Variable star photometry in a secondary school curriculum

The author proved that photometry of variable stars can be performed by anyone using the shoestring budget of only a digital camera along with a laptop. Extrinsic variable star Algol was observed using a 14" telescope as well as CCD and had its light curve plotted. In direct comparison, V474 Mon was observed using only a low cost $200 digital camera. Armed with a laptop for data analysis, the author plotted its light curve. Lastly, the whole process of research astronomy was applied to a classroom final project setting. Future work includes expanding this thesis into a full semester long astronomy course for high school students.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• O'Brien, Hollie M

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Richard P. Binzel.

• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/114123

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/114123