1.2 Required Equipment and Software
3
add-on packages called modules, which include those for performing astronomical
calculations, astronomical image manipulation, statistics, and even a package to control IRAF via python (PYRAF). A number of Python distributions and versions are
currently in use. The author’s preference is the Anaconda Python 2.7.6 distribution,
as it is easy to install and comes with most of the tools you need. However, others
are available and might already be installed on your computer.
This book also covers spectrographs and radio observation. Most universities
running astrophysics programs have telescopes with cameras, but having a mounted
spectrograph is rarer, and access to a radio telescope even more so. However, please
feel free to read these chapters even if you don’t currently have access to such
instruments. These are, after all, important tools in professional astronomy, and you
never know when this knowledge might prove useful.
1.3 How to Use This Book
This book doesn’t have questions for the reader to attempt, although it does provide
worked examples for the trickier mathematics. Instead, there are practical activities
for you to try. The idea is that you will gain the skills and the confidence you need
by actually having a go at these things and seeing how they work in practice.
The initial chapters cover the underpinnings for the practical sessions introduced
later. In most cases, it’s possible to do the exercises from previously acquired data.
(This is sometimes referred to as “canned data.”) This does, however, provide a different experience from actually going out and doing the observations. (And don’t underestimate how different sitting indoors in front of a computer in the mid-afternoon
feels from actually being out there on a cold winter night.)
Unlike many books that you may encounter during your studies, this one is not
limited to a single course or module. Rather, it’s intended to be a companion that can
guide you through all the stages of your course. Topics we will cover include general
observing, solar system astronomy, solar physics, planetary science, stellar astrophysics, extragalactic astrophysics, and cosmology. We will also touch on broader
physical topics such as quantum mechanics (where relevant to the matter at hand).
The practical exercises are laid out in the order that I teach them in my own classes.
Your course may have a different structure; if so, please feel free to skip backward
and forward as you need to. However, keep in mind that the initial chapters and
practicals are vital, as they cover essential observational skills. Even if you are not
taught them, you should make yourself familiar with the materials and techniques
therein. Whilst reading this book, you will likely also notice that some ideas are
repeated between chapters. This is both to reinforce key concepts and also to allow
the reader to skip forward to a desired section without the need to read every single
item in between.
Your course likely requires a final-year project. By the end of this book, you
should have the needed skills and confidence to take this on and succeed. This book
will help you in deciding on a project and its structure.
3
add-on packages called modules, which include those for performing astronomical
calculations, astronomical image manipulation, statistics, and even a package to control IRAF via python (PYRAF). A number of Python distributions and versions are
currently in use. The author’s preference is the Anaconda Python 2.7.6 distribution,
as it is easy to install and comes with most of the tools you need. However, others
are available and might already be installed on your computer.
This book also covers spectrographs and radio observation. Most universities
running astrophysics programs have telescopes with cameras, but having a mounted
spectrograph is rarer, and access to a radio telescope even more so. However, please
feel free to read these chapters even if you don’t currently have access to such
instruments. These are, after all, important tools in professional astronomy, and you
never know when this knowledge might prove useful.
1.3 How to Use This Book
This book doesn’t have questions for the reader to attempt, although it does provide
worked examples for the trickier mathematics. Instead, there are practical activities
for you to try. The idea is that you will gain the skills and the confidence you need
by actually having a go at these things and seeing how they work in practice.
The initial chapters cover the underpinnings for the practical sessions introduced
later. In most cases, it’s possible to do the exercises from previously acquired data.
(This is sometimes referred to as “canned data.”) This does, however, provide a different experience from actually going out and doing the observations. (And don’t underestimate how different sitting indoors in front of a computer in the mid-afternoon
feels from actually being out there on a cold winter night.)
Unlike many books that you may encounter during your studies, this one is not
limited to a single course or module. Rather, it’s intended to be a companion that can
guide you through all the stages of your course. Topics we will cover include general
observing, solar system astronomy, solar physics, planetary science, stellar astrophysics, extragalactic astrophysics, and cosmology. We will also touch on broader
physical topics such as quantum mechanics (where relevant to the matter at hand).
The practical exercises are laid out in the order that I teach them in my own classes.
Your course may have a different structure; if so, please feel free to skip backward
and forward as you need to. However, keep in mind that the initial chapters and
practicals are vital, as they cover essential observational skills. Even if you are not
taught them, you should make yourself familiar with the materials and techniques
therein. Whilst reading this book, you will likely also notice that some ideas are
repeated between chapters. This is both to reinforce key concepts and also to allow
the reader to skip forward to a desired section without the need to read every single
item in between.
Your course likely requires a final-year project. By the end of this book, you
should have the needed skills and confidence to take this on and succeed. This book
will help you in deciding on a project and its structure.