FALL 2006

ASTRONOMY 130

INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION

Course Description:

• Lectures: The lectures will be given Monday nights from 7 to 9 PM in Clark 107 during the first half of the semester. They will cover the observable phenomena in the night sky, principles of telescopes, the nature of electromagnetic radiation and methods of its detection, and the basic observational techniques to be used in the laboratory work. It is important to attend all lectures. Lecture material will be covered on both the midterm exam and the final quiz.

• Laboratory Work: The emphasis in the course is on making your own observations of the sky using your eyes, binoculars, telescopes, and other equipment such as cameras. Most lab work for this course takes place at the Student Observatory, which is in the U-shaped building immediately west of the Astronomy Building on McCormick Road (see the "Astronomy at UVa" map). The Observatory Support Office and equipment storage is in room G25.

Pre/Co-Requisite: ASTR 121 (Solar System Astronomy) or ASTR 124 (Stars & Galaxies). If you have not already taken one of these courses, or are not taking one this semester, you must receive the instructor's permission to enroll in ASTR 130.

http://www.astro.virginia.edu/class/oconnell/astr130 -- ASTR 130 Home Page
http://www.astro.virginia.edu -- Astronomy Department Home Page
The ASTR 130 Home Page contains all announcements and information on all course policies, assignments, deadlines, and grading. If you have questions, this is the first place to look. The page also contains links to supporting web sites on current astronomical phenomena, weather, astronomical observations, and so forth.
Lecture notes are also on the ASTR 130 Home Page. Notes will be posted the Friday before the lecture. You should read these before coming to class and be prepared with questions. You can make hardcopies to mark up during class.

Texts and Supplies: Texts are available in Newcomb Hall Bookstore.

• Astronomy 130 Laboratory Manual, 2006 Edition (Astronomy Department)
  
• The Night Sky Star Finder "Sky Wheel" - Northern Hemisphere (Chandler)
  
• The Edmund Mag 5 Star Atlas
  You will also need to purchase a small flashlight (e.g. a Mini-Maglite). Buy one with a red filter if you can; if not, we can provide the filter. You should always bring a flashlight to lab.
  

Observatory Schedule and Orientation:

• The Student Observatory is open, weather permitting, Tuesday through Thursday nights 8-11 PM all semester. On Mondays, the Observatory will open 15 minutes after the end of the lecture and close at 11 PM. If there is no Monday lecture, the Observatory will open at 8 PM. The Observatory will close promptly at the end of the scheduled period.

• During the first week of class, students are required to be at the Student Observatory for a lab orientation on the lab night for which they are registered. Once students are acclimated to the Observatory, they may work on any night that it is open, regardless of their formal registration.

Weather Warning and Personal Scheduling

• The Observatory will be closed under adverse weather conditions (clouds, fog, precipitation). The TA's will decide whether the Observatory can open by 6:30 PM each night and post an Observatory status telephone message at 924-7238 at that time. Call this number for information if the weather conditions are questionable. At their discretion, the TA's can open the Observatory if conditions improve after 6:30 and will post an updated recording. Students are encouraged to use such nights, but any night that is not declared "open" by 6:30 will not count against the official quota of "clear nights."

• Although you are allowed to set your own schedule for attending the Observatory, you are also responsible for completing each laboratory by the expected deadline. Deadlines and penalties for missing them are discussed further below . Owing to unreliable weather conditions and because the number of observing stations is limited, you will not be able to complete all required work by attending the Observatory only on the one night of the week for which you registered. Good observing conditions necessary for completion of laboratory work are at a premium. Therefore, to satisfy course requirements, you should be prepared to take advantage of good weather conditions whenever they occur and to work at the Student Observatory on any night from Monday through Thursday.

• To achieve a good grade in this class, you must adjust your personal schedule to the course, not vice-versa. If you think this will be a problem for you, please consider taking another Astronomy course. We do not recommend that you take ASTR 130 if you have a regular commitment that conflicts with the 8-11 PM M-R lab hours.

TA Consultations and Computer Laboratories

On nights when weather prevents the Student Observatory from opening, a TA will be present in Room 227 of the Astronomy Building (phone 924-4915) for the first hour of the regularly scheduled lab time. The TA can offer advice and help with any aspect of the course, especially the optional "CLEA" computer-based labs, which do not require observations.

