Astronomy 5830 (Prof. Stanek, Autumn 2019)
Astronomy 5830
Observed Properties of Astronomical Systems
Autumn Semester 2019
Prof. Kris Stanek
MWF 9:00-10:20am
4054 McPherson Laboratory
[Contact
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Course Description
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Syllabus
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Evaluation
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Internet Resources
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Topics and Reading
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- Office: 4023 McPherson Lab
- Office Phone: 614-292-3433
- Office Hours: by appointment or whenever my door is open
- E-Mail: stanek.32@osu.edu
Astronomy 5830 is intended to provide an overview of observational
astronomy at the introductory graduate level, with an emphasis on
stars and galaxies. The topics we will cover include the basic
properties of stars, quiescent and active galaxies, an overview of the
properties of the Milky Way, and several other topics including the
solar system, exoplanets, and clusters of galaxies.
Throughout the course, we will emphasize how these properties are
measured or inferred from astronomical observations. We will also cover
observational techniques at various wavelengths.
The class syllabus and course outline are in this PDF File
The course grade will be based on homework, a writing assignment, an observing proposal,
class participation, and a final exam. Details are provided on the syllabus.
I include the links to homeworks below.
- Homework 1 Due Sep 13 (jupyter notebook)
- Writing Assignment Due Oct 18
Various Useful Sites:
- ADS Abstract Service
- arXiv.org
- Vizier
- SIMBAD
- NED
- Earth View
- Julian Date Converter
- Chi-Squared Calculator
Some Astronomy Picture Sites:
- Astronomy Picture of the Day
- NASA Planetary Photojournal
A great collection of planetary images at JPL.
- Cassini Mission
- Mars Curiosity Rover
- Latest results from the Hubble Space Telescope
- Pictures from the Chandra X-ray Observatory
Listed below are the topics we will cover this semester, as well as
references to review articles, classical papers on various subjects,
and illustrative recent results. All of these readings supplement the
required reading I will hand out in class. The recent results are
potential topics for in-class oral presentations. Readings in red and bold are ones I will substantially
cover in class. I will update this list throughout the semester.
Part I. Stars
L1: Distances and Motions [Aug 23]
- GA Sections 2.1, 2.2
- JSkyCalc Observing Aid
- GAIA Satellite
- The Hipparcos Space Astrometry Mission
- RAVE: The Radial Velocity Experiment
- astrometry.net
- Upton, E.K.L. (1970), Calibration of the Hyades-Praesepe main sequence by a new treatment of the stellar motions, AJ, 75, 1097
- Popowski and Gould (1998), Systematics of RR Lyrae Statistical Parallax. I. Mathematics, ApJ, 506, 259
L2: Masses and Radii [Aug 26]
- GA Sections 3.1, 3.2
- Michelson and Pease (1921), Measurement of the Diameter of alpha Orionis with the Interferometer, ApJ, 53, 249
- Torres et al. (2009), Accurate masses and radii of normal stars: modern results and applications, A&RAv, 18, 67 (link)
- Binary Star Simulator
- Eclipsing Binary Star Simulator
L3: Spectral Classification [Aug 28]
- GA Section 3.3
- Morgan and Keenan (1973), Spectral Classification, ARA&A, 11, 29
- Kirkpatrick et al. (1999), Dwarfs Cooler than M: The Definition of Spectral Type L Using Discoveries from the 2 Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS), ApJ, 519, 802
- Burrows et al. (2003), Beyond the T Dwarfs: Theoretical Spectra, Colors, and Detectability of the Coolest Brown Dwarfs,ApJ, 596, 587
- Burgasser et al. (2006), A Unified Near-infrared Spectral Classsification Scheme for T Dwarfs, ApJ, 637, 1067
- Cushing et al. (2011), The Discovery of Y Dwarfs using Data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), ApJ, 743, 50
L4, L5: Measurement of Stellar Properties [Aug 30, Sep 4]
- GA Sections 3.4, 3.5
- Anders and Grevesse (1989), Abundances of the Elements, Geo. et Cos. Acta, 53, 197
- Bessel, M.S. et al. (1998), Model Atmospheres, broad-band colors, bolometric corrections, and temperature calibrations for O-M stars, AA, 333, 231 [erratum 337, 321]
- Bressan et al. (1993), Evolutionary sequences of stellar models with new radiative opacities. II - Z = 0.02, AAS, 100, 647
- Duchene, G. and Kraus, A. (2013), Stellar Multiplicity, ARA&A, 51, 269
- Epstein, C.R. and Pinsonneault, M.H. (2014), How good a clock is rotation? The stellar rotation-mass-age relationship for old field stars, ApJ, 780, 159
- Henry et al. (1999), The Optical Mass-Luminosity Relation at the End of the Main Sequence (0.08-0.20 Msolar, ApJ, 512, 864
- Raghavan, D. et al. (2010), A Survey of Stellar Families: Multiplicity of Solar-type Stars, ApJS, 190, 1
- Torres et al. (2009), Accurate masses and radii of normal stars: modern results and applications, A&RAv, 18, 67 (link)
L6: Relations Between Stellar Properties [Sep 6]
- GA Section 2.3
- Bessell, M. (2005), Standard Photometric Systems, ARA&A, 43, 293
L7: Stellar Luminosity and Mass Functions [Sep 9]
- GA Section 3.6
- Gould, A., Bahcall, J.N., and Flynn, C. (1996), Disk M Dwarf Luminosity Function from Hubble Space Telescope Star Counts, ApJ, 465, 759
- Chabrier, G. (2003), Galactic Stellar and Substellar Initial Mass Function, PASP, 115, 763
L8, L9: Stellar Evolution in an Observational Context [Sep 11, 13]
- GA Section 5.1
- Bressan, A. et al. (1993) Evolutionary sequences of stellar models with new radiative opacities. II. Z = 0.02, AAS, 100, 647
- Girardi, L. et al. (2000) Evolutionary tracks and isochrones for low- and intermediate-mass stars: From 0.15 to 7 Msun, and from Z=0.0004 to 0.03, AAS, 141, 371
- Heger, A. et al. (2003) How Massive Single Stars End Their Life, ApJ, 591, 288
- Ivanova, N. et al. (2013) Common Envelope Evolution: Where we stand and how we can move forward, AARv, 21, 59
L10: Variability in Stars and Remnants [Sep 16]
- GA Section 5.1.10
Part II. Observation Methods
L11, L12: Collection of Light [Sep 18, 20]
- Howell, S. (1989) Two-dimensional aperture photometry - Signal-to-noise ratio of point-source observations and optimal data-extraction techniques, PASP, 101, 616
- Bernstein, G. (2002) Advanced Exposure-Time Calculations: Undersampling, Dithering, Cosmic Rays, Astrometry, and Ellipticities, PASP, 114, 98
- Rieke, G. (2003) Detection of Light, Cambridge University Press
- Condon, J.J. and Ransom, S.M., Essential Radio Astronomy
- Merline, W. and Howell, S. (1995) A Realistic Model for Point-sources Imaged on Array Detectors: The Model and Initial Results, ExA, 6, 613
- Kelson, D. (2003) Optimal Techniques in Two-dimensional Spectroscopy: Background Subtraction for the 21st Century, PASP, 115, 688