Dr. Mary Lou West,
244 Richardson Hall, 973-655-7266
Office hours: T 1:30-2:30, W 11:30-12:30, R 4-5, and by appointment, Department of Mathematical Sciences/Physics, 973-655-5132
e-mail: westm@mail.montclair.edu , http://www.csam.montclair.edu/~west

Oservational Astronomy (PHYS-380-01): Fall 2008, 4 sh


T 5:30-8 PM, in RI-261, R 5:30-7:10 PM in RI-223

Textbook: "The Handbook of Astronomical Image Processing with AIP4WIN 2.0" by Richard Berry and James Burnell, 2005

Details on course information.

Lab Activities

  1. The Greenhouse Effect
  2. Rotation of the Earth (Sunspotter)
  3. Individual Constellation
  4. SIMBAD Query
  5. Solar Activity Cycle Lengths (Excel)
  6. Star Distances and True Space Velocities
  7. Heights of Lunar Features
  8. Eclipsing Binary Times
  9. Novae Search in M31
  10. Photometry of Delta Cephei
  11. Spectra of gases and of Vega, and analyzing them
  12. Messier Objects
  13. Attend an astronomy lecture and write a one page report on it. (Suggested venues are NJAG, AAI, UACNJ, AAAP, Newark's Dreyfuss Planetarium, the NY Hayden Planetarium, ...)

Thursday December 11 will be oral reports on individual projects:

  1. Tim B., Constellations of the Hawaiians
  2. Eric S., Heights of Lunar Features
  3. Craig L., Orbits of Jupiter's Moons
  4. Phil B, Spectrum of Vega
  5. Mark B., Magnitude distribution near M39
  6. Wesley W., Photometry of Variable Star Delta Cephei

Tuesday, Dec 16, 5:30-7:30 PM, Final Exam (Cumulative, bring pencil, computer with AIP4WIN, and calculator)

Dates may change due to unforeseen circumstances. Changes will be announced, and it is the responsibility of the student to keep informed.

Course requirements: 12 lab reports, individual project, final exam (Dec 16). You are encouraged to work together in groups, but turn in your own lab reports on time. Please bring a calculator to every class.

Your course grade is composed of 30% for lab reports and homework, 20% for attendance and class participation, 30% for your individual project with written report and presentation, and 20% for the final exam. Makeup tests are given only in cases of emergency. (Please call me within 24 hours to explain.)

Goals for this course:

  1. Students should understand the scientific process; how scientific knowledge is obtained.
  2. Students should understand some of the laws of nature and be able to see them in their everyday life, and be able to predict their outcomes.
  3. Students should understand and be able to evaluate discussions of physics concepts in popular literature such as newspapers, magazines, and television. You should develop your critical thinking skills.