ASTRO 801
Planets, Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe

Lab 2, Part 2

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Directions

Remember: You are building on the work you did for Lab 2, part 1 (Lesson 5), so you should reopen the document you saved previously and continue your work there. At the end of this lab, you will turn in both parts as a single document in either a Microsoft Word or PDF file.
  1. Continue reading the rest of the SDSS HR Diagram lab from where you left off in Lab 2, Part 1 (you had just worked on Exercise 2).
    There are pages on parallax, creating HR diagrams for an open cluster (the Pleiades) and a globular cluster (Palomar 5). You are not required to do any of the exercises on these pages. However, they are all useful exercises, so please do try them if you find them interesting.
  2. Take data and create a detailed HR diagram for Palomar 5 (Exercise 7).
    The lab gives instructions for getting photometric data (that is, the apparent magnitudes) for many stars in the Palomar 5 cluster using the Radial Search or SQL Search tools. Use one of these tools to collect data on a number of stars in Palomar 5. Follow the instructions given in the Exercise 7 box to create an HR diagram for Palomar 5.
  3. Answer Question 12 in the SDSS HR Diagram lab: "Can you see the main sequence on this diagram? Can you see any of the giants and supergiants? If so, identify these groups of stars on your diagram."
  4. Also, answer the questions below:
    • How does your diagram resemble the schematic HR diagrams you have seen in the lessons or in a textbook?
    • Is it easy or challenging for you to pick out the familiar features listed in Question 12?
    • What limitations are there in your data?
    • What effect do those limitations have on your ability to study the stellar population in this cluster?
    • Do you think you would be able to measure the distance to Palomar 5 with your data? How would you do this?
  5. You should now have successfully created a real HR diagram (well actually, a "color-magnitude diagram") for a real globular cluster using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Please write a brief summary of your work. In your summary, include the following:
      • All of the HR diagrams you plotted in Lab 2, Parts 1 and 2;
      • Your answers to the questions in the Data Analysis section;
      • A brief (paragraph or so) discussion of the lab and how well you think it illustrates some of the concepts we studied in Lessons 5 through 7.
    1. Save your work AS A SINGLE DOCUMENT in either a Microsoft Word or PDF file in the following format:

      Lab2_AccessAccountID_LastName.doc (or .pdf)

      For example, student Elvis Aaron Presley's file would be named "Lab2 _eap1_presley.doc" - This naming convention is important, as it will help me make sure I match each submission with the right student!

    Submit your work

    Please submit your work to the Lab 2 dropbox in Canvas by the due date indicated on our course calendar.

    Grading Criteria

    See the grading rubric for specifics on how this assignment will be graded.