Download A105 – Stars and Galaxies - Course Projects List

A105 – Stars and Galaxies - Course Projects List
SPRING 2004
Students may choose to submit up to 12 course projects during the semester and at least three are
required. Course Projects may be handed in during any class period until April 23, but only one
project may be submitted per week per student. No projects will be accepted after April 23 and
no projects will be accepted during the last week of class.
You may choose any of the projects listed below, or you may select your own project after
consultation with one of the instructors. However, each project you submit must be different (no
repeats!). For example, you may hand in only one book report, only one poster, only one
biography, etc. The “point value” of each project is listed with the project description. The point
value has been assigned based on our estimate of the difficulty and time required to complete
each project.
Some of the projects listed below take several weeks to complete, so don’t wait until the last
minute to select and start your projects. Plan ahead.
For projects that include writing, length requirements are based on a 11-point font with 1.25 inch
margins, double-spaced.
Submitting Projects – Bring projects to class to submit, or submit them by email to
[email protected]. Please do not submit projects via Oncourse or to the instructors’ regular
email addresses.
Plagiarism – Plagiarism is the use of other people’s words and ideas as your own. . Because
students may complete and submit projects for a substantial portion of their grade in A105, a
clear policy on plagiarism must be stated: Plagiarism will not be accepted in students’ work in
this class. Give credit by citing the sources you use. This includes noting where you paraphrase
others’ work. If you paraphrase, you must do more than just change a few words or reorder
phrases. To paraphrase correctly, use your own words, and give credit for ideas. You must use
your own words in all written assignments, Just in Time answers, and projects. Cutting and
pasting text from the Web, the text, or other sources is not acceptable.
For projects which require sky charts, you can download free PDF files for the current month
from http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html, or make copies of the sky charts handed out in
class.
1. Discover novae in the Andromeda Galaxy. Print the nova discovery worksheet
available under the schedule tab of Oncourse. Use the URL on the worksheet to examine
images of portions of the Andromeda Galaxy on the NovaSearch website. Find three
novae and complete the tasks on the worksheet. (50 points + up to 50 more for extra
parts)
2. Participate in observing on the WIYN 0.9-m telescope at Kitt Peak by attending a
remote observing session. Students must sign up in advance, and are limited to groups of
3 or 4 students. (10 points)
3. Observe and diagram the northern constellations during one night. You should
produce three diagrams (e.g. sky charts) showing the positions of the constellations at 3
different times during the night, separated by 3-5 hours. For example, you can observe
the sky at 8:00 PM, at midnight, and at 5:00 AM on the same night. Include the North
Star and at least 5 constellations on each diagram. Label each diagram with the date and
time of your observations. (Note: If you begin one night, and the sky gets cloudy, you
can complete this project on another night within a week.) (10 points)
4. Observe and diagram where the Sun sets at least once a week for 8 weeks. Choose a
spot with a good view of the western horizon, and begin with a sketch of the western
horizon, noting the location of due west. Mark the date and location of the sunset point
once each week. (20 points)
5. Construct a Moon Journal. Each day (or night) for a month, note the position of the
Moon in the sky (or note the weather if the Moon is not up in the sky). Look for the
Moon at the same time each day/night. Use a sky chart to sketch the appearance of the
moon (full, half, gibbous, crescent), the where the Moon is in the sky or among the
constellations, and note the date of each observation. Remember, the Moon is not always
up at night! Where is it, and why isn’t it up at night? (30 points)
6. Summarize five articles about current (within the last 2 years) discoveries in astronomy
on the Web or in the newspapers with a half-page synopsis of each. Include the URL’s of
the articles. In your synopses, be sure not to plagiarize. (30 points)
7. Read a book suggested for extra reading on the booklist, and write a one-page book
report. Include a summary of the main ideas in the book and your evaluation of the ideas.
Also include a recommendation on whether other students should read the book (or not!)
and why. You may select a different book after consultation with one of the instructors.
(40 points)
8. Monitor the Sun. The SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) is a space mission
which monitors the Sun continuously. Using data from SOHO, watch the Sun for a
period of 4 weeks. Download a high resolution MIDI continuum (white light) image
once every 2-3 days. You can download the SOHO data from
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov. Determine the average number of sunspots visible at
any given time during the 4 weeks you observe the Sun. Estimate the rotation period of
the Sun from the motions of the sunspots. (50 points)
