ASTRONOMY 130
ANNOUNCEMENTS
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 12/17/08 FINAL GRADES ARE NOW POSTED TO THE SECURE GRADE SITE. HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 12/03/08 Tonight is predicted to be clear, and we will open the observatory even if conditions are marginal. So far this week we have counted Monday night as "workable" but Tuesday night as not workable (although many people got data through partial clouds). Thursday night is predicted to be cloudy. Here's the decision on Lab 4: It doesn't seem fair to require the lab given that the conditions for this last possible night aren't guaranteed. Therefore, YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO DO LAB 4. However, you can turn in any observations you have already done, or any you do tonight, and you will receive up to 10 POINTS OF EXTRA CREDIT FOR EACH OBJECT. This can help offset lower grades on the early labs or the midterm, for example. If you want to take the extra credit option, you need to do a complete, standard writeup and submit all the usual observing forms with TA signatures. Remember that this course is graded on a CURVE --- which means that whatever negative effect the poor weather this semester had on most people's observing lab work will be automatically taken into account in the final grading scale. The observatory will be open at 7 PM tonight. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 11/26/08 Grades for Lab 3 and the first optional lab are now posted. Bad weather continues to plague us, although last night (Tuesday) was workable. Here's what our policy will be on Lab 4: a) If there are two workable nights during the week of Nov. 30, we will expect you to complete Lab 4 according to the rules announced on 11/19: you are expected to submit observations of 6 objects. A complete lab is worth a maximum of 150 points. Additional objects up to 10 will receive a maximum of 5 points of extra credit each. b) If there are not two workable nights during the week of Nov. 30, we will cancel Lab 4. Students who have completed parts of the lab and submit their work (full writeup and observing forms) will receive a maximum of 10 points of extra credit for each object submitted. Remember that the observatory is now open from 7 pm to 11 pm. We cannot offer similar forgiveness for the few students who have not yet completed Labs 2 or 3. Those people should observe at every opportunity. Please note that the observatory will close for the semester after Thursday, 12/4, and there is no possibility of making up observing lab work until next semester. Please remember to write the submission date on the cover page when you turn in work. If you want to see the grading on the optional labs, please contact the TAs. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 11/19/08 To make it easier to complete the lab work, we are CHANGING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR LAB 4: Instead of 10 objects, you now only have to observe SIX. That can be any mixture of objects from the Fall list and optional ones you select yourselves. Remember that Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon are legitimate optional objects. Since some of you may already have completed Lab 4, we will give you 5 POINTS OF EXTRA CREDIT for each object you turn in above 6 (up to 10 maximum). Remember that the observatory will be open Monday and Tuesday nights of Thanksgiving week. Although we are not getting cosmic cooperation for telescopic observations, conditions may be good enough to see the International Space Station/Space Shuttle as they pass overhead the next few days. I'm appending a description of those quasi-astronomical opportunities. ------------ There will be two very good passes of the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle Endeavour over Central Virginia this week. The first and best pass is this Thursday evening, November 20, 2008. Go outside around 6:00 p.m. to give yourself a few minutes to adjust to the dark. At 6:12 p.m., the ISS and Shuttle Endeavour will appear over the southwest horizon, just to the right of Venus and Jupiter (the two bright planets low in the southwest). They will appear as a very bright star moving slowly through the sky, passing from southwest to northeast. At 6:15:34 p.m. they will be very nearly straight overhead. At 6:16:29 p.m. they will disappear into the shadow of the Earth about 1/2 way up in the northeast sky. As the ISS and Endeavour pass overhead, they will be at a distance of 212 miles. If the mission continues on the planned timeline, two astronauts will be spacewalking outside the ISS working on the solar array joint as the ISS and Endeavour pass overhead. There will be another great pass on Saturday evening, November 22 again from southwest to northeast. The ISS and Shuttle Endeavour will appear over the southwest horizon at 5:29 p.m. They will be highest in the sky, about 79 degrees above the northwest horizon, at 5:32:12 p.m., and will disappear low in the northeast sky at 5:35 p.m. Both of these passes should be spectacular. With the last few shuttle missions bringing large modules to the International Space Station, it has grown substantially brighter. It will be, by far, brighter than any star or planet as it passes overhead. