Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Aug 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006iauss...5e..36p&link_type=abstract
Astronomy for the Developing World, 26th meeting of the IAU, Special Session 5, 21-22 August, 2006 in Prague, Czech Republic, SP
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Small aperture (<1m, typically 20-50cm) optical telescopes with adequate back-end instrumentation (photometer, CCD camera and CCD spectrograph etc) can be used for spreading the joy and excitement of observational astronomy among postgraduate and research students in Colleges/. On the basis of over a decade's experience in observing with small optical telescopes it has been amply demonstrated that such a facility, which any University department can hope to procure and maintain, can be effectively used for teaching as well quality research. The Physics Department of Pt Ravishankar Shukla University at Raipur, India offers Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) as one of the specialization as a part of M Sc program in Physics. A set of observational exercises has been incorporated with a view to provide training in observations, analysis and interpretation of the astronomical data to the students. Observing facilities available in the department include 8"-14" aperture telescopes (CGE series from Celestron) equipped with the new-state-of-the-art backend instrumentation like Photometer, CCD Camera and also a CCD spectrograph. Observing facility of this kind is ideally suited for continuous monitoring of a variety of variable stars, and thus can provide valuable data for understanding the physics of stellar variability. This is especially true for a class of variable stars known as chromospherically active stars. The stars belonging to this class have variable light curves, and the most puzzling feature is that their light curves change year after year in a rather queerer way. A large fraction of these active stars are bright ones and, hence, the importance of small aperture telescope for collecting the much needed photometric data. For over a decade the research activity using 14" optical telescope is focused on photometric monitoring of well known as well suspected active stars. This together with spectroscopic data using observing facility at Indian Observatories has led to identification of new chromosperically active stars. The talk is aimed at sharing our experiences quoting examples with professional colleagues on the usage of small optical telescopes for teaching and research in Colleges/Universities.
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