Teaching and Learning Portfolio
James Roberts
Ph.D. Candidate
Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
04 May 2006Table of Contents
Statement of Teaching and Learning
3
Appendices
6
ASTR 1110 – Summer 2005
Description of Materials
Syllabus
Special Topics Ballot
Sample Homework Assignment
Sundial/Solar Calendar Project
Hopi-style Solar Calendar Project
Observing Lunar Phases Project
Constellation Quiz
Orbital Energies Worksheet
Problem-Solving Worksheet
“Final” Exam
6
6
8
17
18
20
25
26
30
32
34
36
2
Midterm Evaluation Form
FCQ Summaries
ASTR 1030 Lab – Fall 2004
Lab Syllabus
Sample Lab Report
Sample Prelab Quiz
FCQ Summaries
ASTR 2000 – Fall 2002
52
54
55
55
59
70
72
73
Extra Credit Astrology Assignment
73
ASTR 1010 Lab Revision – Summer 2005
75
Lab Goals
Lab Template
Constellations, Bright Stars, and Telescopes
Student Comments from FCQs
75
76
81
88
Statement of Teaching and Learning Philosophy
Teaching is not about providing the information, it's about asking the right questions. I'm
a big fan of the Socratic Method. The challenge arises in applying that to a large class rather than
to a few individuals. Because I'm such a big fan of the question method, and because I mostly
teach science, I've chosen to frame my teaching statement as answers to three questions. These
three pivotal questions were asked in the sci-fi epic series Babylon 5. On the show, a character's
response to these questions told much more about them than what was said, and I think it's the
same thing here.
What do you want?
My goal is for students to learn science, and I don't care how it happens. My job is to
facilitate the most learning by the greatest number of students. I want my students (and I include
the general public in that category) to not only learn something about the sky, I want them to like
it. I want them to love it. I want them to keep learning about it after I go away. I want them to
lobby their congresspersons and demand that they put more money into space exploration. I want
astronomy to be important to them. Fortunately, my job is already half-done in that respect.
People are naturally inclined to like space. To quote Douglas Adams, “Space is big. Really big.
You won't believe just how vastly hugely big it is.” People are intrinsically impressed with things
that are bigger than them, and it doesn't get any bigger than the universe. Folks are just awed by
the sheer immensity of it all and want to know more about it. They think it's cool. That's why
science fiction is so popular these days. Sure, sci-fi often gets things wrong, but that's not the
point. The point is to get people thinking about it. You have to win their hearts before you can
win their minds.
3
Once students are interested in the subject, they actually care what you have to say on the
matter. But that's not enough. The student has to not only listen to what you say, he or she must
understand what you have to say. For that, you have to explain the concept in a way that makes
sense to that individual. And everyone is different. Teaching each student separately is not very
efficient in terms of time or energy. We need to teach classes of up to several hundred students at
once. What's needed are ways to teach concepts to many people at once, and my technique needs
many teachers. The obvious and oft-overlook solution is for the students to teach each other. I
want the students to explain the concepts to each other. They'll usually do so in terms I'd never
thought of. Students are also more willing to question each other, since they are usually similar
in age, education, and experience. If I explain it, they'll just accept it whether or not they
understand it. I don't want them to accept the material, I want them to demand that it make
sense. I want them to ask “Why? How do we know that?” I don't want them to take what I say
for granted. I want them to be interested enough in astronomy to actually make that effort.
Who are you?
My first real experience with teaching science goes back to my high school days. I was
in 11th grade and my sister was in 8th. I'd had high school chemistry the year before, but she was
taking physical science. I've always been good at math and science subjects. I just “got” them
naturally. My sister was not that way. Don't get me wrong, she learned the material, her grades
were often better than mine, but she had to work harder for it. One evening, I heard my sister
proclaim “If I go to the airport with three suitcases, I'm leaving with three suitcases!” She'd been
trying to work out how two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule could make two water
molecules. What happened to the third? I got out the Legos. Once she could see the “atoms”,
she had a much better time visualizing them, and “got” it. Then I had her explain to me what was
going on.
