Katie Lester

Mount Holyoke College

ASTR 100 - Stars & Galaxies

Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 - Syllabus

Discover how the forces of nature shape our understanding of the cosmos. Explore the origin, structure, and evolution of the earth, moons and planets, comets and asteroids, the sun and other stars, star clusters, the Milky Way and other galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and the universe as a whole.

ASTR 226 - Cosmology

Fall 2024 - Syllabus

Cosmological models and the relationship between models and observable parameters. Topics in current astronomy that bear upon cosmological problems, including background electromagnetic radiation, nucleosynthesis, distance measurement techniques, determinations of the mean density of the universe and the Hubble constant, and tests of gravitational theories. Discussion of questions concerning the foundations of cosmology and its future as a science.

ASTR 335 - Astrophysics II

Fall 2023 - Syllabus, python activities

This is a course in applied physics with the ultimate goal of describing how stars work. Topics include gravitation, stellar mass determination, stellar structure, stellar atmospheres, stellar evolution, and the physics of pulsating stars. We will approach each of these topics from fundamental concepts and we will work our way to a detailed understanding. On the way we will review the structure of the atom, radiative processes, and some basic principles of thermodynamics.

ASTR 352 - Astrophysics III

Spring 2024 - Syllabus, python activities

Advanced course covering physical processes in the gaseous interstellar medium, including photoionization in HII regions and planetary nebulae, shocks in supernova remnants and stellar jets, and energy balance in molecular clouds. Dynamics of stellar systems, star clusters, and the viral theorem will also be discussed, along with galaxy rotation and the presence of dark matter in the universe, as well as spiral density waves. The course concludes with quasars and active galactic nuclei, synchrotron radiation, accretion disks, and supermassive black holes.

Georgia State University

Astronomy Lab Info

I taught weekly ASTR 1010 and 1020 lab sections at GSU, including setting up the lab, presenting a brief introduction, helping students during the lab, and grading lab worksheets.

Main Lab webpage