Preparation for Observing:

1. You are expected to be well prepared for lab work in this course. TA's will not have much time for individual instruction, so your progress will depend strongly on your self-motivation and independence. You should be completely familiar with the goals, procedures, and technique for each lab before you go to the Student Observatory.

2. Bring the lab manual, observing sheets, star charts (the Edmund Mag 5 Star Atlas and the Sky Wheel), flashlight, notebook, etc. with you to every observing session. The Star Atlas is especially valuable for locating faint objects in the sky.

3. During the first week of the semester you should read the Introduction in the Manual concerning safety and general laboratory procedures. Also, skim the Appendix to familiarize yourself with it. Each Appendix section will be assigned for study as part of the early laboratories.

4. Before attempting any particular lab assignment, you should carefully read the corresponding chapter in the manual. A clear understanding of what is expected in each lab will save valuable time during the limited lab hours with clear skies. Note that it is awkward to consult any written material when you are working in the dark.

5. You should understand the observing conditions required for each lab and plan your activities well in advance. Some labs can only be done during certain phases of the Moon. Others require particularly good observing conditions (e.g. Meteors). The Variable Star Lab requires (brief) observations made over a period of 2 months. The "Time Estimate" section of each lab writeup in the Manual will alert you to these special considerations.

6. Most labs are best done during the darkest skies, i.e. in the two-week period centered on New Moon. A brief sky calendar is included at the end of this syllabus. For more complete information, you can consult some of the links from the ASTR 130 home page.

7. Observations made with the binoculars and telescopes must be recorded on special supplied forms. As part of lab preparation, you are expected to fill out in advance the first part of each observing form for each object you plan to observe before going to the observatory. The Manual describes how to fill out a form and shows an example. Blank forms are located in the Manual for photocopying or at the Observatory Support Office (Rm. G25). Collect blank copies in advance of each session in order to prepare the first part of the form before the beginning the lab.

8. Reference materials: The Manual and the Edmund Atlas will provide most of the background information you will need in the course, but other reference materials can be obtained from the TA's.

• The TA's will provide general orientation during the first week of the semester. You must attend an orientation session that week during the hours for which you are registered for lab (regardless of the weather).

• You will do the Constellation Lab (Lab 1) in small groups. Group sessions will take place during the first two usable nights on or after Monday, September 4.

• The TA's will help you in learning to use the 8-in telescopes as part of doing Lab 3 (Introduction to Small Telescopes). After that, you should require relatively little help with normal observing procedures.

• Signing In: You must sign in on the Student Log Sheet when you arrive at the Observatory.

• Equipment: We provide all the equipment you will need to complete the labs. This is, however, expensive and in limited supply. Be careful when setting it up and using it. Be patient, think before you act, and never force anything. If there is a problem, do not hesitate to ask the TA for help. Equipment must be checked out; there are separate log sheets for equipment.

• Observing Forms: Bring these with you. You should have already prepared the first part of your observing forms for the night's observing program. The TA's have the right to refuse you equipment if your observing forms are not correctly prepared. Make sure that you make all required entries on observing forms, since they are an important part of your grade.

• Group work: Because of the limited number of telescopes, you will usually work in groups of 2-4 students. Larger groups require prior approval by the TA. You may work on your own as long as equipment is available. You are allowed to observe together with your group as long as the responsibilities of finding objects are shared equally and each member of the group gets a chance to observe. In a group situation, students may collaborate on setting up the telescope. They should take turns operating the telescope and finding objects. However, once an object is located, everyone in the group must independently observe it and take his or her own data. See below for the policy on pledged work. After completion of Lab 3, each person is expected to be able to operate the equipment competently and without assistance.

• Safety: Conscientiously follow the safety guidelines given in the Introduction to the ASTR 130 Manual.

• Shut down: At the end of each observing session, you should return the equipment to its storage place in the Support Office. Stow it carefully. Sign it back in. You are responsible for any equipment you have used. Please be prepared to complete your work for the evening and have equipment stored by the end of the scheduled Student Observatory hours.

• Signatures: Each observing form which you fill out in the course of an evening's observing must be signed by the TA. Forms which are not signed or initialled will not be accepted for credit.

