Part A

1) Paste your data for the bright and faint star in all 3 images below. It should be organized into
a 6 row, 6 column table with column headings: COORDINATES, R, MAG, FLUX and SKY

Star X position Y position R MAG FLUX SKY

(pixels) (pixels) (pixels) (ergs/cm2s) (counts/
pixel)

m101_4x15 621.59 354.80 14.64 -4.08 42.84 0.1686

bright

m101_10 635.87 382.33 14.94 -4.18 46.8 0.17

bright

m101_15 621.64 354.85 15.55 -4.16 46.07 0.1689

bright

m101_4x15 187.43 395.79 12.44 -1.22 3.079 0.1494

faint

m101_10 201.66 423.35 12.61 -1.15 2.882 0.1483

faint

m101_15 187.39 395.73 10.82 -1.14 2.848 0.15

faint

2) Cut and paste your scripts used to calculate SNR for each image below. If you used excel,
type out the formula.

def get_SNR(R, Flux, Sky, n, t):

'''Given the Radius, the Flux, and the Sky values as well as the frame time, return the SNR
value.'''
import numpy as np

t = t*60
Gain = 10
S = Sky * np.pi * (R*R)
SNR = t*Flux*(Gain/(((Flux/n)+S)*t))**(1/2)

return SNR

3) By what factor is the SNR greater for the 15 min exposure to the 10 min exposure. Based on
the formula, is this what you expect? What about the added exposure vs the 15 min exposure?
Did the SNR improve according to what you expect?

The SNR value for the 15 minute exposure is about 1.18x larger which makes sense based on
the formula because the entire value is multiplied by t and 15 is 1.5x larger than 10, but also
divided by the square root of t bringing this value down by a small amount. The SNR value for
the added exposure is about 2.2x larger than the 15 minute exposure. This also makes sense
for the same reason as before, but also the multiple value is also reduced to to the n value in
the denominator of the SNR formula.

4) If there is a neighboring star in annulus that measures the sky background, how will that
effect the flux estimated from the star?

If there is a neighboring star, this would cause the flux to increase as the program would not be
able to differentiate between the two stars if they are close enough. This is a systematic error
and would be very difficult to correct.

Part B:
5) Paste your data for the cluster stars. It should be organized into 2 - 28 row, 6 column tables
with column headings: COORDINATES, R, MAG, FLUX and SKY

M39B

X postition Y position R MAG FLUX SKY

(pixels) (pixels) (pixels) (ergs/cm2s) (counts/pixel)

479.52 990.55 24.21 -16.58 4273000.0 393.0

310.89 920.76 15.53 -14.86 877255.0 391.0

373.03 867.02 14.99 -14.73 778027.0 392.0

453.73 822.03 78.04 -12.26 80088.0 391.0

542.22 815.72 14.9 -12.42 92604.0 390.0

511.78 766.27 15.9 -10.51 16014.0 389.0

642.76 832.53 15.91 -13.3 209143.0 389.0

142.24 722.56 17.53 -10.41 14572.0 389.0

250.84 641.00 15.28 -13.6 274794.0 400.0

274.95 638.00 17.59 -15.99 2486000.0 394.0

415.01 673.31 19.84 -16.09 2723000.0 393.0

587.85 685.67 16.33 -13.85 346057.0 389.0

853.41 797.62 16.25 -10.56 16801.0 390.0

929.38 744.61 15.29 -10.52 16100.0 390.0

890.95 694.02 14.95 -12.58 107249.0 389.0

873.21 619.50 14.12 -9.91 9240.0 391.0

821.65 575.38 28.86 -16.9 5747000.0 394.0

918.43 415.88 14.66 -15.74 1981000.0 395.0

M39B

X postition Y position R MAG FLUX SKY

(pixels) (pixels) (pixels) (ergs/cm2s) (counts/pixel)

