NAAP Blackbody Curves & UBV Filters – Pedagogical Objectives
- Student will understand that usually astronomers only look at part of the light.
- Student will understand that light is processed by filters.
- Student will understand a light curve of intensity vs. wavelength/frequency.
- Given two pieces of the filter process: emission profile, transmission function, and detected profile, the student will be able to roughly estimate the third piece – demonstrating an understanding of the function of filters.
- Student will be aware of common filters used by astronomers: UBV.
- Student will understand that perceived color comes from a mixture of frequencies at various intensities.
- Student will understand that a blackbody curve is the light distribution from a purely thermal body.
- Student will understand that temperature affects both the peak of a blackbody curve and the area underneath the curve.
- Student will understand that no two blackbody curves intersect.
- Student will understand that certain filters are more effective for observing a particular blackbody curve and that two color filtered magnitudes can uniquely identify a black body curve.