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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 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope 2X 16” Newtonian Telescopes 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. 100 = 1 101 = 10 102 = 100 103 = 1000 5.3 x 103 = 5,300 104 = 10,000 8.9 x 104 = 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 108 km Distance Light Travels in One Year is a “Light-year” (LY) •9.46 x 1012 km •63,000 AU or 6.3x 104 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) 93 million mi 150 million km 1 AU Sun size 1 Sun size 2 1 Astronomical Unit = 93 million miles Pluto Neptune Uranus Saturn Jupiter Mars Earth Venus Mercury Sun The Solar System Milky Way Galaxy Contains Gas, Dust and Stars us Sun 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 Andromeda Galaxy 15 billion light years 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 λf c= 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. back back