Observational Astronomy Astro-25 Professor Meyer-Canales Saddleback College
Astronomy Courses Offered at Saddleback College Astronomy 20 - General Astronomy Survey/Lecture course Astronomy 21 - Solar System Geology of the solar system Astronomy 25 - Observational Astronomy Laboratory course in observational astronomy
Observational Astronomy The Course Study methods used to gather data on Astronomical objects. Perform simple labs Discuss advanced observational methods Maybe some Astrophotography Learn to write up Labs use the scientific method
Observational Astronomy Sites Emphasis is on Observing Objects Science/Math Roof Observations (16 inch & 8 inch with GPS) Santa Ana Planetarium Sun Lab saddleback Anza Borrego Light pollution
Field Trip to Anza Borrego
Light Pollution An Observational Astronomer s Enemy back
Equipment Available for Student Use 2X 16 Newtonian Telescopes Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope 10X 8 SCT telescopes
Solar Observatory Live images can be displayed 16 computercontrolled telescope Used in Astronomy Classes Planets and Moon
Observational Astronomy Schedule 7-9 p.m. Lecture Professor Meyer-Canales 9-11 p.m. Lab Instructor Greg Dickinson Schedule is weather-dependent We do not always follow the schedule Field Trips ~16.6 hours: Anza Borrego field trip or Sun Lab Planetarium Santa Ana
Lab Formats Formal write-ups (must be typed, see website for instructions) Purpose Theory Procedure Data Analysis Conclusion Not all labs require write-ups Worksheets or exercise
Too Much to Comprehend! Hubble Telescope orbits Earth every ~97 minutes at altitude of 353 miles
Skywalker or http://www.aip.de/groups/galaxies/sw/udf/i ndex.php
An Overview of the Universe The Scale of the Cosmos
The numbers in astronomy are so large, and small, that astronomers use scientific notation. 10 0 = 1 10 1 = 10 10 2 = 100 10 3 = 1000 5.3 x 10 3 = 5,300 10 4 = 10,000 8.9 x 10 4 = 89,000 and, for small numbers 10-1 = 0.1 10-2 = 0.01 2.1 x 10-2 = 0.021 10-3 = 0.001 6.6 x 10-3 = 0.0066
Astronomical distances and sizes are very very very very large. So, astronomers use different units. One Astronomical Unit (AU) average distance between Sun and Earth 93,000,000 miles 150,000,000 km 1.5 x 10 8 km Distance Light Travels in One Year is a Light-year (LY) 9.46 x 10 12 km 63,000 AU or 6.3x 10 4 AU 0.307 parsecs (pc)
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu /primer/java/scienceopticsu /powersof10/
The Earth Where are You?
Can you now see your Home?
Earth and Moon System Our Backyard 240,000 miles (350,000 km)
The Solar System Sun Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Sun size 1 Sun size 2 93 million mi 150 million km 1 AU 1 Astronomical Unit = 93 million miles
Milky Way Galaxy Contains Gas, Dust and Stars Sun us 4 trillion km (4.2 light years) Proxima Centauri 1 LY = distance light travels in 1 year = 1 trillion km Milky way
Milky Way Galaxy - Side View 100,000 LY Face-on view
Milky Way Galaxy - Face-on View Milky way size
Milky Way Belongs to the Universe Over 50 Billion Galaxies Milky Way 2.25 million light years 15 billion light years Andromeda Galaxy andromeda Most distant galaxies = 100 million - 1 billion LY
If our Milky Way Galaxy has ~100 to 400 billion stars in it. How many galaxies are most likely in the Universe? (multi-verse??) A) A few hundred thousand B) Several hundred million C) Several hundred billion D) Several hundred trillion
Telescopes gather light emitted from objects in the universe
Where are stars born?
What color stars are the hottest?
What are we made of? Is visible light all that there is?
Like the flavors of Ice cream they each provide us with different information. Speed of light = wavelength x frequency c = λ f Speed of light is CONSTANT in a vacuum (space has many vacuums)!
The Crab Nebula is the remnant of a supernova explosion that was seen on Earth in 1054 AD. It is 6000 light years from Earth. At the center of the bright nebula is a rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar that emits pulses of radiation 30 times a second
Course Overview First half - lay the foundation Constellations: Find objects Telescopes: Tools used by astronomers Coordinates: Find unseen objects Second half observe objects Moon and solar system Stars Unusual stars Deep sky objects Cosmology - study of the universe.
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