Course Syllabus

In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of observing the night sky with a telescope. This course will teach how to find the basic constellations and how to use both manual and computerized telescopes to point at celestial objects in the night sky. While there will be some classroom time to teach fundamental concepts, the vast majority of the class will consist of practical, hands-on time with telescopes at Stickney Observatory.

We will be using the Bennington Physics Slack Workspace to communicate this term. Please make sure you join the Fall 2022 A Brief Introduction to Astronomical Observing: #fall2022-observing.

Observing Resources

• Observing Guides for Stickney Observatory (bennington.edu login needed)
• Stellarium, my favorite planetarium software (free for desktop/laptops, not free — but still good — for mobile phones/tablets)
  • A good free alternative for phone/tablet-based planetarium software is Star Chart (iOS, Android)
• A great guide of good night sky objects from Columbia University Astronomy
• Observing Checklist (Stickney Observatory, Fall 2022)