Jason Dark (Vice President)

We propose to use low-cost optics equipment in order to (1) generate a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for the 24 brightest stars visible in Beaumont, (2) analyze the polarization of stellar and solar light and the effect a telescope's optics have on these measurements, and (3) analyze the absorption spectrum due to Earth’s atmosphere on the Sun’s blackbody radiation spectrum. Objectives Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HRD): Generate a Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, using blackbody curves of radiancy for the most visible stars in the northern night sky. Analysis of Polarized Stellar Light (APSL): Analyze the polarized light emitted from very bright stars and the Sun, due to the shape of the stars; and study the effects of the optical components of the telescope by placing the solid polarizer at different locations along the line of sight. Pollutants in Earth's Atmosphere (PEA): Separate from the solar spectrum the absorption spectrum of the gaseous components in the atmosphere in order to determine their chemical compositions. Experiment Set-up Preparation and Brief Progress Report For the three experiments (HRD, APSL, and PEA), a similar experimental technique is used. The set-up is comparable to the one currently used in Lamar University's advanced optics course [1] and shown in Figure 1. The most distinct difference between the set-up shown and the one we are using is the variety of light sensors required for the range of temperatures of the stars we are studying. All three experiments will use PASCO ® equipmen