Interesting stuff

Finish the Life Cycle of a Star Questions using the site we discussed yesterday

Today, we are going to look at how Annie Cannon's work was used to classify stars and extend our understanding of spectra.  We'll use some sample work and interactive applets to do this.

Please complete these activity questions on paper in a notebook.  DO NOT KILL A TREE by printing out sheets and sheets

Spectra and intensity

Saturn and Titan   (you will need to use this interactive)

Goldilocks and the Three Planets (you will need to use this interactive)


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http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/stop/stars_poster.pdf


http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/stellar_ev/poster_horiz_med2.jpg

Unit 4

Read through this presentation.  It should take you at least 10 minutes.

Now, write 5 questions you want answered and hand them in to Mrs. Weber.  No more than two people per sheet of questions, please.
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The site we'll be using is a very helpful, rich collection of resources, including interactives.  You'll want to take a look and answer the following with a partner.  Each answer needs an explanation, along with a sketch.  Again, hand in to Mrs. Weber.  If you have extra time, you may finish your takehome test.


Go to http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/Labs/StarLife/starlife_main.html to find out the answers to the following:

*what is the life cycle of our star?
*what is the HR diagram?
*what are characteristics of each of the stellar stages?
*how do gravity and pressure affect one another through the life cycle of a star? How does the balance change through each stage?
* What is the main sequence?
* How does the brightness of our star change over its lifetime?
* How does the temperature of our star change over its lifetime?

Friday

Hubble Deep Space

Photoelectric effect

CCD cameras


Take Home Test:  (each answer should be 2 to 5 sentences  long)

1.  How do we monitor the health of our sun using telescopes, filters, or neutrinos.

2.  Explain how neutrino oscillation made the confirmation of the neutrino difficult, along with two examples of specific detectors.

3.  Explain how the layers of the Sun differ, using at least three different segments.

4. Why is the proton-proton chain such a different process than the burning of material in a campfire?  List at least three specific differences.

5. Compare a space telescope, a reflecting telescope, and a ground-based telescope that collects radio waves, listing similarities and differences.  Make sure to include discussion on the wavelength range, how the data is gathered, and why it matters.

6.  Why are scientists interested in studying ultraviolet waves and higher in the universe, and what problems does that raise?

7.  How is astronomy and the telescope related to economic issues?  Be specific.

8.  Explain how a CCD works and why it is important to both telescopes and the communications industry.  Make sure you explain how the photoelectric effect works with the technology.

9.  Why do we monitor solar weather?

10.  Why do we use light buckets to study the universe instead of probes?  Explain.

Telescopes and the Sun

Job 1:  

1. Find 3 or 4 resources to learn about the James Webb telescope.   List them on a document.
2. Compare the projected use of the James Webb telescope to a specific space telescope that is already deployed (Spitzer, Chandra, Hubble, COBE, or SOHO). Make a T-chart
3. Find out the range of light each telescope targets.  Decide if the Webb telescope is looking for the same wavelengths or objects. What tools does the proposed Webb telescope share with ONE of the other space scopes?
4. Compare the projected use of the James Webb telescope to either the Mount Wilson, or a backyard reflector/refractor.  Can a ground-based telescope get the same results?  What tools do the telescopes share?
5. Compare the projected use of the James Webb telescope to a radio or microwave telescope (COBE, Horn, VLA).  What are the similarities to the design or purpose of the data collected?  
6. Compare the projected use of the James Webb telescope to COBE, or one of the neutrino labs on earth (Homestake, Super-K, Kamiokande).  What do we still need to know about neturinos?  What tools do the telescopes share?
7. Compare the cost of the James Webb telescope to the cost of another space-based telescope.  Remember, costs include the materials, the launch, and the monitoring, providing thousands of jobs on the ground for every telescope launched and helping the economy across the US.  Do you think it is worth it?  Explain.

Job 2:

Decide whether ground-based or space-based telescopes should be used for , including whether or not the James Webb telescope should be built, how this will affect Sun research, how this affect our knowledge of neutrinos, and what we can potentially discover. This essay will be worth 20 points

Things to be included on Job 2
Thesis/opinion statement: 3 points
Evidence supporting whether other telescopes can do this job: up to 6 points
Evidence on tools/comparison: 4 points 
Evidence supporting your view of the economic and scientific pros/cons : 4 points
Grammar and mechanics:  3 points

The Temperature of the Sun

Please read and summarize the material found here:  

http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys230/lectures/sun_inside/sun_inside.html

http://www.gong.noao.edu/info/helioseismology.html (the first four paragraphs)

http://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/NatSci102/lectures/suninterior.htm


http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/981216a.html   (the last segment, where they talk about formulas)

Friday

Hand in your neutrino summaries soon, please.

