This course provides an introduction to the tools and techniques of modern observational astronomy at visible wavelengths. We will use the 20-inch optical telescope of the Schommer Observatory to carry out astronomical imaging and spectroscopic observations, and analyze these observations using professional image-processing software.
Instructors:
Professor Tad Pryor, 302W Physics & Astronomy Bldg, 848-445-8873,
pryor@physics.rutgers.edu
Office Hour: Wednesday 3:00 - 4:30 PM. Alternatively, call or
email for an appointment.
Mr. Jack Hay, 331W Physics & Astronomy Bldg,
jhay@physics.rutgers.edu
Office Hour: Monday 3:00 - 5:00 PM
Students in this course can access the Physics Department LAWN with their laptop. Your web browser will be directed to a login screen. Select the "Authorized Rutgers NetID" option from the "Status:" line and then enter your NetID and password.
Your RU ID card should now give you access to the Physics & Astronomy building door facing Allison Road, room 401 (the door at the top of the stairs on the left-hand side of the lobby), and the observatory. If your keycard does not work, see Ms. Cascio in room 326 of the Physics & Astronomy Building during regular working hours.
Note that a class meets in room 401 from 1:40 to 3:00 PM on Wednesdays and that various meetings and seminars are held there 9:00 - 10:00 AM, 1:30 - 2:30 PM, and 3:00 - 5:00 PM on Thursdays.I have emailed VNC account names and session numbers to everyone in the class. If you did not receive yours, please email me.
Sep 11, 9:45 PM: For Mac users, I have updated the "Using VNC..." document to give new instructions for how to install the Fugu file transfer program. Also, there now seems to be what I think is a permissions problem with using the built-in VNC viewer to connect to your VNC desktop on astrolab. Until I find the right black magic to make the built-in viewer work, you will need to use the "Chicken of the VNC" viewer.
Assignments to the observing sessions are below. Let me know if you have a problem with your day/time and I will see what I can do. The constraints are pretty tight, however.
We have reverted to the 7:00 - 9:0 PM and 9:00 - 11:00 PM lab periods.
| Day | Time | Student 1 | Student 2 | Student 3 |
| Sunday | 7:00 - 9:00 | S. Nitting | E. Rao | |
| 9:00 - 11:00 | S. Cutler | J. Guttenberg | J. Vigoureaux | |
| Monday | 7:00 - 9:00 | H. Fan | M. Paul | P. Staudt |
| 9:00 - 11:00 | V. Desai | A. Linares Bazan | T. Marshyti | |
| Tuesday | 7:00 - 9:00 | A. Abdool | A. Fraticelli | C. Monteith |
| 9:00 - 11:00 | I. Abdul Halim | M. Gorton | H. Patel | |
| Wednesday | 7:00 - 9:00 | D. Adams | A. Fletcher | C. Yanoso |
| 9:00 - 11:00 | J. Mead | J. Mellen | J. Stab | |
| Friday | 7:00 - 9:00 | H. Dormer | Y. Eweis | R. Kowalski |
| 9:00 - 11:00 | J. Chi | X. Liang |
Observing predictions for the Schommer Observatory. In the "cloud cover" line, dark blue is good and white is bad.
Revised August 13, 2018
