Introduction
     The material below assumes that you are taking this class because you need to fulfill a Physical Science requirement, and/or need to receive a passing grade (and credit) for the class. If you are only taking the class because you would like to learn more about astronomy, and don't care whether you pass the exams, you can ignore much of what follows; but you will get far more out of the class if you pay attention to the study suggestions on this and other pages of this website.

My Fiction
     I have recently started writing fiction, and have published one short story, Well Met, and one novel, Two Pigs and a Chicken. Neither of these, nor any of the other novels and short stories that I am working on, have anything to do with astronomy, so I will not discuss them in class (save during a break, when I am willing to answer questions about any reasonable topic); but when there is news about one of my works, it is noted on this site, for the benefit of those who are interested in reading such news. If you or your friends enjoy reading fiction, you may find these notes interesting; but if you are not, you can safely ignore them, as they will not affect this class or your grade in any way.

Business Cards
     Magnetic and regular business cards are available to help you find my website. Magnetic cards are "posted" on the portholes at the entry to D326. Regular cards are in business card holders at either end of the operator console in D326, and at the bottom of the astronomy bulletin board, opposite D326. You are welcome to take cards for yourself, or for acquaintances you think might be interested in either of my sites. The magnetic cards are one-sided, but the regular cards are two-sided, as shown below.

The astronomy (left) and publishing (right) sides of my regular business card.

Contact Information
     My office is in room D350. My office hours are posted outside my office, and at cseligman.com/officehrs.htm, but as noted there, they are strictly by appointment, as I find the ten to fifteen hours a week that I spend answering student emails a far better way to maintain contact than the five hours I used to sit in my office on the off chance that someone might show up. (I do not keep office hours, even by appointment, during the summer.)
     The best way to contact me outside class is to email courtney@cseligman.com. You can also contact me at my old email address, CourtneySeligman@aol.com, but I don't check that as often. I do not recommend leaving notes in the plastic hanger outside my office, or sliding them under my door.
     If you don't receive a reply to an email within a day, I may have deleted your message, thinking it was spam, or your email service may have deleted my reply, for a similar reason. To avoid this problem, be sure that the Subject Line of your note includes a clear indication of its purpose, or the day and time that your class meets; and turn off spam blocking for your email (if you can), or add my address to your email address book.
     If you want to inquire about a grade or other private information, you must include your student ID inside the email (not in the Subject Line). Do not send attachments, as I never open them; all relevant information must be in the text of the email.
     I expect all students to have Internet access, and to access my web site for announcements and class materials on a regular basis. If you do not have Internet access, most public libraries (and the LBCC Library Open Access Lab) have free Internet access and someone who can show you how to reach my web site, or to set up an account with one of the many web services (such as AOL and Yahoo) that provide free email accounts. If you find Internet access to my site inconvenient, I can provide CD-ROM versions of the site contents for a nominal fee ($1 including a jewel case), but the site is frequently updated, and you still need to check it yourself or through a friend at least once a week to keep up with important announcements.

The cseligman.com Toolbar
     I've tried to make this site easy to use. There are Site Map links at the top of each page, which can be used to access every page on the site save for those in the eText, and a Table of Contents for the eText which provides links for every current page. Still, there is a lot of material on the site, and students sometimes get lost. For that reason, I've created a cseligman.com toolbar, which provides access to all the non-eText links (and other links which I find personally useful) in a drop-down Links menu, and to all eText pages in a drop-down eText menu. If you have any problem finding your way around the site, I would recommend installing the Toolbar, to see if it makes using the site easier (if it doesn't, it's easy to uninstall).

Textbook Information
     You absolutely have to buy a textbook and start reading it as soon as possible (and as often as possible), if you want to do well in this class. See Textbook Information for a discussion of the text choices for this class, and the reading assignments for the various examinations. In general, you should read the material in the text three times: (1) before I cover it in class, so the lectures are easier to follow, (2) immediately after I cover it in class, to see what was covered in the lecture that was not covered in the text (and vice-versa), and (3) when you are studying for specific exam questions.

Video Broadcasts
      Regular lecture class students receive nearly fifty hours of lecture, while Telecourse students have hardly any lectures, putting them at a considerable disadvantage. To help make up for this, a 20-episode video series, "Astronomy: Observations and Theories", is being aired on CCIN and some local PBS stations during the Spring and Fall (see the Telecourse Broadcast Schedule). (Students also have the option of purchasing a DVD copy of the series in the Bookstore, for a little over $20.) It is presumed that Telecourse students will watch the videos, which are an excellent, easy-going introduction to astronomy; but even regular class students, if they are struggling to understand the material, may find it worth the time and/or expense to watch the videos. The order of the broadcasts is different from my lectures and exams, but they are all shown before the second midterm, so that makes no difference in preparing for the exams.

