This course will teach Astronomy and Physics master's students the foundations of modern optical instruments including advanced concepts in geometrical and physical optics, optical design, and instrumentation. The course is the cornerstone of the Astronomy and Instrumentation master's specialisation. For students who have NOT followed the Astronomy bachelor's course Astronomical Observing Techniques (AOT) it is mandatory to follow the AOT crash-course during the first week, as indicated in the Astronomy master schedules.
The following topics will be covered in lectures and exercises:
Foundations of optics
Interference, diffraction and Fourier optics
Geometrical optics
Polarization
Thin films and coatings
Optical design
Telescopes
Imagers
Classical spectrographs
Advanced spectrographs
Interferometers
Polarimeters
Outcome:
Students will be able to:
Understand the principles of modern optical instruments in astronomy
Explain the operations of state-of-the-art optical instruments
Design simple astronomical instruments