That incident defined who I became as a teacher. To this day, I'm most effective when I
work with a student one-on-one rather than in front of a group at a time. This enables me to
identify the specific concept troubling that student, to devise a way to explain it using references
that matter to that person, and to ask questions that lead them to understanding the concept, so
that when they explain it to me they explain it to themselves. The downside to this technique is,
of course, that I can only work with one student at a time. I can't do that with an entire class
because no two people learn exactly the same way. So while my individual explanations may be
effective, they are not efficient. I see myself as a facilitator of student learning, rather than as a
conveyor of information. If there's one thing I've learned from my teaching experience in
graduate school, it's that I'm not very good at the latter.
Why are you here?
I am an explainer, not a presenter. My first real experience with teaching science was
explaining concepts to an individual, not lecturing in front of a class, and that's still the technique
I'm best at. I'm here to explain things to many people. I'm here to make sure that students with
all types of learning styles are able to learn about the same thing. And there's no reason they
can't. It just means using multiple techniques, switching from one side of the Kolb Learning
Styles Inventory to the other.
Lecture is a useful method for conveying background information (especially to students
who will not do the assigned reading), but I don't know how much students learn from it. Lecture
is very much geared toward the Reflective Observation area of the Kolb. I find, however that
even students with very high RO scores (such as myself) don't learn that much from listening to
me talk. To better ascertain how well students understand the concepts, I prefer to have the
4
students explain the concepts to each other. Often, the ones who understand it will explain it to
the others in ways I'd never considered. They may have overcome a difficulty that I never had
and therefore didn't deal with. This gives the students some Concrete Experience, in which they
teach each other. Once the concepts are firmly grasped, lecture can again be used to teach the
mathematical techniques necessary to apply the concepts towards real or hypothetical situations.
The students are then given an opportunity to use these tools both in class and at home, a form of
Active Experimentation. The results of their efforts will reinforce the concepts, once they've
applied them to get some tangible results. Abstract Conceptualization is not done in class. This
is something that requires more time than is available in a class period, and requires individual
effort from the student, and is effected by reading and homework assignments. Reading the book,
reflecting on what we did in class, attempting to use this learning to solve problems, and just
taking some time to cogitate, helps the students to assemble everything into a coherent
framework. The cycle repeats. This framework is tested by having the student explain concepts,
and then built upon.
My role as the teacher is to force this to happen. I do this by asking the right questions to
the right people. I'm not a big fan of asking questions to the whole class. Folks are reluctant to
answer, and typically its the same students that respond. Usually its the students who are doing
fine who speak up. The others are shy, because they're afraid of being wrong. That's
understandable, but it doesn't help me gauge if that the majority of the class is learning anything.
One solution is to use the Hyper-Interactive Technology Transmitters (clicker sticks), so that
every student can answer questions anonymously. In some cases this is a great idea. However,
the nature of this technology limits the format to multiple-choice, which isn't always ideal. I
believe that what's necessary is to remove the fear of being wrong. I'll ask a question, then use a
random number generator to pick a student and call on them. They have to answer. If they're
right, they have to explain why that's the right answer. If they're wrong, or can't even guess, I'll
ask more leading questions to help them get to the answer. This process also helps the rest of the
class understand why the correct answer is correct. During discussions, I'll circulate and listen in
on what people are saying. I'll ask leading questions to guide the discussion in the right direction.
Then, on the final exam, I'll ask questions to see how much they actually learned in the class, and
I hope they continue to ask questions about the universe for as long as it's still around.
Description of Supplementary Materials
My ASTR 1110 syllabus is nine pages long, far in excess of a typical syllabus. My
motivation for providing such a lengthy document was to provide as much information as
possible up front, to answer students' policy questions before they were asked, and to provide a
paper trail in case a policy were ever challenged. The syllabus is largely self-explanatory, but a
few words here may clarify why I chose to do certain things, and refer to included supplementary
material that helps illustrate that point.
I held one office hour for every hour of class. While this is university policy, I have seen
few instructors actually adhere to this rule. I also made myself available by appointment because
there are always students who can't make given hours.
The homeworks are an exercise in Bloom's Taxonomy. On every assignment, I asked
three types of questions. Conceptual questions target Knowledge and Comprehension.
Quantitative problems target Application and Analysis, and open-ended essays target Synthesis
and Evaluation. I typically designed my own questions, although I sometimes used problems
from the textbook for the second set of questions. Because I expect students to put considerable
effort into the homework questions, I reward this with a substantial portion of the grade. A
sample homework assignment (and solutions) have been included in this appendix.