Course Content / Satisfying Science Requirements
     This course covers all of stellar and solar system astronomy, including the origin and evolution of the solar system, the stars, and the Universe.
     When taken in conjunction with the Astronomy 1L lab class, this course satisfies a lab science requirement. If taken by itself, it satisfies a science requirement, but not a lab science requirement. If you need to satisfy a lab science requirement, you can take the lab and lecture at the same time, or in different semesters. (The lab class is not offered during the Summer.) For more information about the relationship between the two courses, refer to General Astronomy Course Information.

Credit/Noncredit Grading
     This course may be taken on a credit/noncredit (CR/NC) basis; in fact, for most students, that is the most appropriate way to take the class.
     To take the class CR/NC, go to Administration and fill out the appropriate paperwork on or before the deadline to do so (check your class calendar or my schedule for the deadline). If you file for CR/NC grading, a C-minus or better grade is recorded as CRedit and provides 3 units credit for taking the class, and a D-plus or worse grade is recorded as NonCredit and provides no credit for taking the class; either way, the grade does not affect your GPA. CR/NC grades should be transferable to all other colleges with the same GPA basis (or lack of it) as at LBCC.

Auditing
     Although auditing classes is allowed in theory, it is actually strongly discouraged for financial reasons (the school receives no state funds for students who audit classes). I therefore do not allow students to audit my classes, and you must register for the class if you want to attend class meetings. However, you can effectively audit the class by simply not taking any of the exams, since (as noted below) I automatically drop anyone who misses both midterms. You would end up with a W (Withdrawn) "grade" for the class, but for most purposes, that is the same as if you never took the class in the first place.

Recording Lectures vs. Taking Notes
     Students who are busy taking detailed class notes often miss what I am currently saying while writing down what I said a minute or two ago, and as a result, lose their place in the discussion. In addition, during lectures (particularly planetarium presentations) the room is partially or totally darkened, so that taking notes is difficult or impossible. I therefore recommend that you take only the briefest of notes, and flesh them out from memory afterwards, or use a small tape or digital recorder to record the lectures, so that you can pay full attention during class. Anyone registered for my class is hereby given permission to record my lectures, providing they make no commercial use of the recordings or their content. However, I do not want a forest of recorders on the operator console, or people forgetting to retrieve their recorders, so you must record the lectures from your seat.
     If you have a laptop computer, you may use it to take notes during normal lectures; but as noted under Classroom Behavior (below), during full-dome planetarium presentations all computers and cell phones must be turned off or closed, as the light from their screens lights up the dome, and is distracting to other students.

Classroom Behavior
     The College Schedule of Classes contains a long discussion of what is considered reasonable and proper student behavior. Namely, everyone in the class is expected to behave as an adult, and to treat the instructor and their fellow students with respect. If your behavior is disruptive, you will be asked to modify it. Failure to do so may subject you to penalties up to and including expulsion from the College (see Long Beach City College Student Policies for more information). The following suggestions, if followed, should provide an environment conducive to learning without being overly restrictive.
     If you come in late or leave early, you should sit as close to the entry as possible, and be as quiet and unobtrusive as possible on your way in or out, to minimize class disruption. During full-dome planetarium presentations, the entry doors may be closed. If you arrive late and the door is closed, just pull on the handle (it doesn't turn), and wait behind the blackout curtains until your eyes have adjusted to the darkness.
     All cell phones and other electronic devices should be turned off or put into silent mode during class time. If you are expecting an emergency call, sit near the entry and follow the rules for leaving class early, as noted above.
     Absolute darkness is required during planetarium presentations. This means that all laptops and other devices which produce any light must be closed or turned off. The entry doors may also be closed and the blackout curtains drawn; but the entry door is left unlocked during class, even when closed.
     No food or drink are allowed in the planetarium classroom, save for bottled water.
     While I am lecturing, or other students are asking questions, you are expected to pay attention. If you wish to visit with friends, you should do so before or after class, out of consideration for those students who are trying to pay attention. I do not want to discourage occasional comments, or natural reactions (e.g., laughter, oohs and aahs, or groans) to the material I am discussing; but continual chattering will not be tolerated.
     Occasionally, one person may monopolize the class discussion by asking question after question. I am willing to answer questions within reason, but if necessary, I may require such individuals to see me at the break or after class, instead of disrupting the presentation.
     You are expected to have any materials required for class when you arrive. In particular, on exam days, you should have an ample supply of pens or pencils, and pencils should be sharpened before class. If you need to sharpen a pencil during an exam, you may do so, but it is less distracting to other students if you have several pencils and switch as needed. You do not need to bring paper for exams, as I will supply it, as noted under Examinations.

