Imaging the Universe: A New Curriculum for Undergraduate Astronomy Laboratories

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The project extends and enhances the development of an innovative undergraduate astronomy curriculum based on CCD cameras and robotic telescopes. The emphasis of the new curriculum is hands-on planning and analysis of the student's own images rather than traditional methods using observations from professional astronomers. The primary audience is the non-science major in large introductory courses. The project has three components. The first is revisions and additions to the new laboratory curriculum already written. We have developed fourteen observing laboratories as well as fifteen computer based tutorial exercises during the current grant period. Based on comments from teaching assistants and students who have used the draft version of the curriculum, we will revise existing labs and add about fifteen additional labs. The revisions will attempt to make the hands-on approach more direct, make the mathematical level more nearly uniform, and better emphasize the imaginative and creative skills of the students. The new observing labs will cover astronomical topics not yet addressed in the current manual,, including orbits of minor solar system objects, properties of variable stars, variability in active galaxies, and spectral line observation of nebulae and bright stars. New computer-based laboratories will include extensive use of the astronomy databases and images available over the Internet using the Mosaic user interface. The second component is the development of a software system to schedule and control a automated telescope system using commercially available hardware. the system would be completely self-contained and controllable from any site on the Internet. We have already developed a prototype system for a custom mount and dome using a low cost PC. The system would allow interested colleges and universities to set up a complete CCD-based laboratory for large introductory classes with minimal effort and expense. It could also be used to operate remote dark-site tel escopes which could be shared among several schools. The third component is the development of an HTML Internet site at the University of Iowa for dissemination of on-line information related to the use of CCD cameras and robotic telescopes in the teaching of astronomy.