.. _p10-interacting-galaxy-colours:

P10: Interacting Galaxy Colours
===============================

Observing Goals:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In this project you will observe the colours in as many broad band filters as possible of interacting galaxies or interacting galaxy systems. You may also wish to observe in H_alpha to identify additional features. 
Useful Background and References:

Observation Planning:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    * Observation Time

        * You will be observing HALF a night.

    * Target Selection:

        * You should select an interacting system of galaxies that are of an appropriate size and brightness for your observing system. (Examples may include M51 or the Leo Triplet)
        * You should observe standard star fields in the same filters so that you are able to calibrate your results.

    * Observations:

        * You should take multiple observations so that you are able to create images that are as deep as possible, in as many filters as possible.
        * If you dither (shift) the telescope between observations, you are also better able to remove effects of the observing system for deeper images.

Data Analysis:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


    * Data Reduction Basic Steps

        *  Visit the page :ref:`data-reduction`.
        * Produce calibrations to remove the effects of the telescope system.

    * Further for this project

        * For each filter, you should align and comine the images to produce the highest signal to noise images that you can.

    * Further Analysis for this project

        * Use your standard star fields to calibrate the magnitudes observed for each galaxy.
        * Along with the individual filter images, you should produce colour maps in every pair of filters. (e.g. B-V, V-R, etc...)
        * Using all of your data, produce a combined, full colour image of the system, that highlights colour differences.
        * Make any estimates you can of the stellar populations of each member of the system using the colour information you have found.

Results: 
^^^^^^^^^

Can you answer these questions with your work?

    * Q1: What differences can you identify in different members of an interacting galaxy system?
    * Q2: How deep were you able to image (give numbers)? Were you able to identify any faint features that provide evidence of interaction in the system?
    * Q3: Can you say anything about stellar populations in the components? What could this mean for the system as a whole?

Presenting your results:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

   - :ref:`a1-poster`
   - :ref:`a2-talk`