AST2201 Astronomical Techniques

Course Description

This course provides fundamental knowledges needed for observational and data processing techniques commonly used in astronomy, especially exoplanet science. 

Topics

1. The celestial sphere and the night sky

2. Celestial Mechanics

3. The continuous spectra of light

4. The interaction between light and matter

5. Observing the Exoplanets and their stars in the Solar Neighbourhood 

6. Astronomical Data Reduction and Interpretation 

7. Special Relativity

8. Telescopes

Course Highlights: 

Student will learn to use existing state-of-art astronomy software packages and python notebooks to interact with data taken from the Mt Kent telescopes, and NASA' s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, and characterise properties of exoplanets. 

Student will also have the opportunity to remote operate telescopes at the Mt Kent observatory.