Astronomical Laboratory
ASTR:4850 - Fall 2015
Syllabus
Instructor: Prof.
Philip Kaaret
Office: 702 Van Allen Hall
Phone: 335-1985
E-mail:
philip-kaaret@uiowa.edu
Web: http://astro.physics.uiowa.edu/~kaaret
Office hours:
Tuesday and Wednesday 1:30-3:00 pm or by appointment
Course website: http://astro.physics.uiowa.edu/~kaaret/2015f_a4850
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of Physics and Astronomy
DEO: Prof. Frederick Skiff
Office: 203 Van Allen Hall
Phone: 335-1686
Description of Course: Astronomical Laboratory is a
course intended to acquaint students with the basic instruments of
optical astronomy. The emphasis is on the devices themselves
(particularly charge-coupled devices or CCDs), computer control of
instruments, and acquisition, reduction, and analysis of data. The
intended outcomes of the course are that each student gain the
skills needed to successfully operate and analyze data from CCDs
detectors mounted on optical telescopes, learn how to pose and
answer questions in astrophysics research, and understand how
astrophysicists expand our knowledge of the universe.
Attendance: The
class will meet from 6:30 to 9:15 pm on Mondays in Room 655 of Van
Allen Hall. In addition, it will occassionally be necessary
for students to perform observations during the night. Times
and locations will arranged. Any student who has previous
committments during the evening should bring those to the
attention of the instructor.
- Students are expected to attend all class sessions and do
an additional 6 hours of work outside class per week for a
total of about 9 hours per week devoted to this class.
Poor attendance or inadequate effort outside class is likely
to affect success in the course.
- Students should feel free to come during office hours to
discuss the homework, laboratories, research projects, or any
other topic related to the course.
Prerequisites: Students are expected to have a basic
understanding of astronomy at the level of General Astronomy I and
II and a basic understanding of mechanics and electricity &
magnetism at the level of Physics I and II. Students should
have taken or currently be taking a course that covers
electromagnetic waves at the level of Physics III.
Required materials: Students are expected to buy or have
access to the textbook for the course, which is
Handbook
of CCD Astronomy, second edition, by Steve B.
Howell.
Students must purchase a laboratory notebook
and bring it to each class for use through out the semester.
Course work: Students will be required to complete reading,
homework, laboratory assignments, and reports and presentations
based on research projects.
- Reading is listed on the lecture/laboratory schedule.
Reading should be completed by the start of the first class on
the week that the reading is assigned (except for the first
week). Note that students are expected to come to class
having already read the sections in the textbook relevant for
that class.
- Homework consists of assigned problems on the
lecture/laboratory schedule. Each homework assignment
must be handed in at the start of class on the assigned
date. Note that students are expected to come to class
having already done the problems assigned for that week
(except for the first week). Each student's homework
must be written up individually.
- Students are allowed to work with their assigned lab
partners on laboratory assignments. Each lab team will
keep one lab notebook. At the beginning of each lab, one
student will be assigned to do the write up for that
lab. The writing assignments will rotate sequentially
through all of the students on the team. Each student
should be sure that they fully understand all of the
material. Student performance on the research project
will be evaluated on the team's overall performance and on the
individual contributions of the student.
- Students will work in assigned teams on the research
projects. Each student on a research team is expected to
complete a similar amount of work and to contribute equally to
the final project. Student performance on the research
project will be evaluated on the team's overall performance
and on the individual contributions of the student.
- There will be no final exam.
- The detailed class schedule is posted on the class web site.
Grading: The grade in the course will be based on the
homework (20%), laboratory assignments (30%), and reports and
presentations based on research projects (50%). Plus and
minus grades will be awarded.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: Important Policies
and Procedures
See the required
CLAS syllabus insert.