PHYS 3951 Capstone I.   Spring 2026

Regular Class Home page: http://jpastro.net/PHYS3951-3971/syllP3951.html 
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Class time and place:  Mon 12:00-12:50 pm, Wed 1:00-1:50 pm in SA 108A
Section: 1 (CRN=33323)
Instructor: Dr. Jason Pinkney 
Office hours  in 111 Science Annex at  these times:   10 am (R), 12 pm (W), and 1-2 pm (M,T,W).
Email j-pinkney@onu.edu or call 419-772-2740. 
Instructor's Home page: https://jpastro.net/
Credit hours: 1
 Abell 1836-BCG
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NEW STUFF      (Watch this spot for new links, data, etc.)
Linux tutorial. Check out "Linux Commands" for use of the command line.
HST archive results for Abell 1836-bcg
HyperLeda galaxy database
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PHYS 3951 Course Description:

Data gathering and analysis for a Capstone Research Project in extragalactic astronomy. To be followed by the presentation and write-up of results for the Capstone 2 course. This work will require weekly meetings with advisor Dr. Pinkney to familiar student with astronomical data reduction, analysis, and modelling on a Linux platform. Student will be required to do online research, read papers, and produce printouts of the analyses performed.

Course Attributes: Effective Communication and Writing, Critical and Creative Thinking

Prerequisites: Undergraduate (Semester) level PHYS 2311, 2321, 2341, 2351. Minimum grades of D.

Text: No textbook required. We depend on online resources, such as NED and scientific papers, for the research.

Course Goals, Objectives, and Learning Outcomes
Students should be able to:
Tentative Calendar
Week of Activity Progress
1/21 Determine meeting times
1/26,28 Research Create Linux account
2/2,4 Research Download data
2/9,11 Research Extract image and spectral files
2/16,18 Research Begin data reduction
2/23,25 Research
3/2,4 Research Begin kinematics measurements
3/9-13 SPRING BREAK
3/16,18 Research Begin poster template
3/23,25 Research
3/30,4/1 Research
4/6,8 Research
4/13,15 Research Preliminary modelling of gas kinematics
4/20,22 Research Create poster
4/27,29,5/1-2 Finish/present poster EGLS meeting
5/4,6 Debriefing



Grading:
Grading will be based on progress towards the goal of presenting a poster paper at the spring meeting of the EGLS (May 1-2, 2026). This will likely be preliminary work towards determining the black hole mass of Abell 1836-bcg. The goal is to present 3 rotation curves (for 3 slit positions) and compare to published work. Completion of the poster is considered A work. It will put the student in a good position to complete the project in the Capstone II course. A poster presentation at the ONU Student Research Colloquium would also be acceptable for A work. There will be many check points along the way (see "tentative calendar") including: 1) Establishing a Linux account for the research, 2) Downloading the Hubble Space Telescope data from the archive onto the workspace. 3) Extracting the image and spectroscopy FITS files, 4) reducing the imaging and spectroscopic CCD data, 5) measuring gas kinematics from the spectral data using Dr. Pinkney's SpecallE program, 6) creating and presenting a poster at a research meeting, and, 7) modelling the gas kinematics to determing the best fitting BH mass. Getting only partway through step 4 may also be deemed worthy of an A if steady progress is being made. Only completing checkpoint 3 would be only worthy of a B.

Other Course Policies

Attendance is at the weekly meetings is important for making progress on this capstone / independent research project. We will meet 1 hour per week for every credit that the student is enrolled in.

Independent work is is also very important for making progress on the capstone. This means working (either in the lab or at home) on the research outside of the meeting times. The student is expected to do at least 1 hour per week of independent work in addition to the meeting times, at least until completion of the project. Work at "home" can consist of reading relevant research papers, studying tutorials, and reviewing notes taken during research meetings.

Cancelled Class. If a class has to be cancelled due to weather or one of us being absent, I am required to do something to advance the curriculum. I will notify the student about what to do through an email. I will most likely assign research tasks to be done independently.

Common syllabus information. Here is common course information which applies to all courses. This includes the covid Safety Plan, Grading Modes, Readmission, Repeat Policies, and more.

Other Mandatory Syllabus Information:

  Disability services

  Academic Honesty (Append. F, p. 100)

  Title IX