PAP307 Advanced Course in Observational Astronomy II (2020-2023)

1. Course title

Havaitsevan tähtitieteen jatkokurssi II
Fortsättningskurs i observerande astronomi II
Advanced Course in Observational Astronomy II

2. Course code

PAP307

Aikaisemmat leikkaavat opintojaksot 53941 Havaitsevan tähtitieteen jatkokurssi II, 5 op

3. Course status: optional

-Which degree programme is responsible for the course?
Master’s Programme in Particle Physics and Astrophysical Sciences      

-Which module does the course belong to?
PAP3001 Advanced Studies in Astrophysical Sciences (optional for Study Track in Astrophysical Sciences)

-Is the course available to students from other degree programmes?
Yes

4. Course level (first-, second-, third-cycle/EQF levels 6, 7 and 8)

Master’s level, degree programmes in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine = secondcycle
degree/EQF level 7
Doctoral level = third-cycle (doctoral) degree/EQF level 8

-Does the course belong to basic, intermediate or advanced studies (cf. Government Decree
on University Degrees)?
Advanced studies

5. Recommended time/stage of studies for completion

Basic and fundamental observational astronomy courses shall be completed.

6. Term/teaching period when the course will be offered

The course will be offered in the spring term, in IV period.

7. Scope of the course in credits

5 cr

8. Teacher coordinating the course

Alexis Finoguenov

9. Course learning outcomes

After completing the course the students should be able to: (1) Identify and extract raw data together with the corresponding calibration frames from the ESO Science Archive that are relevant to the astrophysical science question being studied; (2) Reduce these data using a relevant pipeline provided by ESO (use e.g. high-resolution UVES and near-infrared ISAAC spectroscopic data as examples); (3) Carry out an analysis of complex spectroscopic data; (4) Carry out photometry in fully-reduced astronomical imaging observations including both relative photometry and absolute photometry with the full photometric calibration; (5) Carry out both absolute and relative astrometry in fully-reduced astronomical imaging observations; (6) Carry out automatic source detection, characterization and photometry in astronomical imaging observations; (7) Produce a written course report

10. Course completion methods

Participation in classroom work 100% participation in the lectures and practical sessions. 100% data analysis exercises.

11. Prerequisites

Recommended preceding studies: PAP306, PAP308

12. Recommended optional studies

Unix operational system.

13. Course content

The course is organized  in cooperation with the Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO (FINCA).  The course includes teaching in the form of lectures and supervised hands-on work on the data. The lectures cover the use of the ESO Science Archive and ESO data reductions pipelines (e.g. reduction and analysis of high-resolution optical spectroscopic and near-infrared spectroscopic data), the common methods for photometry and astrometry, automatic source extraction and characterization in astronomical images.  The course presents the tools astronomers currently use to analyze large numbers of complex spectroscopic data in AGN (active galactic nuclei) and star-forming galaxies and how users can apply these tools for analysis to their own (potentially non-AGN/galaxy related) data. The course will also help students scale the sometimes daunting initial learning curve by connecting them with the tool's designers or expert users.  The students are expected to work individually on their datasets and write-up their individual course reports at the end of the course.

14. Recommended and required literature

15. Activities and teaching methods in support of learning

16. Assessment practices and criteria, grading scale

Grading scale 1-5.

17. Teaching language

English