Download Planetary Motions and Lessons in Science

Unit 1 : Nature of Science
Observing the Universe
Inwood Hill Astronomy
Project
Goals for High School Physics
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Introduction to Scientific Method
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Astronomy  Geocentric vs. Heliocentric Model
Exploration of Personality Types
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What type of student and person are you?
Development of Observation Skills
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Inwood Hill Park Astronomy
Development of Mathematical Skills
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Coordinate Systems, Graphing, Vectors, Interpreting Data
Understanding Purpose of Science
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How have we come to our current understanding of the
universe?
Inwood Hill Park
• Saturday Nights
– Sunset Till 11 PM
– Location is 200 ft above the
city
– Coordinator: Jason Kendall
– Year long activity is to
maintain an observation log
of planetary and celestial
motions
Getting to Inwood Hill Park
• 45 – 60 minute train, bus ride
• 15 -20 minute walk into the park
Science is Confusing…
• Physics is a difficult and
tasking subject for students
• Students feel out of touch with
science
• Students feel all that science
involves is overwhelming
Challenge - “If it’s confusing now, imagine how
confusing it must have been long, long ago…..”
Bridging the Gap Between
Student and Scientist
• First Week: Assign First Five Chapters of
137: Jung, Pauli, and the Pursuit of a
Scientific Obssession
Ch. 1 – Intro to Carl Jung
Ch. 2 – Intro to Wolfgang Pauli, Jr.
Ch. 3 – Jung’s Analytical Psychology
Ch. 4 – Pauli’s Struggle with the Atomic Model
Ch. 5 – Kepler’s Laws of Motion
Long, Long Ago…..
• Science developed as a method to explain
the “heavenly workings of the universe”
– A natural harmony that was God’s Will
• Constant pursuit for mathematical models
– Original connection between math and science
• Can you always believe what your eyes see?
– Geocentric Model vs. Heliocentric Model
Development of Models
• Week 2: Scientific Method
What is necessary to develop
a model?
- Perspective
- Data, Facts
- Intuition, Insight
- Inductive vs. Deductive
- What was available to
Kepler in the 16th century?
What can we see?
1-D
2-D
3-D
What exists in our universe?
• Energy and Matter
– Kinetic, Potential, Electrical, Thermal….
• Quantity and Volume
Defining the Universe..
Coordinate Systems
- Cartesian
- Spherical
- Cylindrical
- Celestial
Celestial Coordinates
In Class Lab: Celestial Sphere
Objective:
-To learn to use a star map by identifying the right ascension and declination
of a given set of stars.
-To learn to use a star map by identifying stars at a given right ascension and
declination.
Students will read a introductory packet to the
celestial sphere and learn about the celestial
coordinate system. Great opportunity to review
standards from Earth Science curriculum.
Tycho Brahe (1456–1601)
Tycho Brahe (without a telescope) made extremely accurate
measurements of the positions of the stars and planets over
the course of 20 years.
Prosthetic nose
(lost in a duel)
Tycho Brahe’s Model
• Earth at the center of the
“Universe” (because parallax
is not seen)
• The Sun travels about the
Earth in a perfect circle
• The planets move around the
Sun in perfect circles
Kepler’s Analysis
By working for Tycho Brahe
(and then stealing the data),
Johannes Kepler (1571–1630)
had access to the most precise
data on planetary positions in
history.
He fit the data in every way
imaginable.
Planets, Celestial “Wanderers”
In Class Lab: Retrograde Motion
Objective:
- To Plot the changing position of a planet relative to the positions of nearby
stars and follow the apparent motion of the planet on the celestial sphere over
a period of time
-To show that the apparent westward motion of a planet on the celestial sphere
results from the relative motions of the Earth and the planet around the Sun
Given a data set for right ascension and declination,
students are asked to plot the points and explain
the resulting retrograde motion of a planet
Reflect – Without a background knowledge of
current models of our solar system, how easy
would it be to develop the heliocentric model?
