THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE FACULTY SENATE Senate Document Number 1491S Date of Senate Approval 1/17/91 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Statement of Faculty Senate Action: APC DOCUMENT #10: Proposal for Astronomy 105 Proposal: Delete PHYS 103 Astronomy (3) Add ASTR 105 Astronomy (5) A course for the general student with laboratory covering the solar system, constellations, the evolution of stars, cosmology, and contemporary topics in Astronomy. Rationale: This is a proposal to include Astronomy as one of the five-hour science courses with lab that will satisfy the laboratory part of the general-education science requirement. The prefix ASTR is requested so that advisors and students may easily identify the course. There is precedent for prefixes reflecting subjects in which UNCA does not offer a baccalaureate degree, e.g., ENGR (engineering) and HUM (humanities). A resource statement follows below and more detailed course information is attached. Resource Statement The Department has all the resources in order to launch this course: a Celestron 8" telescope, a collection of naked-eye experiments in laboratory texts, spreadsheet software for simple numerical laboratory work, a colorful computer-simulated planetarium (VGA), ample computers, an extensive collection of over 1,500 astronomy slides, films taken by NASA spacecraft, and the latest excellent video-footage taken aboard the Space Shuttle. The course will be phased in by alternating it with PHYS 105 so that it will fit easily into the schedule. One of our current faculty members has taught astronomy and another's research overlaps with astronomy. One of our laboratories in Rhoades Tower has been earmarked for Astronomy (to be shared with the general-education laboratory that Atmospheric Sciences is proposing) with adequate storage in the adjoining cage area for both laboratory courses. Elaboration on the 5-hour General Education Astronomy Satisfying the Senate General Education Guidelines. 1) Laboratory - ASTR 105 includes a laboratory. 2) Historical Development of the Science - This course discusses the overall historical development of astronomy, including: a) Ancient Astronomy (Babylonians) b) Greek Astronomy c) The Scientific Revolution d) Einstein and Modern Cosmology 3) Explicitly Employ and Discuss the Scientific Method - The development of Astronomy presents an excellent example of the formulation of hypotheses, models, predictions, and testing these with experimental verification. The fall of the Ptolemaic system to the Copernican is a class example. This one has been written about extensively by writers such as Thomas S. Kuhn. A second major paradigm shift occurs with the modification of Newton's Law of Gravity with Einstein's modern Theory of Gravitation, the Theory of General Relativity. Students will acquire firsthand experience of the scientific method in the laboratory. Here they will make observations and analyze data within the context of a scientific paradigm. 4) Must be interdisciplinary where feasible - Some interdisciplinary topics are listed below. Chemistry - Chemical composition of celestial bodies and interstellar matter. Atmospheric Sciences- Comparative study of planetary atmospheres. Biology - search for life on Mars (Viking) and in the universe. Environmental Science - the "Greenhouse Effect" on Venus and global warming on Earth. History - Scientific Revolution. Philosophy - underlying assumptions of Astrology, the Greek picture, Copernican worldview, and the modern view. 5) May not be Designed as the First Course in a Sequence Taken by Majors- ASTR 105 is not designed for a major. There is no astronomy major at UNCA.