638.47 276.90 14.76 -14.93 940245.0 392.0

317.21 144.09 30.54 -16.97 6124000.0 393.0

195.42 190.15 17.22 -14.14 454920.0 392.0

134.63 396.60 16.9 -10.9 22981.0 389.0

383.46 518.92 16.27 -14.33 541189.0 390.0

373.95 475.16 15.68 -15.03 1030000.0 391.0

387.84 400.01 15.32 -15.31 1333000.0 392.0

569.00 405.30 29.1 -17.06 6671000.0 394.0

641.55 433.19 16.16 -14.27 509733.0 392.0

642.47 565.60 21.13 -16.18 2954000.0 395.0

M39V

X postition Y position R MAG FLUX SKY

(pixels) (pixels) (pixels) (ergs/cm2s) (counts/pixel)

467.62 1000.17 27.84 -14.36 553406.0 3546.0

298.88 929.86 12.98 -12.89 143649.0 3546.0

360.91 876.15 11.15 -12.77 128057.0 3547.0

442.03 830.95 10.42 -7.15 724.5 3547.0

530.27 824.73 9.74 -10.71 19312.0 3546.0

499.74 775.16 9.93 -9.42 5887.0 3542.0

630.70 841.44 11.86 -11.63 44819.0 3543.0

130.35 731.91 14.56 -9.04 4132.0 3544.0

238.66 650.18 10.68 -11.71 48225.0 3554.0

262.56 647.12 21.35 -13.78 326459.0 3548.0

402.79 682.55 22.54 -13.89 358217.0 3546.0

575.89 694.58 10.62 -11.98 61949.0 3546.0

841.28 806.46 11.21 -8.92 3686.0 3545.0

916.84 753.44 10.03 -9.01 4029.0 3547.0

M39V

X postition Y position R MAG FLUX SKY

(pixels) (pixels) (pixels) (ergs/cm2s) (counts/pixel)

878.60 702.93 11.27 -11.03 25748.0 3544.0

860.82 628.62 17.98 -8.46 2422.0 3545.0

809.61 584.81 30.99 -14.76 799019.0 3547.0

906.13 425.24 18.54 -13.6 275201.0 3548.0

626.44 286.54 13.38 -12.95 151847.0 3545.0

304.93 153.64 33.45 -14.81 836394.0 3545.0

183.36 199.57 14.99 -12.19 75362.0 3551.0

122.39 405.78 14.54 -9.21 4815.0 3545.0

371.28 528.05 9.41 -12.44 94722.0 3546.0

361.72 484.44 12.86 -12.99 156548.0 3546.0

375.61 409.33 14.59 -13.16 183668.0 3547.0

556.55 414.69 31.44 -14.95 951607.0 3547.0

629.52 442.57 15.22 -12.26 80477.0 3548.0

630.20 574.98 37.47 -14.38 567276.0 3547.0

6) Paste your table of SNR values and errors (you don’t need to show the calculation scripts).
Data should be organized with columns COORDINATES (can either be from B or V) BSNR
VSNR mverror mBerror

X position (B) Y position (B) BSNR VSNR mBerror mVerror

(pixels) (pixels)

479.52 990.55 6044.95649017 577.351569474 0.0002 0.002

310.89 920.76 2560.83719138 319.572481119 0.0004 0.003

373.03 867.02 2395.63525394 329.17349996 0.0005 0.003

453.73 822.03 92.1031665234 2.08226092025 0.0118 0.522

542.22 815.72 484.967098317 58.8696944987 0.0022 0.018

511.78 766.27 88.8340725945 17.7248928507 0.0122 0.061

642.76 832.53 918.491102016 111.683253647 0.0012 0.01

X position (B) Y position (B) BSNR VSNR mBerror mVerror
(pixels) (pixels)

