Introduction to astronomy: position astronomy, stellar photometry with lab practice, application of the gravitation law to stellar and planetary systems.
Knowledge acquired: the bases of the positional astronomy, of the gravity applied to celestial bodies and of the stellar fotometry, with basic aspects of spectroscopy.
Competence acquired: knowledge of the celestial sphere and the measure of time. Perfom a photometric analysis of a star field. Understand the motion of the celestial bodies.
Skills acquired: being prepared to elaborate on modern astronomical issues.
Prerequisites
Physics I
Teaching Methods
Lectures
Data analysis in a computation facility
Type of Assessment
Oral examination
Course program
Time and Coordinates: celestial sphere, coordinate systems, time measurement, solar and sidereal time, position of the Sun on the celestial sphere,
analemma.
Astrometry: parallax and distance scale, Doppler effect and measurement of radial velocities.
Photometry: Radiative flux, magnitudes, color index, interstellar extiction, atmospheric effects.
Stars: HR diagram, star types, spectroscopic classification and surface temperature. Practice on measurement of stellar fluxes and on HR diagram construction.
Gravitation: two body problem, Kepler Laws, solution for orbital motion, Kepler equation.
Binary stars: visual, astrometric, photometric, spectroscopic. Stars mass and radius.
Application: exoplanets, detection techniques, phenomenology and physical properties.
Tidal effects, equinoctial precession, nutation.