Astronomy 121 (O'Connell)
Study Guides
Spring 2009
Lectures in this course will not always closely follow the
textbook, and some will be entirely independent of it.
The study guides contain reading assignments for each lecture and
notes on the main points which will be covered in the lecture together with
pertinent illustrations and web links. Each guide will be posted
to the web site before the relevant lecture.
It will be to your advantage to have done the assigned reading
before coming to class, but you are not required to
have done so.
Most guides are in HTML format for easiest retrieval by browser over
the Web. For PDF material you will need an Adobe reader.
To take full advantage of the guides, you should print out a hardcopy
of each guide before the lecture and bring it to class with you. You
should plan to annotate the guides with your own notes during class.
Making hardcopies:
Browsers are notoriously variable in the protocols
used to convert web pages to hardcopies. Most guides have dark text
on a light background for best results as hardcopies, but colored text
may not be satisfactorily printed from your browser. If you have
trouble making hardcopies, try using the "Print Preview" feature of
your browser to see what your print will look like. You can usually
adjust printing parameters if it's not right.
Web links:
Links to other useful information or pertinent illustrations are
included on the guides and also on the
ASTR 121 Web
Links page.
You are encouraged to use these to make the subject matter more
interesting or clear...but you are not expected to know any of
this additional material unless it is discussed in class or listed
as an assignment on a study guide.
Back to the ASTR 121 Home Page
Last modified
April 2009 by rwo
Text copyright © 1998-2009 Robert W. O'Connell.
All rights reserved. These materials are intended for the private,
noncommercial use of students enrolled in Astronomy 121 at the
University of Virginia.