Today, you need  to explain the proton-proton chain using some sort of a poem, fairy tale, or musical rhyme, or performance.  Basically, I am asking you to create a way to make the ideas of fusion, energy, neutrinos, the sun, energy, and matter and antimatter understandable to the average 7th grader.  Slides 10-25 of the powerpoint, as well as the web, can help you out.   Digitize your end product and send it my way.


=============During the second half of class===================

Secondly, we are moving on to Telescope Types.  There are tons of different telescopes out there, and all of them have different stated purposes.   Our goal is to summarize each one of the different eras shown below in blue in about 2-6 sentences.  Luckily for us, one website talks about all the types of telescopes.  You may not get done with all the exploration, but you should be at least 1/2 done by Tuesday.

Find out an example ans a 2 sentence summary for each of the following types of telecopes.   The link below is your priamry reources.
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/groundup/


Era stories:

Story 1
Galileo's Refractor: Galileo's telescope revealed the first hint of the depths of space. His dedication and approach to explaining what he saw revolutionized astronomy. (Includes one telescope story, one biography.)

Early Refractors: Telescopes with flatter lenses brought wider and clearer views of the sky but required longer tubes. Some refractors were so long that they became difficult to maneuver. (Includes two telescope stories.)


Great Refractors: New technology allowed astronomers to create larger lenses that produced bright, clear images. For a while, refracting telescopes became more popular than reflecting telescopes. (Includes three telescope stories, one biography.)

Story 2
Newton's Telescope: Sir Isaac Newton replaced the main lens of a telescope with a mirror, creating the reflecting telescope. (Includes one telescope story.)


Early Reflectors: Early reflecting telescopes used metal mirrors to look deep into space, but the new design presented new challenges. (Includes four telescope stories, one biography.)


Hugh Reflectors: Astronomers crafted telescope mirrors from glass instead of metal, making reflecting telescopes more powerful and easier to use. They began relying on photography and instruments to record observations. (Includes three telescope stories, two biographies.)


Story 3
Solar Telescopes: Solar telescopes are reflecting telescopes that use special instruments to observe the Sun. (Includes one telescope story, one biography.)


Radio Telescopes: The discovery of radio waves from space launched a new branch of study: radio astronomy. This spurred astronomers to develop new techniques to accommodate the large size of radio waves. (Includes two telescope stories.)


Multi-mirror Telescopes: Multi-mirror telescopes used computer technology to overcome the size limits of huge reflecting telescopes. (Includes two telescope stories, one biography.)


Space Telescopes: By placing telescopes in orbit above Earth, astronomers were finally free to view the universe in all wavelengths of light. (Includes five telescope stories, two biographies.)

• Note packet (get when you come back), especially focusing on the idea of the proton-proton chain (seehttp://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/energy/ppchain.html )
• Neutrino website, with a 4 paragraph reflection on your blog. Answer the following questions:

Neutrino site

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAAmAbJvvJg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe4veClYxkE


a) what are neutrinos?
b) why are they so important to understanding the sun?
c) would YOU be able to persist for as long as Bahcall and Davis did when people doubted your experiment? Explain your viewpoint (seriously, I often wonder if I would have been able to do it....)
d) what is the importance of neutrinos having mass
e) where are neutrinos being researched around the world?

Sun, Stars, and Telescopes

Sun, Stars, and Telescopes

1. Scan through the first 12 slides.   Then, discuss the statement  "Why is sunlight responsible for life on earth?"   List what evidence you have that supports the statement.
2. Focus on the radius and mass of the Sun and compare it to our Earth and Jupiter.   
3. Finally, look at the differences in temperature between the core and the convection zone, and try to explain it to me using a meaningful analogy.  (Example:  the difference between a tornado and a breeze is like a semi of rice grains compared to a dozen).

Modeling Azimuth and Altitude

We will do this in class for Manchester. 

Go to http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/AltAz.php
Find the latitude and longitude of a city to type in for Part B.
Type in an interval of 60 minutes and gather the chart data for 3/21, 6/21, 9/21, and 12/21
Save the values for each on a google doc


Pick a city that is at or above +50(N) or -50(S) latitude
Pick a city that is at or below +30(N) or -30(S) latitude

Graphing:

Create a graph that has as its x-axis the coordinates 0 degrees to 360 degrees (azimuth) and as its y axis 0 to 90 degrees (altitude)

Graph the altitude and azimuth pairs for TODAY.

Podcast or Videocast

You will take your information from the last two days and talk to me about the likelihood of space travel, now or in the future.

First option:  Argue your points, positive or negative, that lead you to believe that we can or cannot get out of the solar system.

Second option:  Choose a movie that has space travel and critique whether it is realistic or not.

Third option:  Compare two tv shows that use some type of space travel  (Stargate, Star Trek, Lost in Space, The Jetsons, Battleship Galactica, Jimmy Neutron, or another of your choice) and critique the episodes.

For your podcast, you must have at least 5 claims, supported with your evidence from the past four days.

