The CUREA program at Mt. Wilson Observatory is a two-week intensive course in observational astronomy designed for physics and astronomy undergraduates as well as amateur astronomers. The course consists of lectures by professional astronomers and educators, special lab exercises, and a mini-project designed and executed by each student during the second week of the program. CUREA students stay on the mountain and have unlimited access to a solar telescope and spectrometer during the day and a 16-inch telescope with a CCD imager and a stellar spectrograph during the evening. Time is also reserved on the 60" telescope.
Mt. Wilson Observatory is a major facility for observational astronomy located just north of Pasadena, CA, in the San Gabriel Mountains. Mt. Wilson has a rich history of discovery in solar and stellar astrophysics as well as in cosmology. George Ellery Hale made major discoveries concerning the nature of sunspots using the solar telescopes at Mt. Wilson. Harlow Shapley convincingly showed that the sun is not the center of the Galaxy using the 60" telescope at Mt. Wilson. Edwin Hubble discovered the expansion of the Universe using the 100" telescope. In the 1930's Albert Michelson measured the diameter of the star Betelgeuse using an interferometer with the 100" telescope.
Topics in observational astronomy covered during the course
include:
Topics in astrophysics covered include:
Other activities include:
Tuition, room, and board for the two-week program costs $1500. A limited number of scholarships are available; inquire about the availability of financial assistance when applying. Students are also responsibile for getting to and away from Burbank or Los Angeles International airport at the beginning and end of the program.
CUREA is administered by the Mt. Wilson Observatory Association.