9. Date a star cluster. Visit the website http://www.noao.edu/education/jewels/home.html.
Print a copy of the Jewelbox image worksheet, and construct a “brightness-color”
diagram for this star cluster to estimate its age, and answer the questions on the
worksheet. Instructions can be found on the website. Cut off the template strip so you
can use it to match the sizes and colors of stars by placing it next to each star. You will
need to use a high-quality color printer for the Jewelbox image for this to work. (Note –
you only need to do the cluster HR diagram, not the extra one for the nearby “field” stars)
(30 points)
10. Interview 10 students NOT in A105 about why they think the Earth has seasons, and
write a 1-page summary of their ideas. Do the students understand why the Earth has
seasons, and if they don’t, what misconceptions do they have? (20 points)
11. Make a color poster or a website of images from the Hubble, Chandra, and Spitzer
Space Telescopes. Visit the Hubble, Chandra, and Spitzer websites, pick a theme (star
formation, distant galaxies, brown dwarfs, whatever), and select five images that
illustrate your theme, with at least one from each telescope. Make a poster or website
including these images with short, original captions (don’t plagiarize!) describing what
the objects are and what space telescope observations has helped us to learn about
them, including what observations at infrared, optical/ultraviolet, and x-ray
wavelengths add to our understanding of the objects in the images. (20 points)
Posters should be at least 11x14” in size (PowerPoint is an easy tool to use for making
posters, and a large plotter is available in the Information Commons to print color posters
for a modest cost). Posters will be displayed in the classroom for viewing by other
students during one of three class periods. To receive credit for a poster project, you
must sign up for one of the poster sessions, display your poster, and discuss with other
students what we have learned from the images you select.
Websites should include links to the sites you use on your webpage. Submit the URL of
your website, and we will visit it to grade it. Websites will be made available for other
students to view.
12. Construct a “concept map” to outline the major ideas of one chapter in the text, and
how they relate. Your concept map should included all of the terms listed in the “Key
Terms” section at the end of the chapter you select, as well as the relationships between
those terms. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the idea of a concept map, see
Worksheet 9 (star formation concept map) in the workbook. (10 points)
13. Write a 1-page biography of a living astronomer, using sources from the Web.
Describe your astronomer’s major scientific contributions, and how those contributions
have impacted the field of astronomy. Use at least three sources, and include the URLs
with the paper. Be careful to paraphrase, rather than plagiarize, and DON’T cut and
paste! You may select an astronomer mentioned in class, one you find in a news story
(check www.space.com), or one you have heard of outside of class. (30 points)
14. Investigate sky legends and myths pertaining to the Milky Way from four different
cultures, and write a 1-page report describing how the Milky Way is understood or
described in those cultures. Include at least two non-western cultures in your exploration.
Include URLs and/or references. (30 points)
15. Visit Kirkwood Observatory 12” refracting telescope during a scheduled Wednesday
open night beginning after Spring Break. The observatory is only open if the weather is
clear. Observe three objects in the sky, and note the name of each object. Find an image
of each on the web and submit a printed copy for each. (10 points)
16. Visit the Kirkwood Observatory solar telescope during a scheduled solar viewing
session. Complete a solar worksheet. Worksheets are available in the solar lab at
Kirkwood Observatory. This project will only be possible if we can see the Sun on the
days scheduled. Dates that the Observatory will be open will be announced during class.
(20 points)
17. Participate in an evening sky viewing session on the roof of Swain West, and complete
and submit a worksheet. (10 points)
18. Write a song with “astronomically correct” lyrics and present it to the class, or submit it
on CD to play for the class. (40 points)
19. Write a children’s book – Write and illustrate (with images and/or original art) a
children’s book that teaches some of the basic ideas in one of the chapters we cover in the
textbook at an elementary or middle school level. Include a 1-paragraph “forward”
describing why the ideas you have selected for the book are important for kids to learn.
Include citations for any images you select. (40 points)
20. Be artistic – Create an original work of art related to a theme or idea covered in one of
the chapters of the book. Submit with the work a one paragraph explanation of how the
work is related to that theme or idea. (40 points)
21. Evaluate Textbooks: Eight introductory astronomy textbooks (see the list below)
are on reserve in the Swain West Library (2nd floor, Swain West) for students’
use for this project. Please review 2-4 of these texts, plus Arny’s Explorations
(the one we are using for A105 this semester) for a total of at least three books
(you may look at more if you choose). Write a one-paragraph recommendation
for the book you would find the most useful for learning about stars and galaxies.
(Some of the books cover both solar system and stars and galaxies topics, but just
comment on the stars and galaxies parts.) Explain why you find the text you
select to be the best of the set you review. List the books you have reviewed
below your paragraph. (25 points)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Astronomy: A Beginner’s Guide to the Universe by Chaisson and McMillan
The Cosmos: Astronomy in the New Millennium by Pasachoff and Filippenko
Stars and Galaxies by Seeds
Astronomy: The Cosmic Journey by Hartmann and Impey
Universe: Stars and Galaxies by Freedman and Kaufmann
Voyages to the Stars and Galaxies by Fraknoi, Morrison, and Wolff
21st Century Astronomy by Hester et al.
Stars, Galaxies, & Cosmology: The Cosmic Perspective by Bennett et al.
22. Prepare and present a 10 minute lesson for the class on a topic related to the material
we are covering. The lesson can be a lecture format or involve a class activity.
Permission of the instructor is a prerequisite for this project, and the lesson must be
reviewed by the instructor before it is presented. The lesson will be scheduled
appropriate to the material to be covered. You may work with a partner to prepare a 20
minute lesson. (50 points)