A Telescope and Instrumentation for a New Astronomy Curriculum

Middlebury College, Middlebury VT

Investigators

Abstract

Astronomy (11) The project is adapting a telescope used by a few other institutions for undergraduates, a 60-cm (24-inch) computer-controlled telescope with a sensitive 1024 x l024-pixel CCD camera, to improve dramatically the college's astronomical imaging capabilities, increasing the number and quality of student projects. The camera, combined with existing instrumentation (a slit spectrograph, a fiber fed spectrograph, and an aperture photometer) form a flexible and powerful suite of modern instrumentation for observational astrophysics. Projects range from variations of standard astronomy observations to work adapted from the research literature to student research projects. The overall goal of the project is to exploit the reservoir of public interest in astronomy to increase the number of students who develop an understanding of and appreciation for science, whether as educated citizens or as career scientists. The new equipment supports several new undergraduate courses in astrophysics, as well as improving the laboratory for the popular introductory astronomy course. The equipment also supports independent research projects by science majors, workshops for local science teachers, and visits by the general public.