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.