AST 322 in Spring 2026 will be held
in-person, but we have a back-up option for Zoom only in case people get sick
and need to Zoom in (ask your TA to active Zoom just before class starts).
We will make sure that you will all learn the required class materials, and
get your deserved grades as long as you work on it consistently. You will enjoy
the AST 322 homework sets and Term Project topics. Special attraction in Spring
2026: since three Nobel prizes in Physics were given out (in 2017, 2019 and
2020) for the topic of Black Holes and Cosmology, respectively, there will be
three possible papers for Term Project topics on Black Holes. (Two other term
paper topics have yet to earn the Nobel prize, so do your very best on that
Term Project if you chose that topic!). Two other possible Term Project topics
have also earned Nobel prizes in the past, so you will work with
state-of-the-art materials whichever Term Project topic you chose. But before
you can do so, you will have to do the 7 H/W sets on the book's chapter 1--6,
which will involve some 200 level math. Our purpose of the math is not to annoy
you, but to make the physics that rules the universe understandable. So bear
with us, we will try to it make all as digestible and interesting as possible.
Class Location and Time: PSF-123; TuTh 3:00-4:15 pm. Backup Zoom link:
https://asu.zoom.us/j/7191824655
Instructor: Regents' and Foundation Professor Rogier A. Windhorst, ASU
School of Earth & Space Exploration.
Contact Info: Contact information for the class Instructor, TAs, and
possible Tutor (if you need one) can be found on the Contacts page.
Syllabus: The AST 322 class rules are summarized under the Syllabus
button.
Schedule: An outline for AST 322 is given under the Schedule button. We
will follow this schedule in principle, but some changes may be announced
later. I strongly urge you to read the chapter of the book (on the day)
before the corresponding lecture will be given.
Class Materials: These are given under the Scripts button, and will
include details on the textbook that we will use, PDF or PPT slides of all
figures in the text book, and detailed notes on all chapters in the textbook.
Web Links: Some URL's relevant to AST 322 are given under the Links
button, and include some of the best Hubble Space Telescope images that we will
use this semester.
MAIN CLASS URL:
http://windhorst322.asu.edu/