Download File - Hartnell College Astronomy Mr. Philip

Hartnell College Astronomy, Term Project Descriptions
Students have a choice of term project:
(1) Telescope Observations, or (2) Astronomy Film/Book Critique, or (3) Astronomy Topic PowerPoint
Read and follow the project descriptions carefully. Projects are due at the beginning of class two weeks before
the final exam. The project is worth 10% of the final grade. Students who complete two projects will receive
extra credit for their efforts.
(1) Telescope Observations Attend a public star party or telescope observing session, make observations
through a telescope and document your observations. Public telescope viewing sessions at the Fremont Peak
Observatory are held during the year. You can check the schedule at: www.fpoa.net In addition, Hartnell
College schedules star parties at Pinnacles National Monument, or you may attend another viewing session of
your choice. Complete at least four telescope observations, sketch what you see through the telescope, and
record information on the object viewed, the aperture and magnification of the telescope, etc. A template for
recording your telescope observations is given on the website. Observe proper nighttime etiquette when using
telescopes, and ask the telescope operator all pertinent questions. Transportation is your own responsibility.
(2) Astronomy Film/Book Critique/Comparison This project consists of a written comparison between two
pieces of modern film or literature on an astronomy-related topic. For example, you might compare the book
2001: A Space Odyssey to the film version of the book. Or you might compare the two asteroid-impact films
Armageddon and Deep Impact. You may chose your own topic and books/films, but sign-up with the course
instructor to confirm the appropriateness of the topic choice. The final report must be typed, three-four pages,
double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, at least 750 words. Completed reports will contain
paragraphs as follows: introduction, brief synopsis of the films/books, comparison and contrast of the two
works (how are they the same and how are they different), critique regarding the truthfulness and believability
of the science content, suggestions on how they might be improved, and a conclusion. Use proper writing style,
with appropriate paragraph structure, making statements and giving examples, etc. Proofread and spell-check
your submission. All writing must be your own work. All quotes must be properly referenced. Review
Hartnell College policy regarding plagiarism. Please do not use a folder for your submission. Just staple the
pages together.
(3) Astronomy Topic PowerPoint Create a Powerpoint presentation on a focused topic in astronomy. The
presentation will consist of at least twenty slides, alternating between two types of slides. Half of the slides
(10) will contain images, and half of the slides (10) should contain quotes. These will all be relevant to the
topic. Image slides will contain a brief description of the picture. Quotation slides will include information
about the person being quoted, and perhaps the context of the statement. The bottom of each slide will contain
a reference to the source of the image or the quote. If the image or quote comes from a book or other printed
source, the reference will include the name of the source, author, and page number. If the image or quote comes
from an online source, the reference will include the web address. You may chose your own topic for the
Powerpoint presentation, but sign-up with the course instructor to confirm the appropriateness of the topic
choice. A few examples of topics are: moons of Jupiter, prehistoric observatories, spiral galaxies, star clusters,
NASA space shuttle, radio telescopes, asteroids, famous astronomers, the big bang, etc. See examples below of
sample slides on the topic Early Telescopes. Submit your final presentation in two forms—the complete
presentation burnt onto a CD, and a black and white paper print copy, using the hand-out format with four slides
per page.
Christoph Scheiner conducted detailed
telescope studies of the Sun in 1630.
http://www.surveyor.in-berlin.de/himmel/Bios/Scheiner-e.html
“The Sun, symbol of
perfection in traditional
cosmology was found to be
‘spotty and impure’ (though
others would argue that the
supposed spots were
satellites of the Sun).”
--Michael Hoskin
Cambridge Illustrated History of Astronomy, Michael Hoskin, pg 129