Observational X-ray and gamma-ray astrophysics

Learning outcomes: After completing the course the students have basic knowledge on instrumentation and methods used in X- and Gamma-ray astronomy. He/she is able to: (1) Search for and analyse the existing archival data for a given astronomical object; (2) Plan observations (including multiwavelength campaigns); (3) Write and submit observational proposals; (4) Work with the data from all sky monitors and make quick estimates of the source properties; (5) Answer the relevant astrophysical science question and produce a written report.

Content: The course includes teaching in the form of lectures and supervised hands-on work on the data. The lectures cover instrumentation in X- and Gamma-ray astronomy, acquiring of archival and new observational data, imaging techniques, spectral and timing analysis, multiwavelength observations. Writing of successful observing proposals will also be discussed as a part of the course. The students are expected to work individually on their datasets and write-up their individual course reports at the end of the course.

Teaching methods: lectures 18 h, exercises 16 h, project work.