X-Ray Astronomy Lab

Catalog description

Objects in the Universe emit light across the entire electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. Therefore, a complete understanding of the physical processes responsible for this emission requires characterizing its properties over a wide range of wavelengths – including X-rays, which are typically generated under physical conditions orders of magnitude more energetic than what can be recreated on Earth. Through lectures, lab exercises, quantitative problem sets, and analysis of data, students will learn both the tools and techniques used to detect, and then quantitatively measure the properties of, the X-ray emission from a wide range of astronomical sources, and the physical processes believed responsible for this emission, how to apply this knowledge to actual astronomical sources, and how to expertly communicate the results of such a complex analysis.