Topic outline

  • General

  • Topic 1

  • Topic 2

    Identify Constellations

  • Topic 3

    The Earth Rotates
    • Foucault Pendulum Page
      As Leon Foucault demonstrated in 1851, a long pendulum can reveal the rotation of the Earth. In this experiment you will see this for yourself.

  • Topic 4

    Our Dynamic Sun

  • Topic 5

    • Explore Mars Page

      Use data from ground based telescopes and spacecraft to explore Earth's nearest planetary neighbor.

    • Mars in 3D URL

      Discover Mars in 3D with an interactive view from space.

    • NASA Simulation of a Human Mars Mission URL

      The New York Times produced this short program about NASA's expedition to Mauna Loa in Hawaii where a crew will experience the isolation of a long duration mission on Mars' surface.

  • Topic 6

    Light and Telescopes


    • Light, Vision, and Telescopes Page

      Explore the basic properties of light, and how your eyes and telescopes work.


    • See Your Own Retina Page

      This instructional video from the American Association of Physics Teachers will show you how to see your own retina. The method they describe may also show your fovea (high resolution part) and the the blind spot too.


  • Topic 7

    Astronomical Images

  • Topic 8

    Use an Astronomer's CCD Camera
    • A Remote Controlled CCD Camera Using JS9 Page

      In this activity you will operate a CCD camera that is in one of our teaching laboratories on the University of Louisville's Belknap Campus.  It is similar to those used on our telescopes, and this will give you first hand experience similar to that of astronomers acquiring and analyzing their data.

      We begin with an explanation of the camera and its software that leads to taking some images yourself.

    • Experiment with Color Images Page

      When you have taken a few images with the camera you can view them, measure the size and location of objects on them, and determine how much light those objects deliver to the sensor.  With the help of online software you  will construct  color images in which each color distinctively conveys the response of the camera to light selected by a filter. 

  • Topic 9

    Explore the Sky with Astronomical Telescopes
    • Observe with our Telescopes Page

      Our  archive of data from our observatories  are available to you this semester to find out more about something you are interested in. We will also guide you to explore other available data from observatories and satellites depending on your own self-directed interests.

    • Stellarium Online URL

      This is a quick link to the online version of Stellarium used in this lab.   

    • In the Sky URL

      The web resource

      https://in-the-sky.org

      will show you what is currently visible in the sky.  You may chose from among different types of objects, and it is a helpful tool for selecting a request that is observable now.


    • Interactive map of the sky URL

      The online software at this link will display the sky overhead at any location and time.   You'll need to know your longitude and latitude, and to select the date and time from the calendar on the application. For example, the longitude of Louisville, Kentucky, is -85.5 degrees.  The minus sign is the convention for this software if the location is west of the prime meridian.  Louisville's latitude is about 38.3 degrees north.  

      An alternative to using this is to run Stellarium on the web or on your own computer.  It provides more information and a realistic view.

    • Use js9 on our Server to View FITS Image Files URL

      Some of your image data are in "FITS" image format.  To look at those you need to use a special viewer which you have already used in other activities this semester.  It is linked from within the description of your work for this week, but here it is all by itself if you need it.

      Download a file you want to view by right clicking on the file name and "Save as ..." a file that is in a location you can find later.

      Open the link in your browser, select "File", and then select a local file on your own computer that has the "FITS" extension to see it in you browser.  You do not have to install software.

      JS9 may work best in Firefox, but this depends on your choice of operating system.  Google Chrome works fine with it using a Chromebook, and probably will be fine with Windows or Mac systems too.  



  • Topic 10

    Earth's  Moon
    • Study the Moon URL

      This page provides on-line resources for the study of the Moon this week.

    • The Moon Page

      Study Earth's Moon with images from our telescopes and some simple experiments of your own.

  • Topic 11

    Proxima Centauri: Our Nearest Neighbor with Planets

    • Proxima Centauri with JS9 Page

      The red dwarf star Proxima Centauri is the nearest known star to the Sun. Its motion through space causes it to appear to move across the sky. You will measure that apparent proper motion in this experiment.

  • Topic 12

    Virgo's Galaxies

  • Topic 13

    A Nearby Supernova
    • Supernovae in Distant Galaxies Page

      We find the absolute magnitude of a supernova in a nearby galaxy, and use that to measure the distance to another one farther away.

    • Video Help -- Getting Started URL

      This short video takes you through the first part of the experiment and shows how to use the JS9 webpage to measure the brightness of a supernova compared to stars of known brightness.

  • Topic 14

    Under the Southern Sky in Namibia

  • Topic 17

    • Topic 18

      • Topic 19