Astronomy, Our Place in the Universe: Lab book (for MQuni)

– workbook –

Practical 1: Light lnterference  Aim – To observe the diffraction and interference phenomenon of light through the historic multiple slit experiment.

Practical 2: Geometrical Optics  Aim – In this experiment you will investigate the important attributes of a simple lens system and explore, through the combination of multiple lenses, the design of a telescope.

Practical 3:  Spectra   Aim – The aim of this experiment is to understand the basic elements of spectroscopy and calibration using a rudimentary spectroscope. Known radiation sources are used to calibrate the spectroscope which is then used to identify features at characteristic wavelengths in other sources of optical radiation.

Practical 4: Eclipses  Aim – This is a simple set of exercises designed to help you to come to an understanding of why the Sun is at various places during the year, give you an appreciation of seasons and how they occur and of the different sorts of eclipses that arise.

Practical 5: Resolution Aim – Investigate the properties of telescopes using a light source and various apertures.

Practical 6: Latitude  Aim – To determine the latitude of the Macquarie University campus using the movement of the Sun. This can be completed over the course of one lab session.

Practical 7: Moons of Jupiter Aim – To determine the mass of Jupiter by measuring the orbital properties of Jupiter’s moons and analysing their motions using Kepler’s Third Law.

Practical 8: Galaxy Classification Aim – To become familiar with the different “morphological” types of galaxies (spirals, ellipticals, barred spirals, irregulars etc). To see how galaxies are distributed according to type (are the different types equally common?). To observe features within galaxies (spiral arms, dust lanes, satellite galaxies etc).

Practical 9: Objects in our Galaxy Aim – To observe and describe as many distinct features of our Galaxy as you can. To appreciate the complexity and diversity of the components that constitute the Milky Way.

Practical 10: Small Magellanic Cloud Aim – To quantify the size of the Small Magellanic Cloud and observe various features of the SMC.

Practical 11: The Sky Aim – The aim of this exercise is to become familiar with the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, reproducing a portion of it, and compute the distance of Pleiades star cluster.

Practical 12: Exoplanet Hunting Aim – The aim of this exercise is for you to create a light curve from an exoplanet transit by conducting photometry measurements on telescope images from the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network.