Instructor: Patrick Cote

Syllabus (pdf):

Course Description:

• Introduction to tools and techniques of modern observational astronomy. Survey of instruments and capabilities at current telescope sites around the world and in space. Data reduction methods. Practical experience with Serin Observatory.
• Prerequisite: PHYSICS 541: Introductory Astrophysics or equivalent.

Scheduling:

• Time: Tuedays and Thursdays, 4th Period (1:10-2:30).
• Location: Arc 107

Office Information:

• 309W Serin Laboratory
• Phone: (732)445-2544
• Email: pcote@physics.rutgers.edu
• Office Hours: Call, email , or stop by.

Textbook:

• Astrophysical Techniques (3rd Edition): C.R. Kitchin, 1998, Institute of Physics Publishing.

Useful Reference Books:

• Optical Astronomical Spectroscopy: C.R. Kitchin, 1995, Institute of Physics Publishing.
• Observational Astrophysics (2nd Edition): P. Lena, F. Lebrun and F. Mignard, 1998, Springer-Verlag.
• Detection of Light: G.H. Rieke, 1994, Cambridge University Press
• Handbook of CCD Astronomy: Steve B. Howell, 2000, Cambridge University Press.
• Exploring the X-Ray Universe: Philip A. Charles and Frederick D. Seward, 1995, Cambridge University Press.
• Astronomical Observations: An Optical Perspective: Gordon Walker, 1987, Cambridge University Press.

Lecture Schedule:

Week 1: Tue. Jan. 22:

• Course plan and objectives
• Coordinate systems. Reference frames
• Assignment 1: The Sky

Week 1: Thr. Jan. 24:

• Observational properties and terminology
• Assignment 2: IRAF
• Download the Beginner's Guide to IRAF.
• Download the IRAF tutorials: exer211.readme and exer211.tar.gz

 

Week 2: Tue. Jan. 29:

• Serin Observatory Tour
  • Instructions for operating the 0.5 telescope.
  • Instructions for operating the Serin Observatory direct CCD system.

Week 2: Thr. Jan. 31:

• EM Radiation and detectors. The eye. Photography.

 

Week 3: Tue. Feb. 5:

• CCDs.
  • Lab 1 assigned.

Week 3: Thr. Feb. 7:

• CCDs cont'd. Basics reductions and preprocessing.

 

Week 4: Tue. Feb. 12:

• No lecture.

Week 4: Thr. Feb. 14:

• Detectors cont'd (NIR, MID, FIR, sub-mm, cosmic-ray).
• Signal. Types of noise. S/N domains.

 

Week 5: Tue. Feb. 19:

• S/N cont'd.
• Surface photometry.
  • Lab 2 assigned. Observing sign-up list.

Week 5: Thr. Feb. 21:

• No lecture.

 

Week 6: Tue. Feb. 26:

• Surface photometry cont'd.

Week 6: Thr. Feb. 28:

• No lecture.

 

Week 7: Tue. Mar. 5:

• Telescopes cont'd.

Week 7: Thr. Mar. 7:

• Fermat's principal.
• Aberrations.

 

Week 8: Tue. Mar. 12:

• Stellar photometry.
  • Lab 3 assigned. Observing sign-up list.
• Observing Proposal Assigned.

Week 8: Thr. Mar. 14:

• No Lecture.

 

Week 9: Tue. Mar. 26:

• Narrow-band imaging.

Week 9: Thr. Mar. 28:

• Spectroscopy I: Spectrograph designs.
• Spectrophotometry.

 

Week 10: Tue. Apr. 2:

• Spectroscopy II: Spectrophotometry cont'd.
• Reduction techniques.
• Radial velocity measurements.
• Download A User's Guide to Reducing Slit Spectra with IRAF
.
• Download the IRAF tutorials: exer211.readme and exer211.tar.gz
  • Lab 4 assigned. Download the data.

Week 10: Thr. Apr. 4:

• No lecture.

 

Week 11: Tue. Apr. 9:

• Spectroscopy cont'd.

 

Week 11: Thr. Apr. 11:

• Spectroscopy cont'd.

 

Week 12: Tue. Apr. 16:

• Variability and Time Series Analysis (Guest Lecturer: L. Ferrarese).

Week 12: Thr. Apr. 18:

• No lecture.

 

Week 13: Tue. Apr. 23:

• No lecture.

Week 13: Thr. Apr. 25:

• Astrometry.
• Proper motions.

 

Week 14: Tue. Apr. 30:

• High-resolution imaging. Adaptive optics.
• Peer review of observing proposals.

Week 14: Thr. May. 2:

• Peer review of observing proposals (cont'd).