Lab Exercises
Star Charts
Visual
Binaries
Eclipsing
Binaries
H-R
Diagram
Interstellar
Medium
Open
Clusters
Globular
Clusters
The Drake
Equation
The Local
Group
Solar
Rotation
Stellar
Evolution
Three Types
of Spectra
Star Charts
In this first lab report, you will
become familiar with the various
resources available to the
astronomer. For this lab you must
download
Cartes du Ciel,
which is a wonderful chart chart
application. We now use online
sources almost exclusively, but you
will still be able to refer to printed
catalogs.
Three Spectra
In this lab exercise, you will use
an online animation to examine
the three different types of
spectra as described by Gustav
Kirchoff. Download your copy
above.
The H-R Diagram
In this lab, you will plot two separate
groups of stars on an H-R diagram
so that you can see the pattern that
is created. The first group will be
nearby stars, and the second group
will be the brightest stars in the
night sky. Click the link above and
to the right to download.
Solar Rotation
In this lab exercise, you will
measure the changing positions of
sunsppots over the course of a
week and a half. After plotting the
changing angle of these spots, you
will be able to determine the rotation
period of the Sun.
The Interstellar Medium
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Visual Binary Stars
In this laboratory exercise, you will
be given the orbits of several
visual binary star systems to
analyze. There are questions
about the orbital elements of
these systems.
Eclipsing Binaries
In this lab exercise, you will simulate
various eclipsing binary star
systems using an online applet. The
applet may be found here. You will
see that the size and temperature of
a star will change the light curve
that we see for that system.
Open Clusters
In this lab exercise, you will
plot the positions of a small
portion of the thousands of
open clusters found in our
Milky Way galaxy. After
doing this lab, you will see
that these clusters lie mainly
in the plane of the galaxy.
Globular Clusters
In this lab exercise, you will plot
the positions of globular
clusters. When done, you will
see that the distribution of this
type of cluster is different than
open clusters. Your plot should
be centered on the center of our
Milky Way galaxy.
The Local Group
.
In this lab, you will
tabulate the few dozen
members of the Local
Group of galaxies and
find the distribution of
each type.
The Drake Equation
This equation is an attempt
to predict how many
technological civilizations
might be out there in the
galaxy. The hard part is
coming up with the right
numbers.