Volos, Greece

Study Guide of Observational Astronomy

when 22 July 2016 - 24 July 2016
language English
duration 1 week
credits 10 EC

Lesson 1:
During the first lesson we will brief deal with the naked eye observations, as conducted in the ancient times and a first introduction to the summer night sky will be given.
The basic geometric principles of the telescope and its various designs will be analyzed. We will also talk about the celestial sphere and the apparent movements of the stars and planets on it.

Lesson 2
In this lesson, using the previously acquired knowledge, we will learn how to tell the time and day, using the stars.
Furthermore, we will focus on recognizing the most prominent summer constellations and we will also talk about their mythology.
The basic parts of a telescope+mount system will be presented and the students will learn how to set it up it for an observation. After that, we will use it to practice in locating targets.

Lesson 3:
During the third lesson we will see accessories such as eyepieces, focal reducers, lters and talk about the reasons and methods that can help us make our observations successful.
We will use use this equipment on a equatorial mounted telescope to see spectra from various stars and discuss their differences.
Also, we will shortly discuss about the usage of the telescope in the acquisition of scientic data and suggest sources for further self study on the field of practical astronomy.

Course leader

Alexandros Filothodoros

Target group

High School students, 1st and 2nd year University students

Course aim

The course aims at the familiarization with the instrumentation of the Observational Astronomy.

Fee info

EUR 0: The course is a part of the complete program "1st Science Summer School", with total cost 770 EUR (accommodation and transport are included)