Astro 293     Observational Astronomy Laboratory

Spring 2004 Syllabus

 

Instructor:
Prof. Jian Ge, 514 Davey Laboratory, 863-9553, jian@astro.psu.edu.

Class meetings:
Tuesdays, 7:35pm-9:30pm, 216 Osmond Building

Office Hours:
Jian, Fridays, 2:00-4:00, or by appointment

Text (Optional):
Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences by Philip Bevington & Keith Robinson, McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Web site:    www.astro.psu.edu/users/jian/ast293.html
Course information is available at the above site. Lab notes will be available on-line at a secure course web site AST293_note.htm (Contact Prof. Jian Ge for password)

Course description:

The purpose of this class is to introduce you to the methods of practical observational astronomy. This class will require you to use the observing facilities on the roof of Davey Laboratory and lab instruments and to analyze astronomical data with the UNIX workstations in 216 Osmond. The Tuesday evening meetings will be used to introduce the background material necessary to complete the labs, to discuss the lab procedures, and in many cases time will be provided to work on the labs themselves. In order to complete the labs you will need to spend time outside of the scheduled class period.

 

This is a laboratory class, grades will be determined based on lab reports. You will be required to hand in a neat, typed lab report at the beginning of class on the day the lab is due. No late lab reports will be accepted. Your lowest grade among all of your lab reports will be dropped, and will not be counted towards your final grade.

 

I expect that you will discuss the labs with each other and with me, and you are also allowed to work together to complete any observing and computer exercises. However, I require that each of you turn in an individual lab report that contains entirely your own work. Please do not collaborate on the writing of the reports. Note that all of the University and Astronomy Department policies on academic integrity apply to this class. Please see the Department’s website on academic integrity (http://www.astro.psu.edu/deptinfo/integrity.html) if you are unfamiliar with these policies.

Student responsibilities and grading:

Current List of Labs

• Lab 1 : Introduction to Positional Astronomy

• Lab 2 : The Nature of Light

• Lab 3 : Stellar Spectra

• Lab 4 : Binary Stars & Stellar Masses

• Lab 5 : Parallax & The Color-Magnitude Diagram

• Lab 6 : The Distance to a Star Cluster

• Lab 7 : The Age of a Star Cluster

There will be a “final lab” in lieu of a final exam. It will require more work than the others, and will count for twice as much as a

 

 

Tentative lab schedule

Jan. 13

 Organization/Lab 1, positional astronomy

Jan. 20

Lab 1, positional astronomy

Jan. 27

Lab 2, The nature of light, Lab 1 report due

Feb. 3

Lab 2, The nature of light

Feb. 10

Lab 3, Stellar Spectra, Lab 2 report due

Feb. 17

Lab 3, Stellar Spectra

Feb. 24

Lab 4, Binary Stars & Stellar Masses, Lab 3 report due

March 2

Lab 4, Binary Stars & Stellar Masses

Mar. 9

Spring Break

Mar. 16

Lab 5, Parallax & the Color-Magnitude Diagram, Lab 4 report due

Mar. 23

Lab 5, Parallax & the Color-Magnitude Diagram

Mar. 30

Lab 6, The Distance to a Star Cluster, Lab 5 report due

Apr. 6

Lab 6, The Distance to a Star Cluster

Apr. 13

Lab 7, The Age of a Star Cluster, Lab 6 report due

Apr. 20

Final Lab, Lab 7 report due

Apr. 27

Final Lab

May. 4

Final lab report due

 

Note 1: There will be no final exam.
Note 2: No make-up opportunities will be available except for University approved absences.
Note 3: Any cheating or plagiarism will be severely punished.   Detailed information on the Department's student integrity policy can be found here.

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Potentially Useful Links:

 

Jian Ge


2004-1-8, modified 2004-1-16