Astronomical observations

Enrollment in academic year.

Historical introduction: basis of calendar, eclipses, size and distances of the Earth, Moon and Sun, distances in the Solar system, rotational period of the Earth, leap second.

Positional astronomy: concept of celestial sphere, spherical trigonometry, calculation of altitude and azimuth, culmination, time above horizon, sidereal time, effects of atmospheric refraction, aberration, precession, parallax and proper motion.

Solar apparent motion: coordinates, mean and true Solar time, illumination, occurence of seasons.

Astronomical telescopes: lens, mirror, combining the two elements, types of telescopes, light collecting power, image scale, image brightness, depth of field, magnification, telescope mounts.

Digital detectors: their size, image presentation, photometric filters.

Astronomical magnitudes: apparent and absolute magnitude, basics of reduction of photometric observations.

Basics of astronomical spectroscopy: spectrograph, measurable quantities.

H. Karttunen et al.: Fundamental Astronomy, Fifth Edition, Springer, 2007.
R.M. Green: Spherical astronomy, Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Gordon Walker: Astronomical observations: an optical perspective. Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Astronomska revija Spika, 1993-2013.
Presekova zvezdna karta, DMFA, 2000; Spikina vrtljiva zvezdna karta.
B. Kambič: Raziskujmo ozvezdja z daljnogledom 10x50 / Viewing constellation with Binoculars, Springer, 2010.

Mastering of basics of astronomical observations, of understanding of the universe using laws of physics, and of the related methods.

Knowledge and understanding: Understanding of the basics of the physical picture of the Universe, its foundations, and acknowledging its present limitations.

Application: Basic knowledge of astronomy and astrophysics, experience of the universality of physics, experience of inventive measurements in difficult conditions.

Reflection: The Universe contains most diverse physical environments, but it can be understood with physics as we know it.

Transferable skills: Critical evaluation of information, examples of measurements in physics in different situations, examples of manipulation of digital data, basics of photographic techniques.

Lectures, computational and practical exercises, astro-lab reports.

Written exam, presentation of astro-lab report
Oral exam
grading: 5 (fail), 6-10 (pass) (according to the Statute of UL)

prof. dr. T. Zwitter:
1. KOS, Janez, ZWITTER, Tomaž, et al. Pseudo-three-dimensional maps of the diffuse interstellar band at 862 nm. Science, ISSN 1095-9203, 15. avgust 2014, vol. 345, no. 6198, str. 791-795. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6198/791.full.pdf, http://www.sciencemag.org/content/suppl/2014/08/13/345.6198.791.DC1/Kos.SM.pdf. [COBISS-SI-ID 473217], [JCR, SNIP, Scopus do 1. 10. 2014: št. citatov (TC): 0, čistih citatov (CI): 0, normirano št. čistih citatov (NC): 0]
2. ŽERJAL, Maruška, ZWITTER, Tomaž, MATIJEVIČ, Gal, et al. Chromospherically active stars in the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) Survey : I. The catalog. The Astrophysical journal, ISSN 0004-637X, 2013, vol. 776, issue 2, article id. 127, str. 1-12. http://iopscience.iop.org/0004-637X/776/2/127/pdf/0004-637X_776_2_127.pdf. [COBISS-SI-ID 418945],
3. KOS, Janez, ZWITTER, Tomaž, et al. Diffuse interstellar band at 8620 Å in RAVE : a new method for detecting the diffuse interstellar band in spectra of cool stars. The Astrophysical journal, ISSN 0004-637X, 2013, vol. 778, issue 2, article id. 86, str. 1-11. http://iopscience.iop.org/0004-637X/778/2/86/pdf/0004-637X_778_2_86.pdf. [COBISS-SI-ID 421249]
4. ZWITTER, Tomaž, MATIJEVIČ, Gal, et al. Distance determination for RAVE stars using stellar models : II. most likely values assuming a standard stellar evolution scenario. Astronomy & astrophysics, ISSN 0004-6361, 2010, let. 522, št. A54, str. 1-15. [COBISS-SI-ID 363905]
5. ZWITTER, Tomaž, RE FIORENTIN, Paola, MATIJEVIČ, Gal, VIDRIH, Simon, et al. The radial velocity experiment (RAVE): second data release. The Astronomical journal, ISSN 0004-6256, 2008, let. 136, št. 1, str. 421-451. [COBISS-SI-ID 309377]