Week 3: Inwood Hill Project
• Students are assigned a year long project
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Note location of every observation (lat. and long.)
Note exact local time or UT
Conditions of the sky
Include sketches of all observations
Identification of at least 5 constellations
• Indicating Declination and Right Ascension
– Identification of at least 2 planets
• Indicating Declination and Right Ascension
– Sketch the moon on the night of your observation
Over the Course of a Year
• Students will be asked to track the motion of
a specific planet with respect to a “skymark”
 Observing Retrograde Motion
Over the Course of a Year
• Students are asked to detail through which
constellations their planet moves through
Retrograde Motion
Tips for Student Success
Observed Properties of the Planets
(Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn)
• The planets always stay close to the ecliptic plane, i.e., they
move through the zodiac constellations.
• Mercury and Venus are inferior planets – they are never seen
very far from the Sun.
• Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are superior planets – they can be seen
at any distance from the Sun in the sky.
• Planets usually move west-to-east against the fixed stars. But
sometimes the planets move backwards (east-to-west). This is
called retrograde motion.
• As shown by retrograde motion, planets move in a more irregular
pattern than Sun and Moon, and so were called “wanderers” in
Greek, from which the word “planet” is derived.
Tools for Student Success
• Rise/Set Data for Sun, Moon, and major
celestial objects
– http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services
• Constellation Background Info
– http://www.dibonsmith.com/constel.htm
• Skymaps for Observations
– http://skymaps.com/downloads.html
• Location of Observer
– http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001796.html
• Computer Simulated Star Tracking
– http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dwzhrq9_599g7hddgs7
Tools for Student Success
In Class Lab: Construction of an Astrolabe
Objective:
- Students will construct an astrolabe
- Students will use an astrolabe to measure the altitude or
declination angle of objects
Students will review or be introduced to
Trigonometric concepts using an
astrolabe. For example, determining the
height of an object given the altitude
angle and the distance from the observer.
http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/AtHomeAstronomy/
Tools for Student Success
In Class Lab: Transparent Sky map
Objective:
- Students will use a coat hanger and plastic wrap to create transparent sky
maps for use in the nighttime sky.
- Students use of device will aid in finding celestial objects and transferring
data back into the astronomy journal
Use of the transparent sky map will aid students in
finding their objects in the night sky. Revisiting
retrograde motion graph, transparent sky maps can
also aid in visualization of vectors describing
planetary motion. (Graph paper and tracing paper
can be substituted)
What does it all mean?...
• Students will engage in an early form of
science
• Connections to the Universe and
Community they live in
• Build student interest in the purpose for
physics and scientific development
• Develop student confidence in their ability
to perform and comprehend science topics
What did Kepler conclude?
Kepler’s Laws
First define the distance from the earth to the Sun to be
1 Astronomical Unit (1 A.U.)
Kepler’s Laws
1) Planets move in ellipses with
the Sun at one focus
http://projects.astro.illinois.edu/data/KeplersLaws/
Kepler’s Laws
Kepler’s Laws
1) Planets move in ellipses with
the Sun at one focus
2) Planets in their orbits sweep
out equal areas in equal times
http://projects.astro.illinois.edu/data/KeplersLaws/
Kepler’s Laws
Kepler’s Laws
1) Planets move in ellipses with
the Sun at one focus
2) Planets in their orbits sweep
out equal areas in equal times
3) The period, P, of an orbit (in years) squared is equal to
a, the semi-major axis of the orbit (in A.U.) cubed. In
terms of mathematics, P2 = a3
These laws are empirical – Kepler knew no reason for them!!!
Expanding from here….
• Newton’s advances in math and science to
explain the observations and laws of Kepler
– Classical Mechanics
• Universality of the Laws of Physics
– August 21: "Planets Around Other Stars: The
Exoplanets“ with Jason Kendall
• Constellation Project
– Choose a constellation and major star within
the constellation…
College Level Physics Lab
Through BMCC
-Contact: Mahmoud Ardebili