Student Learning Outcomes

• Conduct a telescope research and present the results: • Be knowledgeable about setting up and using a telescope for research purposes • Be able to take an image through a telescope using a CCD camera and filters • Generate photometric data from .fits files • Keep an observing journal • Analyze photometric data to look for trends in star brightness • Write a professional research paper • Give a professional poster presentation Course set up: Students attended night labs where they regularly worked with telescopes, such as the Meade LX200 and the Meade RCX400. The RCX400 continued to be used throughout the semester for acquiring data on a chosen variable star. Multiple nights of data were taken, so that the students could better define the period of light variability. As such, they recorded specifications of the camera, telescope, weather conditions, and image exposure parameters in their log books, to be used as references later when processing data and writing their research papers. Students used software for analyzing the change in light of their stars that's used by professional astronomers. The students completed their final project by writing a scientific paper, and presenting a poster on their research as if they were at a conference.