• Be sure you follow all directions carefully and complete all required parts of each lab (see the Requirement Checklist for each lab). Failure to submit complete labs on time is the most common cause of poor grades. Unwary students who get behind can flunk this course.

Your grade will be based on a nominal maximum possible score of 1000 points, earned from the midterm exam, the final quiz, and the completion of at least six laboratory exercises. The midterm, the final, and four of the labs (Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the Manual) are required of all students. The maximum possible score on the required work is 700 points.

You can choose among the remaining labs which to submit for the last 300 points. These are called "optional" labs. Labs which do not require nighttime observations are called "day" labs. Two of these (Labs 10 and 12) involve observations of the Sun. The four "CLEA" labs are based on computerized simulations and do not require actual observations.
Complete instructions for the observing labs are given in the ASTR 130 Lab Manual. The "CLEA" labs can be accessed from any ITC computer terminal, and instructions and data sheets can be obtained from this web site. Contact the TA's to arrange sessions to undertake Labs 10 and 12.
Labs vary in length and difficulty and are assigned different amounts of credit. The optional labs are worth 100 or 200 points each. Therefore, you will have to do either 2 or 3 optional labs to reach the nominal 1000 point maximum possible total. A complete list of the labs and the credit possible for each is given in Table 2 below.
Final grades will be assigned on the basis of a nominal perfect score of 1000 points. Letter grades will be based on a curve, with boundaries to be adjusted according to the actual performance of the class. But the following grade breaks are guaranteed: 930 = A-; 850 = B-; 730 = C-. If your total score reaches these levels you are guaranteed of these letter grades or higher.
Labs reports are expected to be well organized, neatly presented, and clear. For this reason, hand-written work, other than the standard observing forms and data sheets provided with some of the laboratories, will not be accepted. You should word-process the text of submitted labs. Follow the instructions in Appendices D and E of the Lab Manual for writing up reports.

It is important that you work continuously throughout the semester until you have completed all your work. Weather is unreliable, and many nights will be unusable because of clouds or storms. To help you stay on track, there are firm deadlines for submission of work, and penalties will be applied for late work. The penalty for turning in work after a deadline is 15% of the possible credit per week.

An exercise is late if it is not turned in to the instructor or TA's in final form by the end of class on the due date (or 6:30 PM for deadlines that do not fall on class days). Note that there is a deadline for submission of your first optional lab, whatever you may choose it to be. You may submit work to the instructor or TA's, or you can put it in the special ASTR 130 submission box which is outside Room 267 in the Astronomy Building.
Deadlines for each assignment are listed below in Table 1. Don't wait until the week it is due to begin a lab!
If the weather is particularly bad, we will make allowances and reschedule the deadlines. However, our judgement is final regarding change of deadlines, and the class will be notified well in advance if changes are to be made. It is up to you to keep yourself informed of deadlines. You should regularly consult the Announcements Page on the ASTR 130 Web site.
Note: you must do Lab 3 before attempting Lab 4 or any of the more advanced telescope labs. We suggest, but do not require, that you do Lab 2 before Lab 3.

Table 1: Schedule & Deadlines

Table 2: Course Credit

Constellation map for Labs 2 & 3 (from Your Sky)

Planet Visibility:
Jupiter low in SW in early evening until mid-October
Mercury low in SW mid-October
Uranus, Neptune: good nighttime visibility
Other planets: too near Sun for viewing

• 08/23: New Moon
• 09/05: Uranus at opposition
• 09/07: Full Moon
• 09/07: [Partical eclipse of Moon, visible Indian Ocean]
• 09/22: New Moon
• 09/22: [Annular eclipse of Sun, visible South Atlantic]
• 09/23: Autumnal Equinox at 00:06 EDT
• 09/28: Mercury near Spica (sunset horizon)
• 10/07: Full Moon
• 10/17: Mercury farthest from sunset horizon
• 10/21: Orionid Meteor Shower
• 10/22: New Moon
• 10/29: (Sunday) start Eastern Standard Time
• 11/05: Full Moon
• 11/17: Leonid Meteor Shower
• 11/20: New Moon
• 12/06: Full Moon
• 12/14: Geminid Meteor Shower
• 12/21: New Moon
• 12/22: Winter Solstice at 19:25 EST