Student assignment · due date set by instructor
Submit complete derivations, units, assumptions, and a short physical interpretation. Include reproducible code for multi-step calculations and show intermediate values. Cite any external catalog or data product with its release/version. Collaboration on methods is allowed; submitted derivations and prose must be your own. Corrections and resubmissions with a change log are encouraged.
Starting from independent time-frequency samples, derive sigma_S proportional to (n_pol Delta-nu tau)^-1/2. Compute the rms for the shared 300-Jy SEFD example.
Required: derivation, units, intermediate values, uncertainty/assumption, and an interpretation that identifies what the result does not prove.
For 1 Jy/beam at 1.4 GHz in a circular 45-arcsec Gaussian beam, compute T_b in kelvin. Repeat for 90 arcsec and explain why integrated flux is not the same quantity.
Required: derivation, units, intermediate values, uncertainty/assumption, and an interpretation that identifies what the result does not prove.
An observing program reaches 2.0 mJy after one hour. Predict the ideal rms after four hours and after sixteen hours; then combine a 1.5-mJy calibration floor in quadrature with the sixteen-hour thermal term.
Required: derivation, units, intermediate values, uncertainty/assumption, and an interpretation that identifies what the result does not prove.
OpenStax Astronomy 2e §6.4 and Chapter 6 Review Questions 2 and 15. These provide telescope-window and interferometer context, not radiometer or brightness-temperature derivations.
The numbered anchors were checked against the local OpenStax Astronomy 2e extraction; exercise numbers/page breaks can vary by edition. Before assigning through an LMS, the instructor should spot-check each recommendation against the adopted print/PDF edition. Exact source scope and extraction notes are in ../reference-log.md. Do not present the synthetic teaching records as telescope observations.
Three problems, 100 points total. Submit a PDF or HTML report plus code/notebook where requested. Show figures with axes, units, captions, and data provenance.