Class Structure
     This class is lecture only. You are welcome to raise your hand and ask questions, but there will be no class discussion, as such. Questions during the lecture should be pertinent to the material being covered, but you are welcome to ask questions about other topics before or after class, or during the break.
     In classes longer than an hour and a half, there will be a short break about halfway through the class. If I forget to say how long the break will last, it lasts for 15 minutes.

Study Habits
     For a college-transfer class such as this one, most students need 6 to 10 hours per week of effective study time to earn a good grade. (Because of their compressed schedule, Summer classes require 20 to 30 hours of effective study time per week.) If you have trouble reading the text, or want an especially high grade, you may need even more time to thoroughly learn the material.
     The Universe is a fascinating place, full of interesting objects, and if you have the time to learn the material you should love this course; but it is hard to appreciate any subject, no matter how interesting, if you can't keep up with the material. Be sure to study the text, any notes you take, and the website on a regular basis. Putting things off and trying to catch up just before the exams guarantees disappointing or disastrous results on the exams, and spoils your enjoyment of the material. If your schedule is so full that you cannot devote enough time to the class, you should consider taking it when you have more time.

Attendance
     In the lecture class, I only take attendance because I am occasionally supposed to drop "inactive" students. To determine which students are inactive, I take roll at the start of each class, save on exam days, in which case I use the exams turned in to take attendance. If you miss roll, and want to make sure that I don't drop you, let me know you are present at the break, or at the end of class; or send me an email, informing me of your intention to continue with the class (which you may do, regardless of whether you were present or not).
     I consider good attendance important, because students who have poor attendance always do badly on exams, but I do not count attendance in determining lecture class grades, since students with poor attendance have already penalized themselves. However, I do drop students whose lack of attendance and failure to contact me convince me that they truly are "inactive", and as noted under Makeup Exams, below, any student who does not take either midterm will be dropped as of the last day to take the second midterm, regardless of their attendance (or lack of it).
     If I can't attend class, there should be a sign-up sheet on the door (check all the doors, as the sheet is not always put on the entry door). If there is no sign-up sheet, you must wait at least 15 minutes before starting an "unofficial" sign-up sheet, in case I am merely running late (such sheets are often put in the plastic hanger by my office, so check there if you arrive late, and there appears to be no class). When signing a sign-up sheet, be sure to do so legibly; if I can't read your name, you will be marked absent.
     If you or I miss a class, check the Recent Announcements page on my web site for any notes I may have posted. In fact, if you come any distance to school, you should always check Recent Announcements before coming to class, in case I've posted a note saying I won't be present (in which case you'd save yourself a trip).

Reinstatement
     I will not reinstate dropped students unless dropping them was a clerical error on my part. I have never had a student who was dropped for good reason successfully complete the course, so allowing such students to return to class is a waste of their time, and mine.

Reading Assignments / More About Study Habits & Use of This Web Site
     You must buy and start reading the text as soon as possible. Although I cover the class material as thoroughly as possible in my lectures, most of your knowledge and understanding will come from careful study of your text, and the online text. Also, the lectures are more enjoyable and understandable if you have already read the appropriate material before coming to class, so you should start the reading assignments as soon as possible. If you put off reading them until after I have covered the material in class, you will not learn as much. There is a general list of reading assignments on the Textbook Information page, and the notes for the various exams provide additional information.
     Although I provide suggested reading assignments, I expect you to eventually read all the material in the text, and the corresponding material in the online text, except for the chapters which the Textbook Information page says will not be covered; and if you have any extra time, you should use it to start reading ahead, so that you are better prepared later on. At first reading you should simply look through the material to see what is there, not covering it in detail. There is a list of essay questions which might be on one exam or another, which is intended as a guide to what topics are most important. After reading the material once, you should go back and reread those topics which are relevant to the essay questions. In some cases all the material relating to a given question is in just one or two chapters of the text, but in other cases it is scattered over half a dozen chapters. By using the essay questions as a guide, you can adjust your study habits as appropriate, study more effectively, and earn a better grade for a given amount of study time.
     In the list of essay questions, the number in front of each question links to a detailed breakdown of the question, with suggestions for studying the material for that question. The detailed breakdown of each essay question is your best guide to what you need to learn to do well in this class. There are also various study suggestion pages linked from the Astronomy 1 Information page, and you should refer to all of them, before you start preparing for the first midterm.
     Students who regularly visit this site (to check Recent Announcements, the class Information pages, or the Online Astronomy Text) usually do far better than students who only visit the site when I remind them to do so. You need not visit the site every day, but you should visit it frequently. Not all of the material on the website applies to any given class or exam, but I wouldn't have spent thousands of hours creating the site if I didn't think it useful and important to do so.
     Finally, Learning and Academic Resources and the LBCC Library have tutorials and seminars about good study habits and techniques, and if you find that you need help preparing for the exams, you should also check those sites.

