ASTRONOMY 1230 (Fall 2009)

INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION

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(PDF of this page: here)

Course Description:

• Lectures: The lectures will be given Monday nights from 7 to 9 PM in Clark 107. 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.

Recommended: ASTR 1210 (Solar System Astronomy) or ASTR 1220 (Stars & Galaxies) help provide some context for some of the material in ASTR 1230, though I do not regard them as pre-requisites. If you have not already taken one of these courses, you may want to learn some background about the objects you will be looking at.

http://www.astro.virginia.edu/class/whittle/astr1230 -- ASTR 1230 Home Page
http://www.astro.virginia.edu -- Astronomy Department Home Page
The ASTR 1230 Home Page contains information on all course policies, assignments, announcements, 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. Although ASTR 1230 has been taught by many people over the years, much of the Web material you see here was created by Professor O'Connell during the 2000/2001 academic year.
Lecture notes are also posted on the ASTR 1230 Home Page. These are intended to encourage you to listen and think in class rather than to feel compelled to produce verbatim transcriptions of the presentation. Notes for each lecture will usually be posted the day of the lecture. To take advantage of them, you should print out a hardcopy before the lecture, read it over, and bring it to class with you. It is a mistake to regard the posted notes as an excuse to skip lectures.

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

• Astronomy 1230 Laboratory Manual, 2009 Edition (Astronomy Department)
  
• The Night Sky Star Finder - Northern Hemisphere (Chandler)
  
• Edmund Mag 5 Star Atlas (Edmund Scientific)
  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, Monday through Thursday nights 8-11 PM all semester. 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 Nightlab Orientation on the lab night for which they are registered. On the second week we request you to try to attend one of the first two clear nights, arriving before 8:15pm. We have a group exercise to help you learn the constellations and celestial reference points for the first Lab. After that, and 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). TA's usually 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. On occasion, variable conditions will prompt a change in the message during the course of an evening, and you should call again just before 8 PM.

• 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.

TA Consultation & Computer Laboratories :

On nights when weather prevents the Student Observatory from opening, a TA will be present in their Office (see the top of this document).

Some of the optional labs you can submit for credit do not require observations of the night sky but are instead done on a computer. These are called "CLEA" labs and can be accessed from any ITC computer terminal.

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 (Edmund Mag 5 Star Atlas and the Sky Wheel), flashlight, notebook, etc. with you to every observing session.

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 thoroughly 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.

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 an ephemeris in the Observatory Office (G25) or some of the links from the ASTR 1230 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 in 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.

• The TA's will provide general orientation during the first week of the semester. You must be 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 clear nights of the second week of class (Sept. 10-13).

• 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. Any equipment you use must be checked out from the TA's and also noted on the Log Sheet.

• 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.

• 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 2-3 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. By the 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 1230 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 neatly and 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.

Your grade will be based on a nominal maximum possible score of 1000 points, earned from the midterm and final exams, 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. Five optional labs do not require any observations. The "CLEA" labs involve computerized simulations of observations.

Complete instructions for the observing labs are given in the ASTR 1230 Lab Manual. The computer (CLEA) labs are self-contained and can be accessed from any ITC computer terminal (see instructions on the web page containing general class information).

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 these letter grades or higher.
Labs reports are expected to be well organized, neatly presented, and clear, and a significant amount of the grade will be allocated to these criteria. 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 or type up 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 cloudy conditions, and therefore you must be prepared to take advantage of good weather whenever it occurs. 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 or placed in the special ASTR 1230 submission box (at the end of the west corridor) in final form by noon on the due date. Note that there is a deadline for submission of your first optional lab, whatever you may choose it to be.
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 1230 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 (Binoculars) before Lab 3 (Intro to small telescopes).

Table 1: Schedule & Deadlines

Table 2: Course Credit

August
• 08/31:   Moon at apogee
September
• 09/02:   Jupiter 3^o south of moon
• 09/04:   Full Moon
• 09/12:   3^rd Quarter Moon
• 09/16:   Moon at perigee
• 09/17:   Saturn in conjunction with sun
• 09/18:   New Moon
• 09/22:   Equinox
• 09/26:   1^st Quarter Moon
• 09/28:   Moon at apogee
• 09/30:   Jupiter 3^o south of moon
October
• 10/04:   Full Moon
• 10/11:   3^rd Quarter Moon
• 10/13:   Jupiter stationary; Moon at perigee
• 10/18:   New Moon
• 10/25:   Moon at apogee
• 10/25:   Antares 1^o south of moon
• 10/26:   1^st Quarter Moon
• 10/27:   Jupiter 3^o south of moon
• 11/02:   Full Moon
November
• 11/07:   Moon at perigee
• 11/09:   3^rd Quarter Moon
• 11/16:   New Moon
• 11/22:   Moon at apogee
• 11/23:   Jupiter 4^o south of moon
• 11/24:   1^st Quarter Moon
December
• 12/02:   Full Moon
• 12/04:   Moon at perigee

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