Welcome to Physics 100!#
This class provides an introduction to Observational Astronomy, in particular to making and analyzing astronomical observations and to the astronomy profession in general. The class is designed for advanced undergraduate physics majors but is open to all undergraduate students with a calculus based physics background. We will explore and practice how astronomers take projects from initial ideas, through data collection and analysis, to write-up and presentation. Topics in lecture will include: navigating the night sky, telescope instrumentation and operation, the physics of stars and galaxies, statistical analysis, and effective scientific communication. We will also introduce several hot topics in astrophysics and cosmology.
The purpose of this website is to:
provide up-to-date schedules for observing nights, labs, lectures, and the final project
host assignments: Jupyter Notebooks can be easily opened with Google Colab
link additional resources which may prove useful as the course progresses
show off the awesome things we do with the Stanford Student Observatory
Important things not on the website are:
Canvas announcements
Google Drive folder for shared data here
Assignment submission (use Canvas) and posted solutions
Logistics
Lab 0
Lab 1
Final Project
Other Resources