ASTR 3510: Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation I

Observing Sign Up

Class Observing Log

Announcements

03/06/2007: The photometry tutorial for tonight's lab is linked here.
The data images to practice flat fielding on are: science, dark, and flat.

02/26/2007: A group observed the crab last week, so Lab 3 will be due on March 6. The necessary data is below in the 'Labs' section.

Don't forget that for the next week & 1/2 that you need to observe the Cepheid Variable and QSO in the broad band filters. This lab works best if someone observes AT LEAST once a night (yes Saturday & Sunday too). To make your magnitudes for this lab available to the rest of the class, use the online submission form below in the 'Labs' section.

02/06/2007: SBO observing log sheets are now available on this website. Lab 1 is due at the end of lab tonight. A helpful hint for lab 2, when picking your asteroid, check to see how long it will take to get a significant separation in positions.

01/30/2007: Thursday lecture class will meet in the Cosmos computer lab. If you feel like you don't need this time to work on lab 1, it is ok to skip class.

01/22/2007: The first lab is now available on this website.

01/20/2007: Now that you all have your cosmos accounts, the next step is to set up IRAF. We'll do this during class, but if you want to get a head start the instructions are in the Useful Tutorials section.

01/16/2007: Welcome to Spring 2007 ASTR 3510! I hope everyone had a nice relaxing break. You may be wondering if we have lab tonight. The answer is YES.
If you want to get a bit ahead of the game, go ahead a create a cosmos computer account, according to these instructions. If not, bring your student id and pin numbers with you to lab tonight.
Also, dress warmly because we will be spending a little time with the telescopes.

Useful Tutorials/Handouts

• SBO Observing Log Sheet

• IRAF Setup Guide

• More Advanced IRAF Commands

• Josh Walawender's IRAF Tutorial


--This tutorial is the beginner's mecca of IRAF. Almost any question you have about tool or package, check here!
I recommend that everyone bookmark or download this website (in its entirety). You might never see such a nice basic manual again!

• FIT to fits Script


--A quick Perl script for automatically changing the .FIT files that the 24" computer saves into the .fits format that IRAF recognizes.

Instructions:
1. Use a common identifier for the beginning of all filenames while observing, e.g. identifier_bias_1.FIT
2. Save the above file in the folder containing your image files
3a. Open 'rename.txt' in a text editor,: cosmos:~>emacs rename.txt
3. Substitute the common identifier into script for 'lab1'
e.g. if it is 'science' then it should read: foreach my $file (glob "science*") {
4. Save the file and exit the window
5. On the command line, type: cosmos:~> chmod +x rename.txt
6. On command line, type: cosmos~> rename.txt
7. On the command line, type: cosmos~> ls to ensure .fits format

• Amy's Introduction to UNIX

• Getting Started With UNIX


--A nice tutorial to look at if the words "command line" and "unix" aren't as familiar as "star" or "clock".

• Intro to IRAF


--A brief introduction to IRAF, great for those who haven't used it before (or if it's been a while).

• Intro to Formal Error Propagation


--If the words "formal error propagation" make you want to curl into a fetal ball, then this is a great tutorial for you!
(And don't worry, it's not just you, almost everyone feels that way.)