5
In-class work was another substantial component. Typically this was done in small
groups, and guided by a worksheet that was graded (for participation) the same day. The
worksheet asked questions to guide them in the direction I wanted the discussions to take, but
didn't give away answers. An example has been included in this appendix. This work breaks up
the class from a lecture, and switches from a Reflective Observation mode to an Active
Experimentation mode of learning. It gets the students talking to each other and hearing
perspectives other than my own. It can also be used to force students to work on techniques that
they've been having difficulties with, in a guided environment, such as the Problem-Solving
Worksheet.
Astronomy can be very abstract, and people can have trouble relating to things in the sky,
particularly people with high CE Kolb scores. Therefore, everyone had to undertake an observing
project, and watch the sky every day for the course of the semester. This allowed them to
actually see what causes the seasons, and why the moon goes through phases. The observing
projects have been included in the appendix.
I've never liked exams, but there is something to be said for a final assessment. Therefore
I gave one exam. As on the homeworks, I asked a variety of questions to test different levels of
learning. The questions in the Knowledge Section reflect the minimum facts I think should be
learned from this class. They were provided to the class beforehand. The students had to take
that part before they received the rest of the exam, which was open book. Many of the multiple
choice questions had been provided as a pre-test the first day of class. Including them on the
final, allowed me to measure the gain in concepts learned in the course. My class went from an
average of 33% correct the first day to 81% correct on the final. I'm not a big fan of rote
memorization, so the short answer questions required the students to think about the situation,
rather than regurgitate an answer. Finally, I assessed quantitative skills, but because problem
solving can be a lengthy task, problems were a relatively minor component of the exam. The
exam and the solutions have been included. The wasn't exactly a final, because I gave it a week
early to space it out from the observing project due date. It also allowed me to discuss the results
with the class.
Giving the final a week early meant that I couldn't test the topics covered during that last
week. I got away with this because the entire last week was fluid. I discussed topics that the
students voted on earlier in the term. Even the earlier part of the schedule was subject to change,
and I was willing to rearrange in response to the students interests. The order of the reading
assignments may seem odd. While I felt this was the best textbook available, I didn't think the
order in which the material made much sense in terms of teaching. Rather than teach from the
book, I assigned reading from the book based on the topics I'd independently planned to teach.
Finally, the students had the opportunity to evaluate me. The FCQs are standard and a
summary of the results and some responses have been included. However, the FCQs are given
too late for me to use the results in the same course. I gave out a midterm evaluation so that I
could alter the class on the fly.
6
Astronomy 1110, Summer 2005
MTWRF: 11 AM - 12:35 PM
Mega-Syllabus of DOOM
Course website: http://webct.colorado.edu
Backup: http://anquetil.colorado.edu/~jhr/ASTR1110
Instructor: James Roberts
Teaching Assistant: Adam Jensen
email: James.H.Roberts@colorado.edu
email: Adam.Jensen@colorado.edu
Office: Duane C-332
Office: Duane F-737 (in the Gamow tower)
Phone:303-735-3048
Phone:303-492-4508
Office Hours:
M 1-2 PM, W,Th 10-11 AM
Office Hours:
M-F 3:30-5:00 PM or by appt.
Required Materials
 Textbook: The Cosmic Perspective, 3rd ed. by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, and
Voit.
 Hyper-Interactive Teaching Technology transmitter (aka "clicker").
 Planisphere (Optional, but highly recommended.)
Assignments
Your grade will be based on the following:
Weekly Homework (4 total)
40 %
Clickers
5%
In-class work
15%
Telescope Observing
5%
Constellation Quiz
5%
Term Observing Project
15%
Final exam
15%
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Homeworks
Homework will be due each Tuesday at the beginning of class. Homework turned
in after this time will be considered late. Late work will suffer a penalty of 25% per day. I
know that sounds harsh, but at the accelerated pace of this class it's hard for me to be nice
about late work and grade it in a timely manner.
I'll ask three types of questions. Conceptual questions are meant to gauge whether
or not you understand the concepts we've been discussing in general terms. I'll want you
to explain in words what's going on and demonstrate your comprehension of the material.
Problem-based questions are more mathematical in nature. They're to help you
work on your application of the course material to solving specific problems in
astronomy and to analyzing results. Common sense is a big help here. Look at your
answers to make sure they make sense. If you come up with a value for the velocity of a
spacecraft that exceeds the speed of light (for example) , chances are you made a mistake.
