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Course Information (Fall 2026 Version)
Course Information (Fall 2026 Version)
Contact Information:
Contact Information:
Email: ryan.oelkers(at)utrgv.edu
Phone: 956.882.6617
Office: BINAB 2.140
Office Hours: Monday 11:00 AM - 12:30PM in BINAB 2.140 or on ZOOM (by appointment)
Classroom: Brownsville Main Building (BMAIN) 2.236
Lecture Time: Monday and Wednesday from 09:30 AM to 10:45 AM
(Left) A view from Estacion Astrofisica de Bosque Alegre. The small hexagon at the center of the image is the camera system I built for my PhD dissertation. The image is from NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Image Credit & Copyright
Photogragh: Sebastian D' Alessandro; Constellations: Judy Schmidt
Please note: You will need to be logged into your UTRGV Microsoft 365 account to access the course material.
Course Syllabus
Course Syllabus
A copy of the course syllabus can be found here.
Course Textbook
Course Textbook
Course Schedule
Course Schedule
The lecture slides are available through the links below. Generally, they will follow the textbook.
Date Topic (click link for slides) Relevant Chapters Homework
08/26/2026 Introductions & Common Misconceptions -- --
08/31/2026 Science & The Universe 1 HW 1 assigned
09/02/2026 This History of Astronomy I: Ancient Astronomy 2 --
09/07/2026 No class (Labor Day) -- HW 1 is due; HW 2 is assigned
09/09/2026 This History of Astronomy II: Modern Astronomy 2 --
09/14/2026 Orbits 3 HW 2 is due; HW 3 is assigned
09/16/2026 Gravity 3 --
Supplementary Material
Supplementary Material
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