AST 601, Astrophysics Graduate Seminar: Fall 2015-2016

This material can be found online at URL

http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/ast601/ast601.html

Outline for the course, class schedule, etc.

Tentative schedule for the quarter

• Week 2: Introduction, how to read and summarize an article
  • Please read and annotate a copy of this recent astro-ph paper , and bring your copy with you to class.
• Week 3: Writing a simple computer program
• Week 4: Aspects of computing: documentation, scripting vs. power languages
• Week 5: Observing proposals (I)
  • Note that RIT has a share of time on the WIYN 0.9-m telescope
  • NOAO observing proposal information for 2016A
• Week 6: Observing proposals (II)
  • arXiv volunteers: please sign up
• Week 7: Observing proposals (III)
  • arXiv volunteers: please sign up
• Week 8: LaTeX
  • arXiv volunteers: please sign up
  • Introduction to LaTeX
  • The AASTeX package
  • The angular momentum paper
• Week 9: LaTeX and bibliographies
  • arXiv volunteers: please sign up
  • Notes on bibliographies and LaTeX
• Week 10: Making graphs with gnuplot
  • arXiv volunteers: please sign up
  • Notes on gnuplot
• Week 11: Advanced use of gnuplot
  • arXiv volunteers: please sign up
  • Advanced use of gnuplot
• Week 12: Giving talks
  • arXiv volunteers: please sign up
  • Tips for a successful talk
  • Field trip! Let's all attend Pamela Gay's talk on "Citizen Science" on Thursday, Nov 12, 7:00 PM, 08-1250. We can use this as an example. Take notes, and we'll discuss the good and bad points next week.
• Week 13: Giving talks (part II)
  • arXiv volunteers: please sign up
  • Discussion of the "Citizen Science" talk of last Thursday
  • Topics for student presentations, to be given Monday, Dec 14
• Week 14: Giving talks (III)
  • arXiv volunteers: please sign up
  • 60-second teaser-trailers for your talks
    • Fourier analysis of variable stars using regularized regression
    • Dull Stars, Bright Clouds
    • The Perils of One-time Detections

For more information

• Some references we found which describe the profiles of stellar absorption lines:
  • Professor J. B. Tatum's lecture notes from the courses he has taught at the University of Victoria include an entire set of notes on stellar atmospheres.

This page maintained by Michael Richmond. Last modified Oct 26, 2015.

Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.