142.24 722.56 73.7770164484 8.4976205265 0.0147 0.128

250.84 641.00 1152.81558047 132.646701783 0.0009 0.008

274.95 638.00 4641.2744694 443.95750519 0.0002 0.002

415.01 673.31 4806.8833011 461.76570753 0.0002 0.002

587.85 685.67 1334.99590221 170.613925929 0.0008 0.006

853.41 797.62 91.0712326529 9.84000905156 0.0119 0.111

929.38 744.61 92.5627971079 12.0119015613 0.0117 0.091

890.95 694.02 549.895940719 67.8546523652 0.002 0.016

873.21 619.50 57.9604796514 4.03510989442 0.0188 0.27

821.65 575.38 6980.58676732 745.064617835 0.0002 0.001

918.43 415.88 4178.45552259 429.448288819 0.0003 0.003

638.47 276.90 2704.64926026 327.814825258 0.0004 0.003

317.21 144.09 7179.63638951 725.312365644 0.0002 0.001

195.42 190.15 1588.55655932 148.309297812 0.0007 0.007

134.63 396.60 119.147869658 9.91300232286 0.0091 0.11

383.46 518.92 1839.54406763 288.075789655 0.0006 0.004

373.95 475.16 2822.17391979 350.149042506 0.0004 0.003

387.84 400.01 3309.7848864 363.310583459 0.0003 0.003

569.00 405.30 7592.8638822 869.913286417 0.0001 0.001

641.55 433.19 1767.88794798 155.964468557 0.0006 0.007

642.47 565.60 4987.44179385 445.523920108 0.0002 0.002

7) Paste your data for the standard stars. It should be organized into 2 - 15 row, 6 column tables
with column headings: COORDINATES, R, MAG, FLUX and SKY. Include the zero point
average and standard deviation.

M39B

X position Y position R MAG FLUX SKY

(pixels) (pixels) (ergs/cm2s) (counts/pixel)

202.19 86.32 18.98 -9.53 6471.0 2039.0

M39B

X position Y position R MAG FLUX SKY

(pixels) (pixels) (ergs/cm2s) (counts/pixel)

526.94 384.05 16.99 -9.29 5194.0 2039.0

621.15 460.00 16.85 -10.17 11655.0 2039.0

637.53 541.17 16.58 -12.46 96694.0 2041.0

789.52 466.21 17.39 -13.35 218174.0 2039.0

605.67 732.84 15.49 -9.43 5897.0 2039.0

596.00 845.31 15.26 -12.22 77535.0 2039.0

911.40 862.40 18.13 -9.25 5010.0 2038.0

884.04 830.73 18.37 -9.17 4664.0 2038.0

910.38 799.03 15.8 -8.93 3742.0 2039.0

971.28 715.08 15.05 -9.09 4340.0 2039.0

924.19 623.12 14.89 -11.43 37330.0 2039.0

1001.9 252.1 14.04 -11.49 39388.0 2039.0

268.13 507.07 16.66 -8.97 3871.0 2039.0

572.05 168.99 16.33 -9.19 4735.0 2039.0

Zero point average: 21.47

Standard deviation: 0.11

M39V

X position Y position R MAG FLUX SKY

(pixels) (pixels) (ergs/cm2s) (counts/pixel)

190.29 95.78 17.83 -10.95 24037.0 3545.0

514.90 393.60 12.38 -11.61 44083.0 3544.0

609.22 469.26 14.83 -11.17 29406.0 3544.0

625.51 550.30 15.28 -13.04 164529.0 3551.0

777.30 475.50 21.11 -13.71 304549.0 3545.0

593.46 741.82 9.41 -10.28 12890.0 3547.0

584.05 854.51 15.2 -13.31 210693.0 3545.0

899.13 871.25 13.92 -10.06 10616.0 3544.0

M39V

X position Y position R MAG FLUX SKY

(pixels) (pixels) (ergs/cm2s) (counts/pixel)

