Pictures from class trip to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia (April 22-24, 2011):
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Professor Andrew Baker Serin W309 Phone: 732-445-5500 x2544 Email: ajbaker[at]physics.rutgers.edu
Instructor |
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Course meetings
Lectures: Serin 401, Monday 10:20-11:40am
Labs: Serin 403b, according to your assigned weekly time slots:
| SECTION | TIME | STUDENTS |
| A | Monday 1:40-3:00pm | Krzysztof Czelen, Ben Forrest, Graham Vail |
| B | Monday 3:20-4:40pm | Ashley Chan, Gaurav Kumar, Virgil Sciabbarrasi |
| C | Tuesday 10:20-11:40am | Samia Bouzid, Brett Mogilski, Steven Watson |
| D | Tuesday 5:00-6:20pm | Elizabeth Appert, Ian Laflotte, Paul Menell |
| E | Wednesday 10:20-11:40am | Henry Fooshee, Michael Nicotra, Gabe Toth, Chad Weibel |
Office hours
Every week: Monday 5:00-6:20pm (Baker); Thursday
3:20-4:40pm (Lindner); or by appointment
Analysis weeks: One of us will be "on call" during each of the
regular lab section times.
Textbooks
This course does not have an official textbook. However, you may find it
useful (or just interesting!) to dip into Bracewell, The Fourier Transform
and its Applications, Rohlfs & Wilson, Tools of Radio Astronomy,
and Wall & Jenkins, Practical Statistics for Astronomers, all of which
will be on reserve in the physics library. The online Essential
Radio Astronomy course developed by
Jim Condon and
Scott Ransom at
the
National Radio Astronomy
Observatory is also an excellent reference. The operator's manual
for the Small Radio Telescope on the roof can be found
here.
Overview
Here's the official course catalog listing:
"Observational study of the solar system, stars, and galaxies, using the Serin
3 meter radio telescope. Emphasizes computer techniques for data reduction and
analysis. Topics may include calibrating system properties, the variability of
the Sun, Jupiter, or quasars, and mapping the distribution of hydrogen in our
Milky Way galaxy and measuring its rotation."
I plan to teach this course so that by the end of it you will not only have experience acquiring and analyzing data from the (ahem) 2.3 meter telescope on the roof, but also an understanding of how astronomers use much larger (e.g., 100 meter) radio telescopes in their research, and what kinds of astronomical targets they observe.
Schedule
Lectures: The sequence of lecture topics may be updated during the
course of the semester. The last lecture is tentatively reserved for a topic
related to radio astronomy to be chosen shortly after spring break by the
students enrolled in the course. This will give you an opportunity to
make me sweat, thus exacting revenge for a semester's worth of quizzes and lab
reports.
Labs: There will be a total of six labs in this course. Each of the
first four labs will involve one week of observations and one week of analysis,
with lab reports due the following Monday in lecture. The fifth lab will
involve analysis of an existing dataset taken with an array of radiotelescopes.
The sixth lab will involve either a final set of observations with the 2.3
meter telescope on the roof, or an observing trip to West Virginia.
NRAO trip: A class trip to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's
site in Green Bank, West
Virginia will be arranged for the weekend of April 22-24.
This will be a time-consuming trip (the drive alone takes 7-8 hours each
way); however, it will give you a unique opportunity to see a research-grade
observatory located in the center of the National Radio Quiet
Zone, a variety of radio telescopes, and hands-on observing experience
with a more powerful instrument than what we have available in New Jersey.
Students who participate will be excused from the sixth lab.
| WEEK | LECTURE | LECTURE TOPIC | LAB | DUE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 24 | course organization; introduction to radio astronomy | ||
| 2 | Jan 31 | lab # 1; radiative processes; South African trip report | Observation week # 1 | |
| 3 | Feb 7 | data analysis; statistics | Analysis week # 1 | |
| 4 | Feb 14 | lab # 2; temperature scales | Observation week # 2 | Report # 1 |
| 5 | Feb 21 | Sun, stars, and planets; Fourier transforms | Analysis week # 2 | |
| 6 | Feb 28 | lab # 3; guest lecture (Pryor): the interstellar medium | Observation week # 3 | Report # 2 (due 3/2) |
| 7 | Mar 7 | Chile trip report; radio antennas | Analysis week # 3 | |
| 8 | Mar 21 | Green Bank trip; gas dynamics | Observation week # 4 | Report # 3 |
| 9 | Mar 28 | radio telescopes; interferometry | Analysis week # 4 | |
| 10 | Apr 4 | lab # 5; deconvolution | Observation week # 5 | Report # 4 |
| 11 | Apr 11 | active galactic nuclei etc. | Analysis week # 5 | |
| 12 | Apr 18 | guest lecture (Lindner/Sharon): dusty galaxies | Observation week # 6 (for students not visiting NRAO) |
Report # 5 |
| Apr 22-24 | visit to Green Bank, West Virginia | |||
| 13 | Apr 25 | cosmic microwave background and reionization | Analysis week # 6 (for students not visiting NRAO) |
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| 14 | May 2 | student choice | Report # 6 (for students not visiting NRAO) |
Grading Your course grade will be based on a combination of four elements:
Other items