaluation with your folder at the end of the semester.  Approximately 3-4 constellation quizzes will be given, 2-3 telescope quizzes, and 2-3 quizzes on in-class material.  Most quizzes are given on 15 questions short form scantrons provided by your instructor. 

Lab classes are experiential in nature, and as such, attendance is required.  Remember, each lab missed represents a full week of class time.  The highest grade you receive, cannot be higher than your attendance percentage.  The way the percentages work out, if you miss more than one lab, the highest grade you can receive drops by about a letter grade for each additional lab missed.  See the table below for clarification.  Note that extra credit may be awarded for those who attend every lab.  Being late to lab affects your attendance score (one quarter of a lab period of credit is lost each time you are late).  Please note that these are upper limits assuming you have good quiz scores.

GRADING SCALE: The grading scale (subject to revision) will follow the traditional percentage breakdown of 90's (A), 80's (B), 70's (C), 60's (D), and below (F).  Scores may be curved slightly to help you, so always strive to do your best.  Plus minus grading is now being implemented at SBCC, so borderline grades may receive a +/- designation.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
ERTH102 SLO1 - interpret celestial and planetary motions and describe how the objects in the sky change throughout the year.  ERTH102 SLO2 - recognize the constellations, stars, and planets of the current evening sky.  ERTH102 SLO3 - demonstrate the setup, operation, and use of telescopes.

PIPELINE:
All students are required to make use of SBCC's PIPELINE service for participation in classroom activities and assignments and so that the instructor (and other students in your class) may contact you.  It is required that you check your PIPELINE account a few times per week.  To access PIPELINE, click the PIPELINE link on the SBCC Website at www.sbcc.edu (or at the bottom of the www.fieldstudy.com website).  If you have difficulty accessing your PIPELINE account, meet with the instructor after class so that we can help you.  Make use of your Pipeline account to email your instructor so as to avoid spam filtering problems.  We always check our Pipeline accounts first.  If you do not receive a response within a few days, catch us before or after class or contact us by phone.

PARTICIPATION and SCHEDULING INFORMATION:

* Lab starts at 4 pm or 7 pm (depending on the section).  We will lecture in the planetarium and go over worksheets for about half the lab session, then take a short 5 minute break, then meet at the observatory to work with telescopes.
* Attendance is required.  There are no make up quizzes or make up labs.  It is important that you do not miss lab.
* You are required to attend the night for which you are enrolled.  Due to rain, holidays, and other factors, each night will be on a separate schedule.  Lab night sessions are not interchangeable.
* Your sign-out sheet, your folder, and the pencil that comes with your folder, are needed each week.  Please don't forget them at home.  All work must be done in pencil.
* You must arrive on time and stay the full lab session to receive credit for attending.  You will sign in at the beginning of lab and sign out at the end of lab.
* Being late to lab and/or missing a portion of lab (either at the beginning or the end) will contribute toward the number of "missed labs."  Each time you are late, you lose one quarter of the attendance credit for that session.
* Your folder worksheets and sign-out sheet will be given a "participation" stamp at the end of each lab.  Do not lose these stamps.  They are the basis of your participation grade.
* A solar observation will be required and counts as a full lab session for the purposes of attendance.  Be sure to attend the solar observation session shown in your lab schedule.  Solar observations are held outside of regular class time.  There is a "make-up" activity for those that can't attend.
* There are no "excused" absences.  Regardless of the reason for missing or being late, material presented in class has been missed and can not be made up.  This may seem harsh, but please keep in mind that lab courses are different than lecture courses.  Lab courses, by nature, are attendance and/or participation based.  There is no text and most all of what we do involves planetarium presentations, telescope demonstrations, and/or interactive participation with the instructor and your fellow students.
* Grading and attendance errors can only be corrected the week grade reports are distributed.  Please monitor your grades carefully and report any errors immediately.
*Adding and dropping courses is a student responsibility, do not expect the instructor to do this for you.  In general though, students are dropped after missing 2 classes in a row.  If there are extenuating circumstances, be sure to let the instructor know.  Students who do not attend the first or second week of lab will be dropped to allow those on the wait list to add.
* The Mon and Thurs night sections have different meeting times than what is shown in the class schedule.  For these sections, lab meets the first week 4-7 pm, then the next week 7-10 pm, then the following week it's back to 4-7 pm, and the times flip flop like that for the entire semester.  That's so that we get telescope observing time in the evenings.  The school's registration system is unable to indicate this type of schedule, so times are given incorrectly as 4-5:15 and 7-8:15 in order to block those class time slots for registration purposes.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

* This is a highly impacted course.  If you can not attend regularly and on-time, please do not take this lab.  Do not displace a student who may critically need this lab for transfer.
* We will spend a considerable amount of time outdoors.  It is often VERY COLD and DARK!  Please dress appropriately.  Bring warm clothes, hats, scarves, gloves, and a small flashlight.
* No visitors are permitted at any time (for insurance and liability reasons), and there is no food or drink of any kind permitted in the Planetarium or Observatory areas. Water bottles are OK.  You may have a snack during break, but no crunching and munching during class indoors or outdoors (due health and safety code issues).
* Entering or leaving the planetarium during class time is VERY disruptive.  Please be sure to take care of your needs before coming to class.   Attendance points will be deducted for those who are late and/or who enter and leave class while class is in session.
* Cell phones, Ipods, and other portable electronic devices, are disruptive and distractive to other students.  Turn OFF all such devices during the entire class session (inside and outside).  Cell phone use in class is cause for dismissal.  FIRST OFFENSE you are thrown out of class for the night (or to stay in class, you must give your cell phone to the instructor for that night).  SECOND OFFENSE you are removed from the course and given an F.  You may use them before class, during break, and after class, but at no other times.  For clarification, using your cell phone for ANY purpose (texting, photos, calendar, notes) is considered a violation.
* The planetarium is used by the museum for public presentations.  Please take extra care with these facilities.  Do not leave trash and do not put your feet up on the upholstery.
* NO SMOKING is permitted in any building and/or around the Observatory or museum grounds or parking lot!

FOR STUDENTS TRYING TO ADD THIS LAB:

This is a highly impacted class.  Space is restricted due to seating and space availability at the planetarium and observatory, and also due to limits on equipment.  If you are trying to add, come to class early and sign the add sheet and attend class for the night you are trying to add.  During the second week of class, those who are not in attendance (even if they attended the first week) will be dropped to make room for those trying to add.  Those trying to crash multiple sections (to try and get into any of these sections), must follow this procedure for each section they are trying to add (that means they must attend the entire lab as any other  student would who is trying to add, even if they were in attendance a previous night).  Those enrolled in one section but trying to switch to another section, must drop their current section before trying to add any other section.  Your attendance in another section is not transferable.  This is the only way to give everyone a fair chance to add.  There are no exceptions.  When giving out add codes, priority will be given first to those who are on the registration WAIT LIST (if one exists).