Jan 26th - Introduction
This lab serves as an introduction to the science of astronomy, specifically the methods, notation, and math you will be using over the course of the semester.
Useful linksfeb 2nd - origin of the seasons
What causes the seasons on Earth? The experiments and calculations of this lab are designed to give you a thorough understanding of how the axial tilt of the Earth causes the seasons.
Useful links- Analemma: Earth (video showing seasons and analemma), Mars
- Seasons simulator: showing how sunlight falls on the Earth , click on 'Show Earth Profile'
- Elevation versus spreading of sunlight
- Visualizing Sun position, Earth tilt, and zodiac constellations
feb 9th - Parallax (week 1)
How do we know distances to stars if we can't visit them? This two week lab takes you through the most powerful distance measuring method in astronomy, the concept of parallax.
Lab PDF
Lab webpage: video tutorial
- Parallax applet demonstrating parallax of a star as seen from Earth, with variable star distance
- Parallax: Solar System Modeler as above but also includes variable size of planetary orbit and ability to change viewing angle
- Hipparcos Space Astrometry Mission our most accurate parallax measuring catalog to date, measuring parallaxes to an accuracy of 2 ~ 4 milliarcseconds, distances to 1% error for ~400 stars out to 500 ly
- Astronomy Nexus: parallax info a quick background tour
- Hubble determines mass of a single star that sounds stupid, but it's really quite a feat!
feb 13th
Last night to get 10pts extra credit by going to the Campus Observatory. Don't forget to bring 4 observatory sheets with you.
feb 16th - parallax (week 2)
This is the second half of the two week parallax lab. No summary or group lab is due this week, since you'll still be working on the same lab as last week.
feb 23rd - Kepler's laws
How do planets orbit the Sun? Three simple laws describing planetary orbits were developed during the Renaissance, and this lab takes you through each of them.
Useful linksmar 1st - optics
Astronimical telescopes can peer across the universe, but what are the fundamentals of how they work? In this lab you explore the fundamentals of optics by experimenting with lenses, mirrors, and lasers.
Useful links
mar 8th - spectroscopy
If astronomers cannot visit stars and nebulae, how do they know their compositions? In this lab you will learn how to identify different elements and even determine an object's temperature.
Useful links- Physics of Light and Color applet lets you vary wavelength and power and shows the light wave moving at a constant speed
- Spectral lines of neutral atoms simple periodic table with absorption spectra for each element
- David's Whizzy Periodic Table shows spectral lines, atomic model, electron/shell filling diagram, and gives some information for each element
- A35 Intro Astro website: spectra nice diagram of Kirchoff's laws
- Blackbody applet Java applet demonstrating the wavelength-intensity curve and also showing what color the object would appear
- Blackbody curves intensity vs. wavelength
- Blackbody curves intensity vs. frequency
- Sun's spectrum in visible light
mar 15th - sun
Our planet orbits a powerful fusion reactor more massive than the rest of the solar system combined, but how does our Sun work? This lab helps you learn about features and behaviors of our Sun.
Useful links- Solar Monitor live views of the Sun
- SpaceWeather.com news and information about the Sun, comets, and spaceweather
- Structure of the Sun: fusion in the core, radiative zone, convective zone, photosphere, corona (not active, very active)
- Observables:
- Rotation
- Convection
- Sunspots: Simulation of formation, Sun spots over 1 month, Magnetogram of the sun spots movie, butterfly diagram, Maunder Minimum and Little Ice Age
- Full solar cycle image
- Filaments and prominences, Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) and a longer-term movie of CMEs
- Solar tsunami
- Northern lights
- SOHO satellite
- SDO satellite
- Solar Spectra in black and white and in color
mar 29th - stellar evolution (week 1)
How do other stars compare to our Sun? In this two week lab you will learn about different kinds of stars and how they change over their lifetimes.
Lab PDF
Lab webpage
Interacting HR Diagram
- HR diagram with size of stars thrown in for fun
- HR diagram tracing the life of a Sun-like star, and another one
- HR diagram showing the paths of evolution for stars of different masses, Java applet where you can evolve a star of any mass
- HR diagram breakdown including a fantastic example using a globular cluster and a huge list of links
- HR diagram of Hipparcos satellite study of nearby stars
- Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): M45, the Pleiades cluster and also an image with the stars labeled
- HubbleSite Comparison of Stellar Sizes
- Life of the Sun Java applet which goes through what happens at various stages in the Sun's life
- Hubble Space Telescope Captures First Direct Image of a Star
- Hubble Snapshot Captures Life Cycle of Stars
- Hubble Sees Bright Knots Ejected From Brilliant Star rare super-hot short-lived star kicking off some of its atmosphere
- Hubble view of Eta Carinae 100 times the mass of the Sun!
- Hubble imaging of white dwarfs in globular cluster M4 plus older image of M4 and a new image of white dwarfs in globular cluster NGC 6397
- Hubble image of Sirius and white dwarf companion the old (white dwarf companion) with the new (Sirius, a B star)
apr 5th - stellar evolution (week 2)
This is the second week of the two week lab on stars. No summary or group lab is due this week, since you'll still be working on the same lab as last week.
apr 11th - Observatory extra credit
This is the last night for you to get 15 pionts extra credit by going to the Campus Observatory!
apr 12th - galaxy morphology
Are all galaxies like our Milky Way? This lab familiarizes you with different kinds of galaxies and how to classify them.
Useful links- Hubble Space Telescope Gallery: Galaxies
-
Spirals: M74, NGC 1300, NGC 5866
Ellipticals: NGC 4881, ESO 325-G004
Irregulars (interacting): the Antennae (NGC 4038-4039), the Mice (NGC 4676), UGC 06471 and UGC 06472, NGC 7252
Irregulars (dwarf galaxies): Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, I Zwicky 18, NGC 1705, NGC 1427A
- Hubble tuning fork diagram
- Multiwavelength:
-
Triangulum (M33) visible/UV
NGC 1097 visible/UV
Andromeda (M31) visible/UV - H II regions: Orion constellation, Orion nebula
- Milky way pictures: COBE near IR, Spitzer near IR, AKARI far IR (more)
- Milky Way diagrams: top down, cross-section and angled view of the spiral arms and locations of some satellites
- Galaxy Zoo
apr 19th - hubble's law
What does it mean when astronomers say the universe is expanding and how can they tell? Learn about the behavior of galaxies surrounding us and how that tells us about the age of our universe.
Useful links- Doppler Effect
- Hubble's Law
- Galaxy spectra image from lab ... versus the old image
- Hubble's Law in brief
- Expanding Universe more in depth
- HubbleSite: Hubble Deep Field Press Release, Hubble Deep Field movie
apr 26th - how many galaxies
There are many, many galaxies in the universe but our universe is very large, so does that mean the universe is packed with matter or relatively empty? Use the Hubble Deep Field to determine the average density of the universe.
Useful linksmay 3rd - review (optional)
Want some help reviewing for the final? Give me specific topics you would like reviewed or questions you still have, either by email or by hand. I've heard from two students, so I will hold the review; however, it will be a short one unless more of you contact me.
may 11the - deadline for make-up lab
There is an optical make-up lab in the form of a web survey that you can use to replace one of your lab grades (like one you did poorly on or missed entirely). Each lab is 100 points in total (~65 for the group part and ~35 for the summary), so this make-up lab counts as 100 points. Given that, you should spend 30 to 45 minutes doing this lab. Click 'submit' when you're done and your responses will be emailed to me.