Finally, there will be short essay questions. These will be more open-ended. I'll
pose a question such as "Is Pluto a Planet or a Kuiper belt Object?". You'll need to argue
one way or the other and explain to me why you chose that position and back it up with
concrete facts. These questions are to get you to evaluate hypotheses and synthesize what
you know about astronomy into your worldview. Responses to essay questions should
have three parts to them; an introduction, a main body section, and a conclusion. In total
each essay should take half a page to a page each.
You'll observe that I place a large portion of the total grade on the homeworks.
That's because in my experience this is what you spend most of your time on and it
should be rewarded appropriately.
Some advice on the homework:
 Start it early. Each week in the summer session is like three weeks in a semester. If
you start it early, you can ask Adam or me questions if you get stuck.
 Be neat. You don't have to hand in your first attempt. In fact, I strongly suggest you
work out all the problems and then later write it all up neatly. It will be easier for you to
be sure you've gotten everything, it will be easier for me to read and grade, and you'll still
have a copy of your original work to refer to. If you're handwriting's neat that's fine. If
not, you may want to type things up.
 Work together. Science is all about collaboration. I encourage you to work on
homework with others. You'll catch each other's mistakes and come up with ideas that
your friends haven't and vice-versa. However, you should still do your own work. It's
good to discuss the problems, but don't copy each other's work. That's plagiarism and is a
Bad Thing (TM). Plus, you won't really understand the material if you just copy it.
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Clickers
In this class, we'll be using HyperInteractive Teaching Technology (HITT)
transmitters or "clicker sticks". You'll each have a small remote control stick with 5
buttons on it. You'll need to buy this from the bookstore. However, many classes are
using these clickers lately, and you'll be able to use the same clicker for every class you
take at CU. You'll need to register it here: http://capa.colorado.edu/cgi-bin/RegisterAFS
At times during the class, I'll pose a multiple choice conceptual question and ask
you all to click in the answer. Your clicker has a unique identifier code, which only you
and I will know. This allows the entire class to answer anonymously and still lets me give
credit for participating. Clickers will be worth 5% of your grade.
I'll specifically ask questions that target common misconceptions. As a result, I
expect many of you won't get the right answers. That's ok. You'll get full credit just for
participating. The point is for me to get instant feedback as to how well you're
understanding the concepts, not to penalize anyone for not getting it right away. It's also
an incentive for you to come to class regularly.
A final note: please don't use anyone else's clicker. That's cheating and in a class
this small, I'll know if you're clicking in for multiple people.
In-Class Work
We'll be doing various activities in class to keep things interesting and help you
understand the concepts we're discussing. These activities will typically have a simple
write-up to be handed in at the end of class. They will be graded essentially for
participation rather than "correctness". The point is to get you thinking like a scientist,
coming up with hypotheses, testing them and trying to understand the results.
Observing exercises
Everything we know about astronomy is from observing the skies. Everything that
is in the textbook was put there because somebody looked at the heavens and figured out
what was going on. That's what I want you to do. One quarter of your grade is dedicated
to observations. These fall into three categories.
The first is using the telescopes. We have the Sommers Bausch Observatory on
campus available to us. I've booked it every Monday and Thursday evening. Since
telescopes are so integral to astronomy, I want everyone to be familiar with them and get
a chance to use them. Everyone should come to SBO at least once and observe. There's
something about seeing the light with your eyes rather than looking at a picture that
makes astronomy seem much more real. There won't be any assignment to hand in, I just
want to look through the telescopes and you'll get credit for this. Obviously, we won't be
observing if it's cloudy or raining or snowing, so please use your own judgment before
coming out to SBO. If you're not sure, you can call 303-492-2020 to reach the observing
deck.
9
The second observing assignment is the Constellation Quiz. I don't want anyone
to get through an astronomy class and not know their way around the sky. Over the
course of the class, I'll show you constellations in the Planetarium and during the evening
sessions and help you get oriented. You'll have to practice on your own though. A
planisphere is a wise investment. You can get it from Fiske for $5, and they're available
in book stores and on the internet. During one of the evening sessions, you'll show me
what you've learned.
The third part is the term observing project. For the duration of this class you'll
make observations (e.g. of the Sun or the Moon) every night or day (weather permitting)
and see how they evolve over time. More details will be provided on another handout
along with some possible choices of projects. Of course, you're welcome to design your
own, but check with me first.