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 11/10/08 The Student Observatory hours are changing. They will now be 7 PM - 11 PM Monday through Thursday, weather permitting, so you have an extra hour each clear night. Finish Lab 3 ASAP and move on to Lab 4. Lab 3 is due this Friday (11/14). Lab 4 asks that you observe 6 targets from the "Fall List" and 4 others that you choose yourself from the Lab 4 "Deep Sky Objects" list or on-line sources. You can observe the Moon, Jupiter, or Venus among those 4 optional targets. To use the CPC-800 electronic catalogs for optional stellar targets (i.e. those without Messier or NGC numbers), you will need to look up their SAO catalog numbers. There is a link from the ASTR 130 Links page to the SAO catalog. TA's can help with this if you have trouble. [Note that you do _not need_ to use automated pointing; you can find targets by boresighting or from coordinates.] There will be no more lecture meetings. Keep checking this announcements page for updates. Some items will be announced by email. There are no more "weekly review quizzes." If you have not completed all of those yet, do so ASAP to avoid a 15% penalty. You can pick up graded work through Lab 3 from the Student Observatory office. Lab 4 and the optional labs are not handed back, but you can review grading on each assignment by making an appointment with a TA. Contact the TA's ASAP if you are interested in the Astrophotography or Navigation labs. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 11/04/08 Grades for Lab 2 are now posted on the secure website. There will be no more weekly quizzes. The current gradebook posting includes all quiz scores through the Week 8 quiz. Because of the bad forecast for this week, the deadline for Lab 3 is EXTENDED TO FRIDAY, 11/14. If there are 2 clear nights before then, the deadline won't be extended again. Assuming most nights this week will have poor weather, there are only 3.5 observing weeks left. DON'T LET ANY CLEAR NIGHTS GO BY UNTIL YOU'VE COMPLETED LABS 3 AND 4. OPTIONAL LABS: You are expected to do optional labs that are worth a total maximum score of 300 points. You can choose these from Labs 5 and up in the ASTR 130 Manual, in any combination. They could all be CLEA (computer) labs. If you have already done one CLEA lab for your first optional lab, you can do two more CLEA's to complete your lab work, OR you can do a 200-point observing lab. For all optional labs, be sure to WRITE THE DATE on which you SUBMITTED your lab on the front of the lab paper. Lab 5/MOON LAB: you need to do this before Thursday, 11/13, because the moon will be too far east after that. You should complete Lab 3 before doing the Moon Lab, but you don't have to complete Lab 4. Lab 8/ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY: this lab will be done in a group, led by TA Abel Yang (ajy6n). Email Abel AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to reserve a space and to get background information. The lab will be done on one or two clear nights. Lab 9/METEOR SHOWER: the Leonid shower is predicted to peak on the morning of Monday, Nov. 17. Unfortunately, the moon is in waning gibbous phase then and will be pretty bright, making it hard to see fainter meteors. You might try the shower anyway. Around 20 meteors/hour are expected. You must observe from a dark site. The Blue Ridge is good --- but don't go alone. Lab 10/SUNSPOTS: unfortunately, neither the weather nor the Sun are cooperating this semester. There are too few sunspots (!) now to be able to do this lab reliably. Lab 12/NAVIGATION: TA George Privon (gcp8y) will be available 11 AM - 1 PM WEDNESDAYS AND FRIDAYS to help you with the lab. Email him the day before if you want to participate. Some things to remember about the CLEA (computer) labs: o Download instructions from the Astro Dept website o The interactive software for the CLEA labs can only be executed from ITC computers (e.g. in the libraries) o You must submit a COMPLETE LAB WRITE-UP, just as for other labs o Be sure you SHOW ALL CALCULATIONS on your submitted work (as specified in the instructions). >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 10/29/08 The MIDTERM exam is next Monday. There will be an informal review for the exam in the Astronomy Dept. Conference Room at 7 PM on Sunday, Nov. 2. Tips and review questions are posted at the class homepage "Exam Prep" link. Lab deadlines are unchanged. The first optional lab is due this Friday (10/31) at 5 PM. Note that