LFU:online

Learning Outcome:

At the end of this course the students should have

- obtained a good understanding of the broad range of instruments, which are available at a typical professional astronomical observatory, including some of their use cases,

- obtained practical experience in the use of a professional telescope,

- obtained a deeper understanding of how scientific astronomical observations are prepared and conducted,

- applied astronomical data reduction and data analysis techniques that are relevant for the observing program,

- described the conducted observations and obtained results in a report.

During this excursion we will visit one of the major European astronomical observatories located in Spain (Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, Teide Observatory, or Calar Alto Astronomical Observatory).
The students will learn about different telescopes at the observatory, their instrumentation, and example scientific use cases of these instruments.
Weather permitting the students will also conduct supervised scientific observations and corresponding calibration measurements at a professional telescope at the observatory for a specific scientific program. The students will conduct quick-look data analyses for quality monitoring followed by a more in-depth analysis of the obtained data. In the case of poor weather other data sets will be analysed.

An earlier preparatory block lecture will summarize relevant topics, e.g. regarding astronomical data acquisition, observing runs, observing proposals, observing conditions, data reduction, and the planned observing program.
It is also anticipated that each student will give a short presentation as part of the further preparation, e.g. providing an introduction to one of the visited telescopes or instruments.

Lectures and presentations, visits to the telescopes, practical training at the telescope, practical data reduction and data analysis, report writing

Course examination according to § 6, statute section on "study-law regulations".

Astrophysics introduction lectures at the Bachelor level. Additionally, students should already have experience regarding astronomical observations / astrophysical data analysis (e.g. from the Advanced Laboratory Class: Telescope, Astrophysics 2, or EU Astronomical observing training at the Asiago Astrophysical Observatory). It is required that students list such prior experience when signing up for the course.

In this academic year we plan to visit the Calar Alto Observatory in Southern Spain. In particular, we plan to conduct Near Infrared Observations of high-redshift galaxy clusters using the 3.5m CAHA Telecope. The excursion is planned for the time window December 17-23, 2023 (including travel).
For students fulfilling the prerequisites we will confirm participation following the order of the applications, aiming to minimize travel costs.
Students can already sign up for the excursion by contacting the course organiser via email. This email must contain information regarding how the corresponding student fulfills the prerequisites. Please note that an application is only valid once it has been confirmed by the course organiser. If students do not receive a confirmation email within 48h please contact the course organiser via phone or in person.