Program Overview

Program Overview

The University of Iowa offers a course titled ASTR:1080 - Exploration of the Solar System. This course is a survey of the solar system, covering physical properties of the planets, comets, and asteroids, as well as the origin of the solar system and the search for extrasolar planetary systems and life in the universe.

Course Description

The course includes discussions on current results of recent planetary space missions and night sky observation.

Teaching Assistants

• Gavin Frueh
• Philip Griffin

Lab Schedule - Fall 2025

The lab schedule for the course is as follows:

• Week of 25-Aug: No Lab – First Week
• Week of 1-Sep: No Lab – Labor Day Week
• Week of 8-Sep: Active Learning
• Week of 15-Sep: Measuring & Exploring the Sky
• Week of 22-Sep: No Lab – Exam Week
• Week of 29-Sep: Angular Size
• Week of 6-Oct: Lunar Observations
• Week of 13-Oct: Spectroscopy
• Week of 20-Oct: No Lab – Exam Week
• Week of 27-Oct: Earth’s Changing Climate
• Week of 3-Nov: Image Analysis
• Week of 10-Nov: Observing with the VAO
• Week of 17-Nov: No Lab – Exam Week
• Week of 24-Nov: No Lab – Fall Break
• Week of 1-Dec: Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram and Star Clusters
• Week of 8-Dec: Mass of Jupiter
• Week of 15-Dec: No Lab – Final Exam Week

Department Information

The course is offered by the Physics and Astronomy department at the University of Iowa, located at 203 Van Allen Hall, Iowa City, Iowa.