interactive software for the CLEA labs can _only_ be executed from ITC computers---e.g. in the Clark Hall library. MANUAL UPDATES FOR LAB 3: p.28: Scopes WILL NOT TRACK even if powered up if have not been aligned/calibrated B: slower slew speeds (1-6) REVERSE sence of "up/down arrow" motion wrt speeds 7-9 3-G: b --- wait until "GPS Linking" message goes OFF. No need to press "enter" e --- "up/down" buttons here are NOT the directional arrows; instead are the 6/9 buttons g --- 2nd star --- should be on other side of sky from first. Other telescope tips: Practice using clamps, eyepieces, etc. with telescope in the TA office before taking scope outside. Check out the "alignment arrows" on the top of the fork mounting. You will need to use these in the automated calibration procedure. Touch the finder telescope only gingerly. You can knock it out of alignment. Don't use it as a handhold. Lower power eyepieces have _longer_ focal lengths. Check amount of telescope vibration by gently tapping the equatorial mount. Let telescope settle before trying to observe. Don't touch it during observations. Be sure you properly stow all the equipment taken out at the end of the night. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 10/21/08 Last night was the best observing night so far; even the Milky Way was visible from the Student Observatory. People who attended are well on their way toward completing Lab 3. Those who weren't there should begin the lab at the first opportunity (probably tonight). The Lab 2 deadline is this Friday (10/24) and will not be changed. Friday 10/31 is the deadline for the first optional lab. Most people will choose to do one of the CLEA non-observational labs for that. The secure website for ASTR 130 grades is now available. Click on the "Grades" link on the course webpage for information. Grades are posted to the site only occasionally. Be sure to check the "Grades" page to determine which assignments are posted at a given time. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 10/16/08 Well, our incredible run of bad weather has continued. Although it was reasonably clear last night, there was enough moonlight and thin cloud that the skyglow prevented work on fainter objects. Thus, we will postpone the deadline for Lab 2 by ONE MORE WEEK to Friday, 10/24. As before, if there is one more suitable night for observing, the deadline will not be changed again. However, because only a few people have not yet completed Lab 2, the other deadlines ARE NOT CHANGED. You should begin work on Lab 3 at the first opportunity. In recognition of our adverse weather circumstances this semester, we have adopted Joe Btfsplk as our official ASTR 130 class mascot. Joe's image will appear on the Weather page until further notice. (If you're curious about Joe's heritage, look up "Lil Abner" on Wikipedia.) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 10/09/08 We have (again) moved the deadline for Lab 2. It will now be FRIDAY OCT 17 (end of next week). We will not move the deadline again if either Wed or Thurs next week is clear. To turn in lab work: there is a 130 lab submission box just inside the WEST DOOR of the Astronomy Building (on McCormick Rd) nearest the student observatory. Please also note (see the "Deadlines" link) that because we anticipate continuing poor weather conditions, we have also CHANGED the deadlines for both Lab 3 and the first Optional Lab. The deadline for the first Optional Lab has been MOVED UP to Friday, 10/31. The deadline for Lab 3 has MOVED BACK to Friday, 11/07. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 10/06/08 The deadline for Lab 2 has been changed to FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10 at 5 PM. This assumes we will have two more usable nights between 10/6 and 10/9. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 10/01/08 1) Collab Review Quizzes. Standard protocol on the review quizzes is now as follows. Quizzes will be open to you starting at 8 PM each Monday. For full credit, you must complete each quiz by the following Monday at 7 PM. However, you can take the quiz late with a 15% point penalty until Dec. 5. You can "submit" each quiz only once, and you will get feedback after submission that indicates your score and the correct answers. From Collab, you can access a summary of your quiz grades at any time. [Note that the Collab gradebook will only be used for these quizzes. Lists of other grades will be accessible through the main course webpage. The latter lists will include the sum of your quiz scores but not give scores for individual quizzes.] The quizzes are "open book, open notes"---but obviously, it is better for your learning experience if you take each quiz first without any help and only check your answers afterwards, before you submit. 