Physics 232: Observational Astrophysics
Fall 2021 (Draft)

Syllabus

Course Description and Purpose

Observing (at night!) is a significant required component of this course. For astronomers, long hours under the night sky are fun. If it will be difficult for you to be on campus at night, you should not take this class. There will be only a few clear nights during the quarter and you must use them whenever they arise. So, do not delay in getting familiar with the telescope and getting started on your projects.

Observing sessions will be scheduled when the skies are clear enough to observe (see ``Observing'' below). The teaching assistant will be available for help during the observing sessions.

After you obtain an ample set of observations, you will analyze these measurements and write up reports on your results.

Learning Goals

Prerequisites

Course Materials

Textbook

The required reading for the course comes from Birney, Gonzalez, & Oesper Observational Astronomy 2nd Ed., Cambridge.

I will also frequently make use of An Introduction to Astronomical Photometry Using CCDs that was being developed by Bill Romanishin at the University of Oklahoma. I don't think that he still intends to publish it, but it is a good reference.

There is also a new book by Mark Gallaway, An Introduction to Observational Astrophysics 1st Ed., Springer-Verlag, which has some nice project descriptions, but the first edition was filled with grammatical errors (and I haven't reviewed the 2nd edition yet), so we aren't going to use it as the primary textbook.

The historical book used for this class, which may be helpful to refer to, is Kitchin's Telescopes and Techniques: An Introduction to Practical Astronomy, 4th Ed., Springer-Verlag. It was more relevant before the era of CCDs, but is still an excellent resource.

I have placed copies of the Birney and Kitchin books in the Astro common area in Disque 808. You may use them there, but they are not to leave the room.

You are also encouraged to purchase a recent copy of Sky & Telescope magazine. There are recent copies of this in Disque 808 as well, but again, they are not to leave the room.

Manuals

• Meade 16" LX200
• SBIG STL-1001E Camera
• The SkyX (Professional)
• Optec TCF-S focuser

For data processing, we will be using AstroImageJ in addition to making use of the AstroPy libraries, which are included in the Anaconda Python distribution. If you would prefer to use your laptop instead of the computers in Disque 704, you should make sure that these are installed.

Course Meetings

Observing: There is a nighttime component to this class. It is (normally) listed as meeting 4 hours per week, not because we will, but because you are expected to spend at least 10 hours at night working at the observatory during the quarter (in addition to the ~3 hours of lecture each week).

Outline of Lectures

Safety

As such, you may not operate the 16inch telescope by yourself. You must operate on the "buddy system", and, since there is no phone in the dome, bring your cell phone.

You must sign out the keys on a nightly basis, log your observations, and send e-mail to report when you have left the observatory.

Assignments and Assessments

Rubric

The coming sections of the syllabus describe each of these components.

Grading Scale

Observing

In the observer's test, you must demonstrate a basic knowledge of the night sky and that you understand how to operate the telescope and camera. This test includes opening the dome, setting up the telescope, checking that the telescope correctly points and tracks, obtain the target, take an image with the camera, and transfer the data back to a computer in the department for analysis. Knowledge of telescope safety and common sense will be tested. You will have to show that you understand how to open/close up the telescope.

The first observing project can be done in Disque and will help you to get familiar with the CCD camera in relative comfort rather than trying to learn on-the-fly in the cold, dark dome.

The other observing projects will involve learning how to make three-color images and how to perform detailed photometric measurements (that would allow you to discover new planets!). For each project, you will submit a written report that details both your observations and your analysis.

Observing teams:
For the sake of safety and huddling together for warmth when it gets cold, you will work in teams of 3. Organize yourselves into groups by the end of week two and let me know what you have decided. I will assign students to groups after that.

Observing projects:

1. Observer's Test
2. Project 0: getting to know your CCD camera
3. Project 1: creating three color mosaic images
4. Project 2: point source photometry (of a planetary transit)

Homework Assignments

Science is a collaborative enterprise and you are encouraged to discuss the homework problems. But you and you alone are responsible for the work that you turn in. Please write up your own solutions to the problems. Serious breaches of this policy will result in homework scores being divided by the number of ``participants.''

Exams

Acadmic Policies:
Students are expected to be familiar with Drexel's policies on
Academic Integrity, Plagiarism, Dishonesty and Cheating: www.drexel.edu/provost/policies/academic_dishonesty.asp,
Course Adding/Dropping: www.drexel.edu/provost/policies/course_drop.asp,
Course Withdrawal: drexel.edu/provost/policies/course-withdrawal,
Incomplete Grades: drexel.edu/provost/policies/incomplete_grades/, and
Grade Appeals: drexel.edu/provost/policies/grade-appeals/.

Students may not copy one another's work. This is considered cheating and will be dealt with in the following manner. The first infraction will result in a zero for all parties involved. The second infraction will result in an F for the course and a report to the office of academic affairs.

Student with disabilities requesting accommodations and services at Drexel University need to present a current accommodation verification letter (AVL) to faculty before accommodations can be made. AVL's are issued by the Office of Disability Resources. For additional information, see drexel.edu/disability-resources/support-accommodations/student-family-resources/.

For Health and Counseling needs, students can find further information at
drexel.edu/counselingandhealth/student-health-center/overview/
drexel.edu/counselingandhealth/counseling-center/overview/

Classroom Etiquette:
Drexel University requires everyone to wear a mask in all on-campus public and shared spaces, regardless of the vaccination status. Eating is not permitt\ ed in the classroom. If the student needs to remove their mask (to drink water etc.), they may step outside the class to do so and then return to class. Please, remember to always bring your mask to avoid class disruption. For the sake of this course, you should consider the observatory and surrounding roof deck as "indoor" spaces.

Appropriate Use of Course Materials:
It is important to recognize that some or all of the course materials provided to you may be the intellectual property of Drexel University, the course i\ nstructor, or others. Use of this intellectual property is governed by Drexel University policies, including the IT-1 Policy.

Meetings of this course might be recorded. Any recordings will be available to students registered for this class. Students are expected to follow appropriate university policies and maintain the security of passwords used to access recorded lectures. Recordings, or any part of the recordings, may not be reproduced, shared with those not in the class, or uploaded to other online environments. Doing so may be considered a breach of this policy and will be investigated and addressed as possible academic dishonesty, among other potential violations. Improper use of such materials may also constitute a violation of the University's Code of Conduct and will be investigated as such.

Course Schedule (Tentative)