Please note: All students must register for a lab section, separately from the lecture section.

Lab objective: PSci 21 laboratory is designed to give students the opportunity to learn and recognize the constellations, deep-sky objects, planets, lunar phases, and stars with the unaided eye and with telescopes. We will also study basic astronomical concepts in labs held in classrooms. We want you to succeed in this course and to have fun learning about the night sky. Some of the topics may be difficult to understand so please feel free to ask questions both in and outside of lab.

In addition to the activities in the lab manual, students will become familiar with the constellations, asterisms, and bright stars. We will also learn how to use a telescope to view the Moon, the planets, star clusters, gaseous nebulae, and galaxies. I expect that, by the end of the course, you will be able to locate even faint, hard-to-find objects, using the telescopes while working from your maps.

Attendance: Attendance to all labs is mandatory. You must attend the labs in the lab section in which you are registered: exceptions will be made only by written consent in advance of the instructor of the lab section in which you are registered, and even then, only for compelling reasons (e.g. job interview or illness documented by a physician's note). If you must miss a lab for a compelling reason, the part of the lab grade that lab would have counted will be voided, and the rest of the lab grade will be counted as 100%. If you miss a lab without a compelling reason, or without written consent in advance from the instructor, or if you attend a lab other than the one in which you were registered without prior written consent of the instructor of the lab section in which you are registered, you will receive a zero for the lab. Any student with three or more unexcused absences from lab will receive an F in the entire PSci 21 course, which includes the lecture section.

Field trips: Three times this semester, we will be observing the sky at a dark site a half-hour drive from campus called the CSUFresno San Joaquin Experimental Range. There are directions to the Range on the last page of the blue PSci 21 Lab Manual, and in the Class Notes for Dr. Ringwald's lecture section. It is therefore essential for all students to plan their schedules accordingly, at the beginning of the semester. Evenings this semester to set aside for Range labs are: September 14-15 (or September 21-22, in case of bad weather), September 28-29 (or October 5-6, in case of bad weather), and October 12-13 (or October 19-20, in case of bad weather).

All Range labs this semester will start between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. Plan to stay for two hours. All students are responsible for their own transportation to these field trips: the university cannot guarantee it can provide transportation to Range Labs.

These dates are subject to change due to poor weather. After noon on the days of the labs, before going out to the Range, check the weather report on Dr. Ringwald's voicemail (559-278-8426) or the PSci 21 web page (http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~fringwal/psci21.html) in case there have been any such last-minute changes.

We do not cancel labs for bad weather. If the weather is bad, we will meet in the lab classrooms (McLane 258 or 264) at the regular lab times (5:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.).

If you are ill or an emergency arises beyond your control and you cannot attend lab please contact your lab instructor. Valid absences can be excused, and that part of the grade voided, so that the remainder of the grade will be counted as 100%. Still, even for valid, excused absences, we can't give make-up or advance labs, because nearly all the labs require equipment that will only be avaliable for the week they're scheduled to be used.

All PSci 21 lab instructors discourage students from attending any lab sessions other than the one in which they are registered. We tried this in the past, and we found it just isn't possible to keep accurate records for classes as large as PSci 21.

The Department of Physics cooperates with the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with physical, perceptual, or learning disabilities (cf. Americans with Disabilities Act and Section of 504, Rehabilitation Act). Students with disabilities should present their written accommodation request to Dr. Ringwald within the first two lab sessions.

Lab Safety: These astronomy lab sessions necessarily take place after dark, since the object of study is the night sky. If safety becomes a concern, the Campus Police provide an escort program. Radio-equipped, uniformed, trained escort officers will accompany persons to their destinations on campus during hours of darkness. Call 278-2132, or pick up an emergency phone to request an escort officer. Be sure to check their badges, before going anywhere with them. The Campus Police also provide car battery assistance and other services, and can be reached in an emergency by calling 911.

Assignments: At the end of each night's lab, turn in your completed work for credit. Each lab is worth 20 points, and you will receive full credit only if all work is shown, correct, and complete. If the lab requires calculations, show your work! Also include the correct units: doing otherwise, or not showing your work, will be grounds for points being taken off.

Sometimes, it may take more than one week to complete the lab assignment. You will still be held responsible for showing the lab instructor your work before you leave each night. If you finish the assignment by the following week, you will be responsible for turning it in for complete credit.

