ASTROPHYSICS LABORATORY I

Introduction:

The operative system LINUX, Interactive Data Language, Latex.

The electromagnetic radiation. Stokes parameters.

The Earth atmosphere: absorption and emission spectrum

Stellar spectra,: Spectral types and Luminosity classes

Fourier Transforms, Convolutions

Intrumentation:

Telescopes: optics, aberrations, configurations, montings.

Telescopes for visible, X-ray, ultraviolet, infrared and radio.

Detectors:

Signals, analogic signals, sampling and digitalisation, Nyquist theorem.

General properties: dark current, reading noise and background noise.

Detectors for visible light: hystory: photographic plates and photomultipliers. Bolometers. CCD.

Detectors for radio and microwaves: recivers

Detectors for X and gamma rays.

Detectors for cosmic rays and neutrinos.

Observational methods:

Imaging:

Optics for imaging.

Photometric systems.

Background: sky, Moon, solar system, Galaxy

Experience at the Telescopes of the INAF-Catania Astrophysical Observatory on mount Etna.

Data reduction with IRAF.

Spectroscopy:

Spectrographs. Theory. Configurations and properties.

Experience at the Telescope. Data reduction with IRAF.

Experience in the optical lab: allignement of a spectrograph on an optical bench.

Polarimety:

Principles of polarimetry, methods in Astrophysics.

Experience at the Telescopes of the INAF-Catania Astrophysical Observatory on mount Etna.

Radioastronomy:

Experience at the Noto Radio Telescopes of the INAF-Institute of Radio Astronomy.

Gray D.F., The observation and analysis of stellar spectra – Cambridge Astrophysics Series
Kitchin C.R., Astrophysical Techniques - Publisher Institute of Physics Publishing
Mihalas D., - Stellar Atmospheres. -San Francisco: W. H. Freeman & Company