Harvard University Astronomy Lab and Clay Telescope

Day Labs | Evening Labs | Cloudy Day Labs | MaximDL/CCDOps Help

Daytime Labs

SPU-21

Pinhole Experiment - Measure the diameter of the Sun using a pinhole

Timing the Motion of the Sun Experiment - Measuring the size of the Sun by timing its motion

The Changing Declination of the Sun - Make sundial measurements to determine the Sun's daily change in elevation and the obliquity of the Earth

Sun's Rotational Period - Use sunspots to measure the Sun's rotational period

Luminosity and Temperature of the Sun - Measure how much energy the Sun puts out with a very simple photometer made of paraffin

The Solar Spectrum (visual) - Visually explore the Solar Spectrum using the heliostat

The Solar Spectrum (spectra) - Take a solar spectrum using the Clay Telescope

The Measurement of the Astronomical Unit - Measure the distance from the Sun to the Earth, the AU!

SPU-22

Angular Diameter of the Sun - Measure the angular diameter of the Sun two different ways

The Solar Spectrum - Using the telescope, take an image of the blue (or cloudy) sky

Evening Labs

SPU-21

How and Why do Stars "Move"? - Observe how stars appear to move from hour to hour and week to week

Measure Elevation and Azimuth of Jupiter vs. Aldebaran - Using a sextant measure El/Az angles

Visual Observations of Albireo - Determine the color and separation of the double star Albireo

Jupiter and the Galilean Moons - Track the orbit of Jupiter's moon, Io, to determine the orbit period of the moon

CCD Field of View - Using the known separation of the double star, Albireo, determine the CCD field of view

CCD Photometry of Albireo - Do simple aperture photometry on the double star, Albireo, using Vega as a standard stra

CCD Photometry of Betelgeuse and Rigel - Do simple aperture photometry on the Betelgeuse and Rigel, using Alcyone as a standard star

CCD Observations of the Central Bulge of the Andromeda Galaxy - Measure the color (B-V) of the Bulge and estimate the total mass

Spectra of Betelgeuse and Rigel - Determine what spectral type these stars are and what prominent lines you see in your spectra

H-R Diagram of M39 - Create and H-R Diagram of M39 and use it to determine the distance to the cluster, the age of the cluster and the cluster density

H-R Diagram of Pleiades - Create and H-R Diagram of M45 and use it to determine the distance to the cluster, the age of the cluster and the cluster density

Cloudy Day Labs

SPU-21

Why is the sky blue? Why are sunsets (and dusty stars) red? - Use a fish tank and some milk to learn about the color of the sky and sunsets

Exploring Kirchoff's Laws - Learn about absortion and emission lines, while determining the temperature of an alcohol lamp flame

CLEA Star Clusters - Supplementary observations and data to add to your HR Diagram of your cluster

MaximDL and CCDOps Help

Taking CCD Images - Instructions on how to take single images and set up a sequence of images using MaximDL

Taking Spectra - Instructions on how to align an object on the spectrograph slit and take spectra using CCDOps

Taking Calibration Spectra - Instructions on how to set up and take calibration spectra

Determine a Wavelength Solution - Use your object spectrum and calibration spectrum to assign wavelengths to pixels

Color Combine Images - Step-by-step instructions on how to align and make a color image in MaximDL

Photometry - Learn how to do photometry on single or multiple images and export the data to an Excel format