You are encouraged to work together in groups. However, this must be genuine collaboration: not one person doing all the work, and the others copying. Therefore, do your write-ups separately: identical write-ups are a form of plagiarism. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated and will be dealt with according to the terms stated in the University Catalog.

Quizzes: There will be a quiz at the beginning of most of the labs (see the schedule, below). The quizzes will cover the previous classroom lab (not at the Range) and also the material that we are covering the week of the quiz. Each quiz will be worth 10 points.

Lab final exam: On the next-to-last lab, there will be a lab final exam, worth 40 points. This will be comprehensive, covering all the material covered by all the previous quizzes and labs.

Grade: The points earned in the lab will be used by the lecture instructors, Dr. Ringwald or Dr. White, to calculate your final grade in the course. The laboratory counts for 10% of the course grade. Letter grades are not assigned in the laboratory.

Required Course Equipment: (1) A clear plastic ruler; (2) A scientific calculator (that has scientific notation, and can calculate logarithms); (3) A flashlight (preferably with a red filter for night vision); (4)The blue PSci 21 lab manual, available in the campus bookstore. Always bring all of these to lab.

Flashlights: A flashlight will be required for map reading at observing sessions. Flashlights with red filters are recommended, being superior for night vision. Red plastic and rubber bands for making filters will be available at Lab 1, and at the Range.

You may, and are encouraged, to bring friends and relatives to the Range. Be sure to dress warmly, even if the weather does not look cold that night. You may also bring chairs and blankets, but be sure to clean up after yourselves, before you leave.

TENTATIVE Lab Schedule (updated 2009 October 7). Always read the lab description (in the blue Lab Manual) before lab and be ready for a quiz.

Week	Dates	Moon	Lab
1	August 24-25	New (Aug 20)	No labs
2	August 31 - September 1	First Quarter (Aug 27)	Lab 1, Star Names, Maps, and Constellations. Meet in the lab classrooms (McLane 258 and 264). Bring flashlights!
3	September 7-8	Full (Sep 4)	No labs (Labor Day holiday)
4	September 14-15	Last Quarter (Sep 11)	Meet in the lab classrooms (McLane 258 and 264), and do: Lab 3, The Mystery Constellations
5	September 21-22	New (Sep 18)	Meet at the Range at 7:30 p.m., and do: Lab 2, Dark-Sky Observing Lab A.
6	September 28-29	First Quarter (Sep 25)	Meet in the lab classrooms, and do: Lab 5, Spectra, Fingerprinting the Elements.
7	October 5-6	Full (Oct 3)	Meet at the Range at 7:30 p.m., and do: Lab 4, Introduction to Telescopes.
8	October 12-13	Last Quarter (Oct 11)	Meet in the lab classrooms, and do: Lab 7, The Basics of Optics and Telescopes.
9	October 19-20	New (Oct 17)	Meet in the lab classrooms (McLane 258 and 264), and do: Lab 13, How Many Stars are in the Milky Way?
10	October 26-27	First Quarter (Oct 25)	Meet in the lab classrooms (McLane 258 and 264), and do: Lab 8, The Hunt for Micrometeorites.
11	November 2-3	Full (Nov 2)	Meet in the lab classrooms (McLane 258 and 264), and do: Lab 9, The Revolution of the Moons of Jupiter.
12	November 9-10	Last Quarter (Nov 9)	Lab 10, The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram: Meet in the lab classrooms. [NOTE TO LAB INSTRUCTORS: Please grade all labs, record the grades, and return the labs to all students during the November 16 and 17 labs.]
13	November 16-17	New (Nov 16)	Lab 11, Life Beyond Earth: Meet in the lab classrooms. After briefing in the lab classrooms, we will see Search for New Worlds at the Downing Planetarium. [NOTE TO LAB INSTRUCTORS: Please brief your classes first, then bring them to the planetarium at 6:15 p.m. (for the 5:30 labs) and at 8:15 p.m. (for the 7:30 labs).]
14	November 23-24	First Quarter (Nov 24)	No labs (Thanksgiving)
15	November 30 - December 1	Full (Dec 1)	Lab Final Quiz (covering all labs, except for Lab 12) and Lab 12, Classification of Galaxies assigned: Meet in the lab classrooms.
16	December 7-8	Last Quarter (Dec 8)	Lab 12, Classification of Galaxies due. Return and discuss the Lab Final Quiz, to prepare for the Final Exam: Meet in the lab classrooms.

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