Observational Astrophysics II

ESO VLT and the Milky way. Image credit: ESO
The course simulates the entire life-span of all astrophysical observations, from proposal writing to publication. You will travel to Onsala to observe star-forming regions in the Milky Way at radio frequencies, and operate the 2.5 meter Nordic Optical Telescope on La Palma, Spain. Both are professional telescopes, actively used for research, and you will learn how to design and execute your own observations. You may observe a range of astrophysical objects including stars, galaxies, nebulae, supernova remnants, etc. After having obtained your own data you will reduce and analyze them, deriving various physical properties of the objects you observed.
This is a mandatory course on the Masters’ program, is given during the day at a pace of 50%. The trip to Onsala involves spending two nights at the observatory, and the operation of the NOT telescope involves working four (consecutive) nights from Stockholm, typically from 20.00 to 08.00.
The course comprises some introductory lectures, but the large majority of the classroom time is devoted to hands-on operation of the telescopes.
Teacher: Terese Thidemann Hansen
Teaching Assistant:
Anamaria GkiniThere are three modes of assessment in the course:
An observational proposal for the NOT observations, outlining key setup and requirements to conduct the observations
A report describing the observations and key results from Onsala
A report describing the observations and key results from the NOT
Matthew Hayes
No standard published course literature; various hand-outs and guides will be provided.
The academic advisor and student office can be contacted via studieinfo@astro.su.se.