Scientific Background

These pages are concise, visual references for the scientific ideas that recur across lectures, labs, and projects. They are not a second required reading sequence. A lecture introduces the minimum needed for that day; these cards give you one stable place to return when you need the vocabulary, model, or assumption again.

Astronomy & observables¶

• Exoplanets: worlds beyond the Solar System

• What is a transit?

• Light curves and normalized flux

Models & approximations¶

• The uniform-source transit model

How to use a concept card¶

1. Start with the page your lecture or project links.

2. Identify the observable: what is actually measured or computed?

3. Identify the model: what simplified relationship connects inputs to an output?

4. Read the limits before treating the result as a statement about nature.