Final Exam
I'm not a big fan of tests. You'll notice there are no midterms. However there is
something to be said for a comprehensive final assessment. The questions will be a lot
like the homeworks, but designed to be completed in a couple hours rather than in a
week. Because I think science should be about knowing where to find information than
about memorization, the test will be open book. You may also observe that the final exam
is given a week early. I thought it best not to have the project due the same time as the
final. This should lower the stress level at the end a bit.
Your Final Grade
I like to grade based on absolute rather than relative performance. That means I
won't grade on a curve. I want you to help each other out and not be worried that if
someone does better then you'll get a lower grade. There is no pre-set number of A's, B's
or anything else available. I'll be thrilled if you all get A's because that means you've
learned something. That being said, it's possible that I may misjudge the difficulty of the
questions and make the average too low. If that's happens, I'll scale the class average up
to an 80 and everyone's grade shifts accordingly. If the average is higher than 80, I won't
scale it down. Below is the standard grading scale for reference.
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Range
93-100
90-92
Grade
A
A-
87-89
83-86
B+
B
80-82
77-79
73-76
BC+
C
70-72
C-
67-69
D+
63-66
60-62
D
D-
0-59
F
Policies
This is the section for University Policies. If you want more info
http://www.colorado.edu/policies has more info than you could possibly want.
Students with Disabilities
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a
letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed.
Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities.
Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, and www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices
Religious Observances
I will make every effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who,
because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or
required attendance. If you have any such conflicts, please let me know as soon as
possible, so I can accommodate you.
Classroom Behavior
Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate
learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be
subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat all students with
understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable
11
limits on the manner in which they and their students express opinions. Professional
courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics
dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender
variance, and nationalities. See polices at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at
http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code
What I expect of you
As students in this class, I expect the following of you:
 Show up to class on time, ready to go. Don't plan to leave early. (If you need to arrive
late or leave early, please do so unobtrusively and plan to sit near the door)
 Bring necessary materials with you: your book, paper, writing implements, clicker
and a calculator.
 Do the reading before each class. I've indicated the necessary sections for each day
and I think it's in manageable chunks. I want you to have done the reading for
background knowledge, so we can work on synthesizing that knowledge into a coherent
picture in class. That way I don't have to turn class into lectures where I just spout
information at you. That's the last thing either of us want. Also, you paid for the book.
You may as well get as much out of it as possible.
 Turn in your assignments on time. It's best for me to grade everybody's work at once.
Lateness also sends you down a slippery slope where you find it easier to put things off.
 Work on your observing projects. You'll need to get data every day. It's unethical to
fake it and difficult to do so. It will only take a few minutes a night.
What you can expect of me
 I will start on time and end class on time.
 I will treat you as individuals. I will do my best to actually learn who you all are. I'm
also aware that different people learn differently. I'll use a variety of teaching techniques
to try and reach everybody.
 I'll help you learn the material. That's my job. You are strongly encouraged to make
use of my office hours, either scheduled or by appointment, any time you need assistance.
 Grade and return things promptly. I expect you to turn stuff in on time, and you
should expect to get it back quickly.
 Address your interests. This class isn't really a pre-requisite for anything. It's
important for you to learn about astronomy and the Solar System, not that we "get
through" a certain amount of material. I welcome questions at anytime and even
diversions of our discussions onto other topics. As long as they're appropriate to the class.
12
Cheating and The Honor Code
All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing
and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy
may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery,
and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the
Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to
be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions
from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to
university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code
can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at
http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/
I'll clarify a few points just so we're all on the same page:
 Plagiarism
Passing someone else's work off as your own. This is professional suicide in science and
it won't be tolerated in this class. If you reference someone else's work, cite them
properly. While you may work on assignments together, you should go off separately to
write it up. Collaboration is good, copying is bad.
 Data Falsification
We'll be doing observing projects. I want you to report WHAT YOU SEE, not what you
THINK you should be getting. I also want you to make your observations every day.
Don't wait until the end, panic, and try to guess what you would have seen the rest of the
days. It doesn't work. I've seen people try it and it's usually obvious.
 Unauthorized help
Copying anyone else's answers on a test is cheating. Using unauthorized references in a
test situation is cheating. Giving your clicker to a friend to answer for you is cheating. So
don't do it.
