By Richard Erwin
Students may have seen pictures of the famous Horsehead Nebula or Andromeda Galaxy, but where does one look in the sky to find these objects, and what can one expect to see when viewing these objects through the eyepiece of an amateur telescope?
Designed for introductory astronomy courses, Observational Astronomy re-creates a night sky observing session on the computer. Using specialized astrophotography, Observational Astronomy explores the night sky revealing the deep-sky objects hidden within the constellations. Nebulas, galaxies, and star clusters are first located and then observed in a setting similar to that of a night lab.
Students are initially presented with a naked-eye view of the stars with the option to superimpose constellation lines. Students then zero-in on the location of a deep-sky object and progress through various telescope viewing options:
i) View through the eyepiece of an amateur telescope (14" aperture).
ii) Time-exposed image with an amateur telescope.
iii) Time-exposed image with an observatory telescope or the Hubble Space Telescope.
This progression bridges the gap between what is seen through the eyepiece of an amateur telescope and the time-exposed observatory images seen in textbooks.
Observational Astronomy can be operated in quiz mode where students are tested and scored on their ability to properly identify constellations and deep sky objects, or use the Quiz Editor to create your own questions.
System Requirements
~ Windows XP/Vista/7
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