Proposals should be formally written and should include the following sections:

• Scientific Objective: What is the scientific purpose of the project? What will it prove, demonstrate, convey, or elucidate?


• Target Object(s): What will you observe? What are its coordinates? When will it be visible? For stars, give magnitudes; for extended objects, give an estimate of the angular extent.


• Observing Time: For all but radio projects, clear weather will determine the days you can observe. What time(s) of night would you like to observe? How many hours of telescope time do you anticipate your observing will require? Remember, it is in your interest to be as flexible as possible!


• What equipment would you like to use? List telescope, detector, and other applicable equipment like filters, and gratings.


• Procedure: Describe how you will carry out the proposed observations.


• What calibration data will you need and how will you use it? List all relevant calibration data (darks, flat fields, etc.), and describe how you will reduce your data.

Remember that the finished reports should be in the required format.

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Project 3
Proposal due Monday, 4/7
Finished Project due Monday, 4/28, including in-class presentations
• Propose a set of spectroscopic observations to determine the electron temperature and electron density in a planetary nebula. In addition to the measuring the emission lines necessary for your calculations, identify as many other emission lines in the spectrum as you can.

  Choose from among the following planetary nebulae which are sufficiently bright to be detectable in a reasonable integration time:
  NGC 2392
  NGC 6210
  NGC 6720
  J900
  

  Our spectrograph is set up to observe over a wavelength range from about 4000-7000 Angstroms. Describe which emission lines you will measure, as well as how those measurements will yield the temperature or density of the nebula. Your relative emission-line fluxes (see below) will need to be corrected for interstellar reddening between us and the nebula in question - describe how you will carry this out, assuming you have measured Hα and Hβ. The actual observing and data reduction processes need not be explitly described. Dr. Souza and I will demonstrate the use of the spectrograph and suggest ways to analyze the data conveniently. To convert your measured counts to relative emission line fluxes, you will need to observe standard stars whose fluxes at various wavelengths are known; you'll be given suggested references.

  This project differs from the first two in that success is not pretty much guaranteed; among other things, we will need the weather to cooperate. You will have to be maximally flexible as to when you can observe to take advantage of good nights.

Group 1: Rob, Paul

Group 2: Katie D., Jordan, Amy

Group 3: Alec, Emma, Katie S.

Group 4: Marcus, Steve, Grant

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Project 2
Proposal due Friday afternoon, 3/7 by 5PM in my mailbox
Finished Project due 4/7, including in-class presentations

Propose a set of radio observations that will allow you to:

• demonstrate that the Galaxy is rotating by measuring the maximum radial velocity of H I gas in the disk of the Galaxy as a function of longitude in one full quadrant of Galactic longitude, starting from the Galactic center; and

• verify the existence of dark matter in the Galaxy by constructing a rotation curve from your radio measurements and comparing it with measurements of the fall-off of Galactic light at large radius.*

*You may wish to know that the fall-off of light with increasing radius in a galaxy disk can be parameterized as an exponential, as follows:
B(r) = B_oe^-0.8r, where B(r) is the brightness at radius r, and r is expressed in kpc. For our purposes, let B_o=100.

For the class presentations on April 7, each group will present the portion of the project in parentheses after their names.

Group 1: Amy, Katie S. (Give a brief overview of the entire project. Then describe the equipment, the method you used to obtain the necessary data, and your observing strategy. Show a few of the individual spectra you obtained. Show your final rotation curve.)

Group 2: Katie D., Emma, Grant (Describe how you went from raw data to deriving the maximum radial velocity of the H I gas in the disk of the Galaxy as a function of longitude, starting from the Galactic center. Show your final rotation curve.)

Group 3: Rob, Jordan, Steve (Describe how you constructed a rotation curve, going from velocity vs. longitude to velocity vs. distance from the center of the Galaxy. Show your final rotation curve.)

Group 4: Alec, Marcus, Paul (Show how you verified the existence of dark matter in the Galaxy by comparing your final rotation curve with measurements of the fall-off of Galactic light at large radius.)

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Project 1
Proposal due 2/11
Finished Project due 3/3, including in-class presentations
• Design a project to acquire a set of images that will manifest the existence of the interstellar medium (dust and/or gas) in two different ways.

Group 1: Marcus, Paul, Katie S.

Group 2: Katie D., Steve

Group 3: Rob, Amy, Grant

Group 4: Alec, Jordan, Emma