Charge-Coupled-Devices and Image Analysis in Astronomy Classes

被称为电荷耦合器件(CCDs)的电子成像传感器将被用来取代目前在天文学观测技术本科课程中使用的摄影技术和单通道电子设备。这一变化将实现三个重要的教育目标：1)它将为学生提供更真实的数据收集体验，使用现代光学天文学中常用的各种探测器；2)它将通过对抗夜空亮度增加的影响延长我们校园望远镜的使用寿命，3)它将允许学生探索图像分析的分析技术，这些技术不仅在天文学的各个部分得到广泛使用，而且在大多数其他科学中也得到了广泛的应用。将购买两个科学级的ccd成像相机系统和附带的数据采集和还原计算机。这些相机将用于校园内的两台教学望远镜：一台太阳望远镜和一台12英寸折射夜间望远镜。在太阳望远镜上，学生们将通过窄带氢滤光片获取日冕和太阳活动区域的延时图像。在夜间望远镜上，学生们将获得星团和变星的图像，以获得宽带恒星光度测量技术的经验。

Electronic imaging sensors called charge-coupled-devices (CCDs) will be used to replace the photographic techniques and the single- channel electronic devices currently used in an undergraduate course of Observational Techniques in Astronomy. This change will accomplish three important educational goals: 1) it will afford the students a more realistic data collection experience, using the kinds of detectors commonly employed in modern optical astronomy, 2) it will extend the useful life of our on-campus telescope by combating the effects of the increased brightness of the night sky, and 3) it will allow students to explore the analytical techniques of image analysis which find widespread use not only in all parts of astronomy but in most other sciences as well. Two scientific-grade CCD imaging camera systems and the accompanying data acquisition and reduction computers will be purchased. The cameras will be used on two teaching telescopes on campus; a solar telescope and a 12-inch refracting night-time telescope. On the solar telescope, students will acquire time- lapse images of prominences and of active regions on the sun through a narrow-band hydrogen filter. On the night-time telescope, students will acquire images of star clusters and of variable stars to gain experience in the techniques of broad-band stellar photometry.