Examinations
     There will be two midterms, a Required Final, and a Makeup Final which serves as a makeup for one midterm. (Usually, students take the Required and Makeup Finals on different dates. This is not possible during the Summer, so taking a Makeup Final is next to impossible, and Summer students must take both Midterms as scheduled, or risk failing the class.) See the appropriate (regular or telecourse) class calendar for the dates of the various examinations, and the Astronomy 1 Information page for links to detailed notes for each of the exams, and guides to studying for the course as a whole.
     Each examination consists of one or more essay questions taken, word for word, from the list of essay questions that is posted on this site. The first midterm has one question, the second midterm and Makeup Final have two questions, and the required Final has three questions. Each exam covers only a portion of the course. You should refer to the relevant midterm and Final exam notes or Class Calendar to see which essay questions might be on each exam.
     Each test is a closed-note, closed-book exam. You do not need to bring paper, as I will provide paper for writing your answers. The test paper costs me about a nickel per student per exam, and I expect to be reimbursed for its cost when you pick up your test. If you don't have the five cents you may still take the exam, but I would expect payment at the next exam. (You can also pay for paper for all three exams at the first exam, and not bother to pay at subsequent exams.)
     Be sure to write your answer in a large enough size, and dark enough (you should use a pen or dark pencil), so that it is easy for me to read. If I have difficulty reading your answer you may be penalized, as any part of your answer which I cannot read is assigned zero value.
     If you make a mistake, don't waste time erasing or whiting it out; just cross it out, and I will ignore it. Similarly, if you jot down notes which you don't want me to consider in determining your grade, just cross them out.
     At the start of the exam, you will come to the front desk to get (and pay for) the test and test paper. The test sheet will have a place to indicate your name and class, and the test question(s) and instructions. Be sure to put your name on the test sheet and the first page of your answer sheets before you do anything else. Any test turned in without a name will receive an automatic F-minus grade, so that no one has any reason to claim it. I will try to note whether you signed your test when you turn it in and I staple the sheets together, but it is your responsibility to make sure your name is on the test, not mine.
     Some exams are followed by a lecture, introducing the material for the next exam. Check the class calendar to see whether you need to stay for such a lecture, after a given exam.

Makeup Exams (or lack thereof)
     I do not provide makeup exams as such, for any reason whatsoever. To ensure that you can be present for the exams, I will announce examination dates at least a week or two in advance, and you are expected to attend the exams as scheduled. However, I do try to provide limited opportunities for making up an examination that you absolutely cannot take at the scheduled time.
     (1) You may be able to make up a midterm by taking it with a class which has its midterm at a different date or time. (This option is not available in the Summer session.)
     (2) You may take a Makeup Final, in addition to the Required Final, to replace one of the midterm grades (or a missed midterm). (Summer students must take the Makeup Final at the same test session as the required Final, so this option is not very practical). The Makeup Final covers all the questions you had to study for BOTH midterms. The questions may be different from, or the same as the ones that were on any given midterm, but will be taken from the same list of questions. If your grade on the Makeup Final is better than one or both of your midterm grades, it will replace whichever midterm grade most improves your semester grade, but Only one poor midterm grade can be replaced in this way, so if you miss both midterms, you will be dropped as of the date of the second midterm, regardless of your attendance.
     (3) If you cannot take your Final at the scheduled time, you may take it with one of my other lecture classes. (This option is not available in the Summer session) There is no penalty for taking your Final with another class, but the most common reason people fail my class is that they skip their own Final, then discover that they can't make it to another Final, and receive an F-minus for that portion of their semester grade. So, if you decide to take the Final with another class, make sure that you do so. Makeup Finals may be taken at the same test session as the required Final, or with one of my other lecture class Finals.