2) You are free to start Lab 3 as soon as you finish Lab 2. For Lab 3, it is advisable to have a partner to work with. You're free to use any reference source, on or off the web, for additional information about the objects you observe. However, you are not allowed to modify your observing sheets (as signed by the TAs) after you leave the lab. If you use outside references to help prepare your lab writeups, you should cite those by using footnotes and providing a bibliography, just as you would in a research paper. You can take as many nights to complete a lab as you need, but you must submit by the appropriate deadline to receive full credit. You should not use a given observing sheet for more than one night's data, however. There are many web and printed sources of target RAs and DECs. The list under Lab 4 in the ASTR 130 manual includes most of the interesting targets and gives coordinates. For web sources, see the links given in the Lecture 3 class notes. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 9/22/08 One constellation quiz session was held last Thursday, but because no email was broadcast to the whole class, we will hold TWO MORE SESSIONS (we hope this week). Email alerts will be sent. Because of the troublesome weather, we are moving the DEADLINE for Lab 2 to 5 PM on Wednesday, Oct 8. You can observe through Tuesday, Oct 7 to complete the lab. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 9/8/8 The weather is promising for doing Lab I (the constellation lab) tonight. If there's any question, consult the recorded message after 6:30 PM. Remember that we'll only be offering this lab on two nights for full credit, so if we do it tonight, there will only be one other opportunity. The lab will start 15 minutes after lecture ends tonight. Please be sure to bring: your sky wheels, your sky atlases, your lab manuals, and a hardcopy of the notes for lecture 1 with you to class. Don't forget flashlights. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 9/3/08 ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK o Attend your lab orientation session --- 265 Astronomy at 8 PM. o Read the course syllabus o Read the "Introduction" chapter of the Manual o Complete Review Quiz 1 on the Collab site o Prep for Lab I (Constellations) by reading the writeup in the Manual. We will do the ConLab Monday night 9/8 if weather is clear. The lab will be offered only 2 nights. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 9/1/08 Clarification of Lab hours: The Course Offering Directory INCORRECTLY lists lab hours for ASTR 130. The correct hours are T-R 8-11 PM and on Monday, 15 minutes after end of lecture until 11 PM. For the orientation meetings on T-R nights this week, you should be at 265 Astronomy Bldg by 8 PM. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 8/20/08 The FIRST CLASS MEETING of ASTR 130 will be Monday, 9/1, at 7 PM in Clark 107. (Yes, I know this is Labor Day, but the UVa administration doesn't seem to care.) We will cover organizational and policy aspects of the course. Your ASSIGNMENT in preparation for this first meeting is to read the Syllabus and Schedule/Deadline pages on the ASTR 130 web site (http://www.astro.virginia.edu/class/oconnell/astr130/). Those will be posted by Wednesday, 8/26. This class has a formal Co-Requisite of ASTR 121 or 124. If you don't meet that requirement don't worry, as long as you are willing to do a little extra reading in a standard ASTR 121/124 text on occasion. Labs will not be open until Monday, 9/1. Each of you has signed up for a Lab Section on either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday nights. During the week of 9/1 you must attend the lab at that time for a nightlab orientation (9:15 PM Monday, 8 PM Tuesday through Thursday). Go to the Astronomy 265 classroom for a 90 minute orientation covering facilities available to you, use of sky wheels, and lab procedures. Bring your sky wheels, lab manual, Edmund's Atlas, and a flashlight with you. Orientation will take place regardless of weather. After your orientation meeting, you can attend lab on any night when it is open. The first regular lecture (on constellations) will be Monday, Sept. 8. Web versions of the notes for the first lecture will be posted on the "Lectures" page of the ASTR 130 website by the preceding Friday. You can print out a hardcopy of the notes to bring to class and mark up. For Lab I (Constellations), you will work in groups. The lab will be held during THE FIRST TWO CLEAR NIGHTS ON OR AFTER MONDAY 9/8. You can come to either night---but you must come to one. This may mean some rearrangement of your personal schedule. Required materials you need to purchase at Newcomb Bookstore include the ASTR 130 Manual, a "sky wheel," and the "Edmund Mag 5 Star Atlas." You will also need to have a small flashlight with you at all laboratory sessions. See you Monday 9/1. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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