UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA OBSERVATORIES / LICK OBSERVATORY
PREPARING YOUR GROUP
This section is especially aimed at college astronomy classes.
No special knowledge or preparation is required to enjoy a tour of Mt. Hamilton, but we feel your group will have a richer experience if they come equipped with some basic concepts.
Telescope Concepts
How a reflecting telescope works
How a refracting telescope works
How an equatorial mount works
The importance of light gathering power
Observing Concepts
Celestial coordinates
Seeing
Spectrographs and basic spectroscopy:
  • spectral lines
  • Doppler shift
    • CCD's
    Astronomy Concepts
    Distance scales
    Basic constituents of the universe:
  • galaxies
  • globular clusters
  • open clusters
  • emission nebulae
  • planetary nebulae
    • Solar system
    Extra-solar planets
    Supernovae