• Optical and Infrared Astronomy Laboratory

    Astro 120

    CCN: 06017

    Instructor: James Graham

    Time & Location:

    W 1-2P, 121 CAMPBELL

    Units:

    4 (NOTE: Students will receive no credit for 120 after taking 120A or 122).

    This course requires four to six experiments such as the following: accurate position and brightness measurements of stars; laboratory exploration of the characteristics of two-dimensional charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and infrared detectors; measurement of the distance, reddening, and age of a star cluster; measurement of the Stokes parameters and linear polarization of diffuse synchrotron and reflection nebulae; measurement of the period and pulse shape of the Crab pulsar using Fourier techniques. Professional telescopes will be used such as those at Leuschner Observatory and Lick Observatory. There is a emphasis on error analysis, software development in the IDL language, and high-quality written reports.