Catalog Course Description

Four to six experiments such as the following: accurate position measurements of stars with subsequent derivation of the diameter of the Earth and the refraction of the atmosphere; laboratory exploration of the characteristics of charge-coupled devices; 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. There is a heavy emphasis on error analysis, software development in the IDL language, and high-quality written reports.

Spring Term

1 hours of Instructor presentation of course materials per week and 4 hours of Outside Work Hours per week and 4 hours of The exchange of opinions or questions on course material per week.

Fall Term

1 hours of Instructor presentation of course materials per week and 4 hours of Outside Work Hours per week and 4 hours of The exchange of opinions or questions on course material per week.

120A