This course reviews the practices of modern observational astronomy, focusing primarily on techniques employed in the optical and x-ray bands. Topics will include a description of the use of digital detectors for imaging, photometry, and spectroscopy in a wide variety of applications. Data acquisition, image processing, and data analysis methods will be discussed. In particular, students will gain hands-on experience with the analysis of data obtained from both ground- and satellite-based observatories. An introduction to the relevant error analysis methods is included. Students will also become familiar with the fundamental techniques that will be necessary when "big data" projects like LSST come on line in the near future: database querying, metadata handling, and modern programming techniques. |