An Introduction to Observational Astrophysics

208 Pages·2016·4.554 MB·English

by  Mark Gallaway (auth.)

Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics
Mark Gallaway
An
Introduction to
Observational
Astrophysics
Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics
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NeilAshby
ProfessorEmeritus,UniversityofColoradoBoulder,CO,USA
WilliamBrantley
Professor,FurmanUniversity,Greenville,SC,USA
MatthewDeady
Professor,BardCollege,Annandale,NY,USA
MichaelFowler
Professor,UniversityofVirginia,Charlottesville,VA,USA
MortenHjorth-Jensen
Professor,UniversityofOslo,Norway
MichaelInglis
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HeinzKlose
ProfessorEmeritus,HumboldtUniversityBerlin,Germany
HelmySherif
Professor,UniversityofAlberta,Edmonton,AB,Canada
Mark Gallaway
An Introduction to
Observational Astrophysics
123
MarkGallaway
UniversityofHertfordshire
Hockley,Essex,UK
ISSN2192-4791 ISSN2192-4805 (electronic)
UndergraduateLectureNotesinPhysics
ISBN978-3-319-23376-5 ISBN978-3-319-23377-2 (eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-23377-2
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SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
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Acknowledgements
I’dliketothankDrDavidMurrayandDrStuartAldertowhomIamtrulyindebted,
fortheirworkonthetrulydullbitsofediting.Iwouldalsoliketothankallofmy
studentsbothcurrentandpast.Withoutyouryouthfulenthusiasm,myjobwouldbe
alotlessinteresting.I’dalsoliketothankthestaffofthePhysics,Mathematicsand
AstronomyDepartmentoftheUniversityofHertfordshirewhoseworkmanyofthe
practicalshereinwederived.Lastly,I’dliketothankmywife,Sarah,forleavingme
alonewhenneededandsupplyingmugsofsteamingtealateintothenight.
vii

Contents
1 Introduction................................................................. 1
1.1 TheReader............................................................ 1
1.2 RequiredEquipmentandSoftware ................................. 2
1.3 HowtoUseThisBook............................................... 3
1.4 Introduction:BestPractice........................................... 4
2 TheNatureofLight ........................................................ 7
2.1 Introduction........................................................... 7
2.2 TheQuantumNatureofLight....................................... 9
2.3 MeasuringLight...................................................... 11
2.4 TheMagnitudeScale................................................. 12
2.5 Filters ................................................................. 15
2.6 Colour................................................................. 18
2.7 Polarisation........................................................... 19
3 TheTelescope ............................................................... 21
3.1 Telescopes ............................................................ 21
3.2 Mounts................................................................ 27
3.3 EyepiecesandAdditionalOptics.................................... 29
3.4 Problems.............................................................. 31
4 Time.......................................................................... 35
4.1 Introduction........................................................... 35
4.2 SolarTime ........................................................... 37
4.3 JulianDate............................................................ 39
4.4 SiderealTime......................................................... 39
5 SpheresandCoordinates .................................................. 43
5.1 Introduction .......................................................... 43
5.2 AltitudeandAzimuth ................................................ 44
5.3 Equatorial............................................................. 46
5.4 GalacticCoordinates................................................. 48
ix