Extra Credit
     I do not allow any extra-credit work, save for allowing a Makeup Final to replace a low or missing midterm grade.

Essay Exam Grading
     Each essay question answer, whether on one of the midterms or on the Final, will be given a letter grade which is my best estimate of the grade which that particular answer deserves. This is by nature somewhat subjective, but I do my best to ensure that my grading is fair (meaning that I don't pay any attention to whose test I am grading), and consistent (meaning that if I grade a test several times, the grades are usually very close to each other), and feel that the grades I assign are almost always appropriate. However, you may not properly understand what kind of answer I'm looking for, so your first midterm grade, in particular, may be a bit of a surprise. This is one reason why the first midterm counts so little, as discussed under Semester Grades, below. It is, in some ways, a "practice" exam (although it still counts toward your grade, to ensure that you make your best effort to "practice" properly).
     To help you learn what I am looking for in your answers, and do better on subsequent exams, I write as many notes as I have time for on each midterm; and if you would like an even more detailed discussion, you may ask me to go over your exam with you, and explain exactly why I gave you the grade that I did. (Although I don't have time to do that for everyone's exam, I'm willing to do it for individual students, as time allows.) Please note that my willingness to do what I can to help you do better on subsequent exams does not mean that I am willing to change your grade, just because you are unhappy with it. I am the sole arbiter of what grade an answer deserves, and assigned grades are final unless I decide that I made some error in assigning or recording them.

Withdrawals
     I don't want to encourage students to withdraw from my course, but if you are not doing well, you may need to consider that possibility as the drop deadline approaches (see your class calendar for the deadline date). You should assess how you have been doing in the class, and if your personal circumstances have made it difficult for you to do well, whether you can expect a change in those circumstances which will allow you to successfully complete the course. I believe that any student who has the time and interest to properly study the material can pass this class; but if you feel it would be best to withdraw from the course and retake it when you have more time to devote to it, I will neither criticize your decision, nor think any the less of you.
     Strictly speaking, if you decide to drop the course, you are responsible for taking care of the requisite paperwork. However, if you wish to save yourself the effort required to drop the class yourself, you may ask me to drop you. Also, as already noted, if you miss both midterms I will drop you as of the date of the second midterm, whether you want me to, or not.

Incompletes
     I will not assign Incomplete grades, for any reason whatsoever. If you do not attend class after the drop deadline, you will be dropped, whether you want to be, or not. If you attend class after the drop deadline, you will receive a grade, whether you want one, or not.

Semester Grades
     If you drop the class or are dropped by me, your grade will be a W. For most purposes, this is the same as if you never took the class.
     If you complete the class, your semester grade will be the average of your exam grades, counting the first midterm as one-fifth of your semester grade, the second midterm as two-fifths of your semester grade, and the Final as two-fifths of your semester grade. If you take a Makeup Final, and your grade on that exam is better than one or both midterm grades, it will replace whichever midterm most improves your semester grade, and count the same as that midterm would have counted.
     Since assigning grades is somewhat subjective, if you end up almost exactly halfway between two letter grades, I automatically assign the higher of the two grades as your semester grade. If you are only a little below the borderline between two grades, I will regrade your Final(s) to see whether I can justify giving you the higher grade. Once I have done that, the resulting grade will be final, and will not be changed unless it turns out that I made an error in calculating or recording your grade.

"Posting" Grades
     I do not "post" grades. Instead, I use the school's online grading system to record semester grades, as soon after my last final as possible. Under normal circumstances, you should be able to access your grade within a week after the end of Finals. If you cannot access your online grade, you may request your grade via email. If you need written proof of your grade, you may give me a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope at any time during Finals week, and I will mail your results as soon as they are available. (Giving me such a card or postcard constitutes legal agreement by you that it is all right for me to mail your grade.)
     Whether asking for your grade with a grade card or by email, you must indicate the section that you are in (e.g., MW 9:30), as I occasionally have students with the same name in different classes.

Returning Examinations
     I return midterms at the earliest opportunity, but have little if any opportunity to return Final examinations. I discard unclaimed mindterms after the next examination, and Finals after I have submitted semester grades, unless specifically asked for their return, beforehand. If you want me to return your Final, you must provide me with a stamped, self-addressed envelope at or before the time of the examination, or contact me via email prior to my discarding it.