Astronomical Instruments (U01400)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : PHY-4-AstInst

The course is concerned with astronomical instrumentation right across the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays. A little attention is devoted to telescopes and a lot to the instruments and detectors that they feed. Instrumentation for photometry, imaging, astrometry and spectroscopy is covered, as are interferometers of all kinds. The emphasis throughout is on the physical processes exploited in the design and construction of instrumentation, while the main design principles used at each wavelength are presented in a mathematical way, making use of important general tools such as Fourier methods. The course is not historical and is concerned principally with instrumentation currently in use by professional astronomers or under development.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : At least 40 credit points accrued in courses of SCQF Level 9 or 10 drawn from Schedule Q, including Astrophysics Laboratory (PHY-3-AstroLab), Optics (PHY-3-Optics) and Physical Mathematics (PHY-3-PhMath).

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Undergraduate (School of Physics), (School of Physics, Schedule Q)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
08/01/2007	09:00	10:00			ROE

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Monday	09:00	09:50	Other
Lecture	Thursday	09:00	09:50	Other

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course it is intended that a student will be able to:
1)describe the main types of telescope, imager and spectrometer used by modern astronomers across the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays
2)understand the basic physics behind the technology of the various instruments, including the many different uses of semiconductors
3)apply electromagnetic theory to the design of the instruments, particularly diffraction, refraction and interference
4)appreciate the main compromises between desired performance on the one hand and technical difficulty and cost on the other
5)describe the value of heterodyning and of interferometry in the radio and submillimetre bands
6)understand the application of applied mathematics, and particularly Fourier theory, to the design, operation and data reduction of the various instruments
7)discuss the effect of the atmospheric emission, absorption and refraction on various types of
instrument, and why some observations can only be made from above the atmosphere
8)perform simple calculations on the basic design of instruments across the electromagnetic spectrum