Observational Astronomy (AST 207): Instructor Version

We propose development funds for a new course on Observational Astronomy, designed both for majors and non-majors interested in understanding Astronomical telescopes and data. A draft syllabus is attached at the end of this proposal for context. We currently run a Junior Methods course (Astro 303) that tried to cover observing, statistics, and computational methods. As a result, students are not able to dive into the details of telescopes at different wavelengths, data gathering, or data reduction. We thus intend to create an Observational Methods course that covers observations fully, and then keep statistical and computational methods in Astronomy 303. At the same time, we feel that a course on observing will have wide appeal to students outside of the major, and would be a wonderful venue for learning the basics of scientific computing (python) as well as some associated soft skills, like reading scientific papers.

Note

We will design to course with no Calculus pre-requisite, to be inclusive of students that are less comfortable applying math in scientific settings. We envision that this will be a 200-level course that also counts towards the AST major, and that it would carry the SEN designation for non-science majors.

The course will follow the life of a photon from astronomical sources to telescope detectors. In terms of science material, we will cover the physical mechanisms that lead to light at different wavelengths, time and astronomical coordinate systems, the impact of atmosphere, and technical details about telescopes and detectors at different wavelengths. We will cover basic statistics in order to understand data reduction. In parallel, we will cover the basic of python, including input/output, visualization, github, etc. We will work with notebooks that can be easily shared. In terms of assessment, throughout the semester we will work with data at different wavelengths, and then the class will design and execute an observational program, including reducing the data and making measurements. As a final writing project, the students will design an observing program for the James Webb Space Telescope, and we will arrange a mock Telescope Allocation Committee in which they read and rank each others proposals (I have done this part successfully in Astro 303).