PY 125: Astronomy Laboratory
Fall 2026 · 1 credit hour · NC State University
Lab TA: McKenzie Myers. I am your point of contact for all things related to PY 125. Enrolled students should use Piazza for questions, answers, and class communication, and will find the full syllabus, due dates, and assignment directions there.
Course Description
PY 125 is an introduction to astronomical observing, where students observe Solar System and extragalactic objects with the Skynet robotic telescope network. Students will receive time on research-grade instruments around the world, including optical telescopes in the Chilean Andes and a radio telescope at Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia. Students collect their own data, process images, make measurements, and interpret their findings. The goal is not to be told what astronomers have concluded, but to work through how those conclusions are reached: students learn how we know what we know about the universe.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, you will learn the general principles of astronomy and our place in space. Topics will include the Earth and seasons, the solar system, distances in the universe, galaxies, and Hubble’s law. You will solve elementary problems systematically using qualitative and quantitative methods based on algebra, trigonometry, and graphical methods.
General Education Program
PY 125, together with PY 123 or PY 124, counts towards completion of the Natural Sciences category of the GEP Requirements. As can be seen from the course objectives, this course requires students to (1) use methods and processes of science in testing hypotheses, solving problems and making decisions; and (2) make inferences from and articulate, scientific concepts, principles, laws, and theories, and apply this knowledge to problem solving.
Class Schedule and Format
This course is asynchronous online! We will use the Piazza forum for questions, answers, and class communication. The labs themselves are completed in WebAssign and are largely self-explanatory, featuring short tutorial videos and all background information needed. You will have at least one week to complete each lab. Occasionally, some of this time will be spent waiting for the telescopes to collect observations; if this is the case, you will be informed in advance. You can expect each lab to require about 2-4 hours of work.
Course Components
There is no final exam for this lab course.
- All labs will be done on the computer. No other equipment is required.
- We will use WebAssign and Piazza in place of a hard copy lab manual.
- WebAssign is where you will submit final materials in place of a traditional written lab report.
Satisfactory completion of each lab will include:
- Answering all questions in the lab.
- Uploading all requested images and graphs.
- Discussing your results and any sources of error.
Schedule
Labs follow the Our Place in Space! curriculum. They are generally due before the PY 123 lecture meets on Tuesdays at 11:00 am. The schedule is subject to change based on observing conditions and telescope availability, and due dates will never be earlier than those below.
| Lab | Topic | Points | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Skynet | 134 | 9/22 |
| 2 | Earth and the Seasons | 65 | 10/6 |
| 3 | The Galilean Revolution: Earth’s Place in the Solar System | 63 | 10/13 |
| 4 | The Cosmic Distance Ladder I: Parallax | 70 | 10/20 |
| 5 | The Cosmic Distance Ladder II: Standard Candles | 59 | 10/27 |
| 6 | The Great Debate: The Solar System’s Place in the Galaxy | 70 | 11/3 |
| 7 | Hubble’s Law: The Galaxy’s Place in the Universe | 74.5 | 11/10 |
| 8 | Hubble’s Law: The Galaxy’s Place in the Universe II | 95.75 | 11/17 |
| 9 | Hubble’s Constant: The Expansion Rate and Age of the Universe | 27 | 11/24 |
| Total | 658.25 |
AI and Academic Integrity
You may use AI to ask questions and understand the lab content (keeping in mind AI makes mistakes). You may not use AI to generate or edit images, written responses, or numerical answers you submit for grading. Discussion with your peers and working together is encouraged in this course, but please respect NCSU’s policies on academic integrity. I expect you to take intellectual responsibility for any work you submit for grading; this means you should be able to explain what you did and why. Submitting the same telescope images or data as another student will be considered academic dishonesty. Your answers should be consistent with your own previous answers and written explanations; any inconsistencies could prompt a discussion with the instructor. Students are expected to follow University policy on academic integrity, as described in the Code of Student Conduct POL 11.35.01. If you have general questions about academic integrity, please refer to this academic integrity overview. If your question is not answered there or is more specific, contact me.
Software
| Title | URL |
|---|---|
| Skynet (request observations) | https://skynet.unc.edu/ |
| Afterglow (image processing software) | http://skynet.unc.edu/afterglow/ |
| Stellarium (simulation software) | http://stellarium.org/ |
| WebAssign (lab manual/submission) | https://webassign.com/ |
| Piazza (directions/questions) | https://piazza.com/ncsu/fall2026/py125601/home |