That looks like this:

  You will hand in all of this as supporting documentation.  You may use your smart phone, a computer, or a camera to do the recording, but the finished youtube or .mp3 (try the app Audacity) is do at the beginning of the class on Monday

Category	Excellent	Acceptable	Marginal	Unacceptable
Quality of Product Multimedia  15	Worthy of the World	Informative and Loved By Parents	Entertaining to Friends	Rude, or Socially Unacceptable
Quality of Content (5 claims) 25	Worthy of the World	Informative and Loved By Parents	Entertaining to Friends	Rude, or Socially Unacceptable
Persuasiveness to your Position (10)	Worthy of a Debate Scholarship	Gets a II at Individual Speech	Snowjob	Rude, or Socially Unacceptable
Identification of the Risks  Involved (10)	Worthy of a NASA or insurance report	Acceptable to someone who is on Survivor	Adequate for those who shun safety gear	Rude, or Unacceptable
Thoroughness of REAL Information (10)	Worthy of a private boardroom presentation	Filled with Geeky Speak	Entertaining to Friends	Rude, or Socially Unacceptable

A Different Take on the Concept of Space Travel

It became very apparent yesterday that the idea of planning a trip to the Moon or Mars for this class seemed like an exercise in stupidity for most of you.  You just couldn't grasp the main idea--why bother to do this?

And so I heard you.

But let's think about the idea of space components, and what we have learned about the human body as a result of space travel closer to earth.  To that end, I would like you and a partner to summarize the following:



Motion
What is orbital velocity?
What's the slingshot effect?

Human Needs in Space
Toilets
Water
Food
Surgery
Your Body

Microgravity
..and Angry Birds
...and a Supersonic Jet
Watch This

Dangers
The Spacesuit
Orbital Debris
Micro Meteors

Experiments
Game change
Yo-Yos
Food growth

Moon or Mars?

You and your partner have a choice to make.   Should the first off-Earth settlement be built on the Moon or on Mars?

There are pros and cons to each.

STARTING LINE.  To start, let's look at the current information out there.  Scan these two articles and provide a 3-6 sentence summary for each by talking to one another  Take short notes if you wish

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/22/world/mars-one-way-ticket  

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2330220/Astronauts-LIVE-moon-2020-Nasa-report-claims.html

Google Moon or Mars and find at least two different articles to add to your thoughts

WARMING UP  Then see some of the thoughts behind this dream by looking at the different thinking plans.

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/human_space/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki /Colonization_of_Mars  

http://marshome.org/ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_the_Moon 

http://www.nss.org/settlement/ 

The point of this is to figure out critical needs.  Make a t-chart to list the differences between the Moon and Mars.

OLD HAT STUFF Now look at some of the missions that have already been put together to each planet:

http://planetary.org/explore/topics/the_moon/missions.html 

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/programmissions/ 

What have they already figured out about the planet regarding the atmosphere or the availability of water?

PAST DATA Use your Current Posters or other readings to help you see if there are:

a) plate tectonics

b) a magnetosphere

c) an atmosphere

d) water

e) gravitational forces

f) minerals

g) temperature extremes

How does this information affect your decision?

DISTANCE SCHMINSTINCE. Use the solar system orrery to determine the distance between the Earth and the Moon and the Earth and Mars.  How long do you think it will take to get there on a space mission, and what does that mean for a launch date?

WILL I DIE?. Finally, take a look at the life and health risks involved in being an astronaut on a long-term journey.

Health Concerns
Exercise
Hygiene needs

Can we taste in space?

Risk Factors

Can we have kids in space?

Based on these health risks, do you want to be the one to travel on your journey? And whether you do or not, what are 10 things needed for the journey keep your brain and emotions healthy?  Explain.

Where should we go?  Make your decision, and be prepared to support it with at least 5 reasonable arguments/evidence.  Create a video blog, or a podcast interview(share it with me) or email it to me.  This is due by Sunday night at 11:59 pm

Rubric for grading--Individual

Boldface questions are worth 30 points and must be done individually in your shared Google Docs.   I expect either complete sentences or bulleted points.

Rubric for grading--Group

This presentation is worth 60 points

Category	Excellent	Acceptable	Marginal	Unacceptable
Quality of Product Multimedia	Worthy of the World	Informative and Loved By Parents	Entertaining to Friends	Rude, or Socially Unacceptable
Quality of Content	Worthy of the World	Informative and Loved By Parents	Entertaining to Friends	Rude, or Socially Unacceptable
Persuasiveness to a Position	Worthy of a Debate Scholarship	Gets a II at Individual Speech	Snowjob	Rude, or Socially Unacceptable
Identification of the Risks Involved	Worthy of a NASA or insurance report	Acceptable to someone who is on Survivor	Adequate for those who shun safety gear	Rude, or Unacceptable
Thoroughness of Information	Worthy of a private boardroom presentation	Filled with Geeky Speak	Entertaining to Friends	Rude, or Socially Unacceptable