GOALS
The aim of the astronomy field trips is to familiarise you with astronomy, in particular with the celestial sphere, astronomical coordinates, the Milky Way and its stars, long exposure astrophotography and image stacking and analysis (manipulation). Throughout the process of taking long exposure images of the night’s sky, you will become familiar with various astronomical objects and will develop intuition for scales within the galaxy as well as care and precision in taking data.
WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR
This course is currently open to all students enrolled at the University of Zurich who are enrolled in either of the minor programs “Astronomy and Astrobiology” or “Astrophysics. No prerequisites or previous knowledge needed.
HOW IS THE COURSE ORGANIZED
- On the first clear night, we will go together to a close spot to practice. Because we are weather-dependent, we can only give notice a few days in advance.
- Students should work in groups of two or three. Groups will be organised during the Introduction lecture, during the second week of the teaching semester.
We provide you with tripods and a star-tracker. You will work together with another student and need to bring at least one camera. A DSLR is preferred, but any camera will suffice as long as it is has a 1/4′ standard tripod mount and can be set to manual. That means manual exposures of 30s or longer, manual focus, manual ISO etc. The camera lens can be anything from wide angle to telephoto.
Do not hesitate to go observing as soon as you spot a free clear night, as the weather can be quite changing, particularly in this season, and as often as needed. You can keep the equipment until the end of the semester.
Note that you will share the equipment but not the data. You will have to look at a different object than your group partner, and will write your own report about your pictures.
HOW TO PASS THIS COURSE
Before the trip we will have a preparation meeting in campus in which we will provide the theoretical background on astrophysical objects, basic terms and methods in astrophotography, explanations on the equipment to be used and the description of the tasks. After the trip, you will have to submit a report describing you work with the analysed pictures and an overview of the astronomical objects you have observed.
TIME AND CREDITS
This course is graded at 3 credit points. Please consider some flexibility in the arrangement of the field trips as we are dependent on the weather. Some semesters there are only one or two nights of clear weather from Zurich. Take advantage of those or head to the mountains to avoid the winter fog!