Observational Astrophysics Techniques
AST-203-4 2026.2
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais
Astrophysics Division
course page| Lecture Credits | 4 |
| Work Credits | 0 |
| Total hours | 60h |
| Type | Period-long |
| Language | Portuguese |
Description
Astronomical coordinates. Earth’s atmosphere: structure, absorption, emission and scattering of radiation. What is observed in Astrophysics. Fourier transform. Statistical treatment of data. Detectors: physical principles of detection. Quantum, thermal and radio-frequency detectors. Signal measurement. Photometry and polarimetry: definition of quantities. Calibration methods. Stokes vector. Imaging: formation (telescopes), degradation and processing. Spectral analysis: instruments. Measurement of continuum and spectral lines.
Homework 2 already in DOCUMENTS.
Homework 2 already in DOCUMENTS.
Course schedule
| Date | Class | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 14/07/2026 | Lecture 7 | Telescopes |
| 16/07/2026 | Lecture 8 | Detectors |
| 21/07/2026 | Lecture 9 | Imaging and photometry |
| 23/07/2026 | Lecture 10 | Spectroscopy |
| 28/07/2026 | Lecture 11 | Data processing |
| 30/07/2026 | Lecture 12 | Observing-time proposal |
Lectures
| Part 1 — Felipe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [external] - Link to Part 1 content | ||||
| Part 2 — Ted | ||||
| 14/07/2026 - Lecture 7 - Telescopes | ||||
| 16/07/2026 - Lecture 8 - Detectors | ||||
| 21/07/2026 - Lecture 9 - Imaging and photometry | ||||
| 23/07/2026 - Lecture 10 - Spectroscopy | ||||
| 28/07/2026 - Lecture 11 - Data processing | ||||
| 30/07/2026 - Lecture 12 - Observing-time proposal | ||||
| Part 3 | ||||
| 11/08 - Lecture 14: Large Surveys and Astronomical Databases |
Documents
Bibliography
BEVINGTON, P. R. & ROBINSON, D. K. Data reduction and error analysis for the physical sciences, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill Inc., 2002BRADT, H. Astronomy Methods: A Physical Approach to Astronomical Observations, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2004.
GRAY, D. F. Observation and analysis of stellar photospheres, 3rd edition, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2008.
HOWELL, S. B. Handbook of CCD Astronomy, 2nd edition, Cambridge, 2006.
KITCHIN, C. R. Astrophysical Techniques, 5th edition, CRC, 2008.
LÉNA, P., LEBRUN, F. & MIGNARD, F. Observational Astrophysics, 2nd edition, Springer-Verlag, 1998.
MCLEAN, I. S. Electronic imaging in astronomy: detectors and instrumentation. Springer & Praxis, 2008.
WALKER, G. Astronomical observations: an optical perspective. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1987.
Specialized articles in the field.
