Dr. Stacy Palen

Presentation Outline:

Abstract: Photometry lies at the heart of astronomical progress. Measuring the brightnesses of stars (and other celestial objects) has increased the known size of the universe by many factors of 10, taught us how stars live and die, and shapes our understanding of stellar, galactic, and universal evolution. You can help astronomers take the next steps in furthering our understanding of how the universe changes over time.

• 1) What is photometry? What is time-series photometry?
• 2) Some interesting historical notes about Leavitt, Cannon, etc.
• 3) How to do time-series photometry with ordinary resources
• 4) An aside: Why you shouldn’t always want to spend more money on bigger telescopes, fancier cameras, or larger filter wheels.
• 5) Targets of opportunity (variable stars, exoplanet transits, asteroids, etc.)
• 6) Where to report your results to add to human knowledge.
• 7) Questions and Answers