Welcome to the canvas information page for the course

ASTM18 / NAS010F: Observational Techniques and Instrumentation, 7.5 credits

given by the Department of Physics.

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The course will consist of approximately 15 lectures, one experimental lab, two observational labs, a planetarium visit, visits to two observatories (Tycho Brahe Observatory and Onsala Space Observatory), and a final exam.

Contents

Electromagnetic radiation and non-photonic astronomy.
Atmospheric impact on the observations.
Sensors for optical and infrared radiation.
Detectors for the radio emission. detectors noise characteristics.
The signal to noise ratio, the quantum efficiency and the detective quantum efficiency.
Light collecting and imaging instruments.
Adaptive optics and extremely large telescopes.
Spatial resolution and MTF.
Interferometry, visibility, UV plane and interferometric imaging.
Photometry, photometric systems and photometric reduction methods.
Spectroscopy, grating, echelle- and fouriertransformspektrometrar.
Astrometry from earth and from space.
Polarimetry and determination of the Stokes vector.

General information

Semester: spring
Study period: 2
Level: master
Language: English
Form of teaching: lectures, laboratory work, group work and project work. Participation in laboratory exercises and project work is compulsory
Assessment: The examination consists of written exam and project work
Grading scale: U-G-VG
Course plan: in English, in Swedish

Course literature

Frederick R. Chromey: "To Measure the Sky: An introduction to Observational Astronomy", Cambridge (2016), ISBN: 9781107572560.

Course responsible

Thomas Bensby, thomas.bensby@astro.lu.se

Schedule

The schedule for the next instance of the course can be found here.

Introductory Meetings

Information about the compulsory introductory meetings can be found on fysik.lu.se.

Application

Through antagning.se