introductions

Please use the comment box to introduce your self to the astroBITS group. The course material can be found at http://www.noao.edu/education/astrobits/course-outline.php. Also check azastro.pbworks.com

Module 1, Assignment 1

Describe the light sources and spectra that you have projected in detail as well as any experimental difficulties you encountered in the process. How do the different light sources compare with each other?

Module 1, Assignment 2

What is the largest value you can find within the image of the sun? Let’s call these “Data Numbers” or DN value.
Comment on what you estimate is your measurement accuracy. How many significant figures are meaningful? (In other words, can you measure the diameter to an accuracy of one pixel? One tenth of a pixel? One hundredth of a pixel? None of these?)
How much fainter in DN units is the sunspot than its surroundings?
Repeat your measurement of the Sun’s diameter several times and post your average value of the diameter in kilometers on the Blog. Include a comment about sig figs.

Describe the general nature of the sun's surface around the location of this sunspot.

Module 2, Assignment 3

Describe your best simulations and your interpretations on the Blog. Also demonstrate the Stefan-Boltzmann Law by answering the following: when you double the temperature, by how much does its total energy increase?

Module 2, Assignment 4

At what temperature is the light in the B filter equal to the light in the R filter (i.e. the peak of the curves are the same height)? What is the lowest temperature at which U>B>V>R?
Which star is brighter in the B image? Which is brighter in the R image?
Send a screen shot of the 4 profiles to your teacher and post your analysis of which star is the hotter, A or B, on the blog.

Module 3, Assignment 5

Post a list of the stars (identifying them by their HD, SAO or Feige numbers) your estimates of temperature (in degrees K), and the number of significant figures you believe are appropriate. Calculate the relative luminosity, compared to the coolest star in your sample, for each of the other 5 stars. To do this, select the coolest star in your sample and define its luminosity as 1, and scale the remaining stars to this one.

Module 4, Assignment 6

Send your pictures to your teacher and explain how you might use this activity with your students.