ASTR 596

Spring 2014

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Seminar in Special Topics
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Credit: 0 TO 16 hours.

Approved for both letter and S/U grading. May be repeated. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

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CRN Type Section Time Day Location Instructor Section Details
60551
Lecture
AR
2:00PM -3:20PM
MW
134 Astronomy Building
Chu, Y
Part of Term:
1
Date Range:
01/21/14-05/07/14
Credit:
4 hours
Section Title:
Methods of Astronomy Research
Section Info:
This course is focussed on research methods for observational astronomy. Students will discuss their own research interests, and downselect topics that are scientifically significant and feasible. Students will then do literature search to find out the current knowledge of that subject. Archival data will be used in pilot studies to determine whether new observations need to be proposed. The basic data that can used in this course include new Hubble Space Telescope data and multiple-wavelength archival data of the Large Magellanic Cloud. These data will be used to study a range of problems such as progenitors of Type Ia supernovae, star formation history, and supernova remnants. Students are expected to actively participate in discussions and the execution of these research projects. An oral presentation and a publishable paper are required at the end of semester.
60569
Lecture
RF1
2:00PM -3:20PM
RF
134 Astronomy Building
Foley, R
Part of Term:
1
Date Range:
01/21/14-05/07/14
Credit:
4 hours
Section Title:
Supernovae and Dark Energy
Section Info:
About 70% of the Universe is composed of dark energy, yet we know very little about it. Astrophysicists have used measurements of supernovae -- exploding stars -- to constrain the nature of dark energy. In fact, supernova observations led to the discovery of the accelerating universe, driven by dark energy. This discovery was awarded the 2011 Nobel prize in physics. As a class, we will read the scientific literature and work with real data as a way of understanding the physics of supernovae and how they can be used to probe dark energy. This work will be a way to learn about these objects, but will also be cutting edge research. The final product will be a scientific paper that will be submitted to a journal. All participating students will be authors of this paper. Since we will be working with data, an understanding of the unix environment and basic programming skills are required. Although not strictly required, having taken ASTR 404 and 406 is highly recommended. There will be no exams, but students will be expected to give presentations and lead discussions throughout the semester.
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