871.60 839.53 12.71 -9.89 9043.0 3545.0

898.08 807.89 12.18 -9.94 9439.0 3545.0

958.93 724.17 13.36 -10.95 24062.0 3545.0

911.77 632.09 11.62 -12.14 72101.0 3546.0

989.63 261.73 13.82 -13.09 172802.0 3550.0

255.91 516.17 10.48 -10.94 23795.0 3547.0

559.99 178.59 16.04 -10.16 11610.0 3544.0

Zero point average: 21.91

Standard deviation: 0.10

8) Paste your data for your corrected B, V, B-V values and errors

B V B-V

7.4045119861 7.5471215249 -0.1426095388

9.1145119861 9.0171215249 0.0973904612

9.2545119861 9.1371215249 0.1173904612

10.6745119861 10.2771215249 0.3973904612

11.5545119861 11.1971215249 0.3573904612

13.6545119861 12.4771215249 1.1773904612

13.2945119861 14.7571215249 -1.4626095388

7.8845119861 8.0171215249 -0.1326095388

7.9845119861 8.1271215249 -0.1426095388

10.4645119861 10.1971215249 0.2673904612

13.5445119861 12.8571215249 0.6873904612

10.1345119861 9.9271215249 0.2073904612

9.6545119861 9.4671215249 0.1873904612

8.9345119861 8.9171215249 0.0173904612

8.6645119861 8.7471215249 -0.0826095388

B V B-V

9.8645119861 9.7171215249 0.1473904612

7.0045119861 7.0971215249 -0.0926095388

12.9245119861 12.6971215249 0.2273904612

6.9145119861 6.9571215249 -0.0426095388

7.8045119861 7.5271215249 0.2773904612

9.7345119861 9.6471215249 0.0873904612

9.0445119861 8.9571215249 0.0873904612

8.2345119861 8.3071215249 -0.0726095388

7.0745119861 7.1471215249 -0.0726095388

13.7045119861 13.4471215249 0.2573904612

11.4345119861 10.8771215249 0.5573904612

13.5045119861 12.8971215249 0.6073904612

13.8845119861 12.9871215249 0.8973904612

9) Paste your Hertzsprung-Russell diagram here

10) Show your calculation steps and answer for the cluster distance.

m - M = 5log10(d) - 5
(m - M + 5)/5 = log10(d)
d = 10^((m - M + 5)/5)

For a star with the B-V value of .6 I will average between two stars, one with a value of 0.607
and one with a value of 0.557.
The first B-V is calculated below:
d = 10^((12.897 - 4.8 + 5)/5)
d = 416.31715 ps
The second gave a distance of 164.21934 ps through the same method.
Averaging these two we get the final distance of 290 ps.

11) Percentage from actual value

The actual value for the distance of the M39 cluster is about 252.8 parsecs. This means the
percentage value from the actual value is
(290ps-252.8ps)/252.8ps * 100% = 15%

12) Calculation steps and answer for cluster age:

F = L/d2

d2*F1/d2*F2 = L1/L2
F1/F2 = L1/L2

m1 - m2 = -2.5log10(F1/F2)
m1 - m2 = -2.5log10(L1/L2)
(L1/L2)=10^[(m1 - m2 )/-2.5]

M = L(1/3.5)

age = M/L

m1 will be the magnitude V of the brightest star in the cluster, determined by the HR diagram as
the beginning of the turn off point.
m1 = 7.097
m2 will be the average magnitude V for the two stars the distance was calculated from.
m2 = 11.89
L2 is the luminosity of the sun. Finding L1 we get
(L1/L2)=10^[(m1 - m2 )/-2.5]
(L1/L2)=10^[(7.10 - 11.89 )/-2.5]
(L1/L2)= 83.4
So L1 = 83 Lsun
M = L1(1/3.5)
M = (83 Lsun)(1/3.5)
Lsun(1/3.5) = Msun
M = 83(1/3.5) Msun

age = 83(1/3.5) Msun/ 83Lsun = 83(-2.5/3.5) Msun/ Lsun

Msun/ Lsun = 10 billion years = 10^10
age = 1010 years * 83(-2.5/3.5)
age = 4.258e8 = 426 million years.

13) How would the age change if dust lies between our line of sight and the cluster? Dust
“reddens” starlight by significantly scattering blue light more so than red light.

If dust lied between our line of sight and the cluster, the magnitude of the blue light we
are able to see would decrease for all values. Thus the B-V value’s would also decrease and the
HR diagram would be shifted to the left. From this, the extracted age of the cluster would be
older.