 Penalties
Anyone caught cheating on any assignment will receive a 0 for that assignment and I'll
report the violation to the Honor Code. End of story.
Sexual Harassment
The University of Colorado Policy on Sexual Harassment applies to all students,
staff and faculty. Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual attention. It can involve
intimidation, threats, coercion, or promises or create an environment that is hostile or
offensive. Harassment may occur between members of the same or opposite gender and
between any combination of members in the campus community: students, faculty, staff,
and administrators. Harassment can occur anywhere on campus, including the classroom,
the workplace, or a residence hall. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes
s/he has been sexually harassed should contact the Office of Sexual Harassment (OSH) at
303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the
OSH and the campus resources available to assist individuals who believe they have been
13
sexually harassed can be obtained at: http://www.colorado.edu/sexualharassment/
Schedule
This is my proposed schedule. However, if you find you want to spend more time
on, say Jovian Planets to explore something in greater depth that's fine. If you all
immediately get Planet Formation, and aren't that interested in it, we can move on. You'll
also notice that the entire last week is blank. That's for a variety of optional topics that
we'll vote on. The only rule is that we can't get more time in the Planetarium. Other
groups use it too. I booked as much time as I could.
Special Topics
The last week of class will be dedicated to the topics most interesting to you, the
students. Possible topics are:





The Sun
Space Exploration
Extrasolar Planets
Astrobiology
Astrology
These are just examples. It could be something much better. Feel free to suggest
topics of your own. Also, we can expand on things we've already talked about.
14
Date
31 May
Material
The Big Picture: Intro, Solar System
Tour, Science
Reading
8.1-8.3,
1.1, 3.1, 3.5
2.1-2.2,
1.2-1.3
2.3-2.4, S14-S1.5
S1.6, 2.52.6
3.2-3.3,
S1.1-S1.3
4.1-4.2,
6.1-6.3
7.1-7.5
3.4, 5.15.3,5.6
9.1-9.4
4.3-4.4, 6.4
13.113.2,13.4
13.6
10.110.2,12.112.2
13.3, 10.310.7, 9.5
12.5-12.6,
5.4, 13.5
11.1, 11.311.5
12.3-12.4,
11.2,11.6
Notes
1 June
Constellations, Scales
2 June
The Sky, Seasons, Precession
3 June
Celestial Navigation, Phases,
Eclipses
6 June
Ancient History, Time
7 June
Energy, Light
8 June
10 June
13 June
Telescopes
Copernican Revolution, Motion
Physics
Origin of the Solar System
Spectroscopy
14 June
Remnants: Asteroids and Comets
15 June
Cosmic Collisions
16 June
Planetary Surfaces and Interiors
17 June
Planetary Geology
20 June
Moons and Rings, Tides, Pluto
21 June
Atmospheres
22 June
Jovian Atmospheres, Climate
23 June
24 June
27 June
28 June
29 July
30 July
Review
"Final" Exam
Special Topics
Special Topics
Special Topics
Special Topics
Fiske Planetarium
HW4 due
1 July
Special Topics
Observing Projects
due
9 June
Fiske Planetarium
Fiske Planetarium
Fiske, SBO
HW1 due
Fiske, SBO
Fiske Planetarium
HW2 due
SBO
HW3 due
15
ASTR 1110
Special Topics Ballot
13 June 2005
The last week of class is meant to focus on the things YOU the students find interesting.
I’ve suggested several possible topics to discuss on those days. Please choose up to FIVE
items. Feel free to write in items I haven’t put down. Things we’ve already talked about
are also fair game as I haven’t been able to bring up nearly everything about them. The
most popular topics will be discussed during the last week with the caveat that only ONE
day can be spent in the planetarium
Ancient Astronomy
Astrobiology
Astrology
Astronomy in Science Fiction
Constellations: Legends and Lore (Planetarium)
Extrasolar Planets
Geology
Orbital Dynamics
Space Missions and Exploration
Spectroscopy Lab
The Sun
Any planet in detail
Name of planet (or other object) : ______________________________________
Write-in Candidates
16
ASTR 1110
General Astronomy: Solar System
Homework 1
Conceptual Questions
1. Visit the large sundial in front of Norlin library. Or in back of it. The side closest to
the classroom. Whatever, there's only one big sundial, it's pretty obvious. Anyway, visit
it. No, not at night. Yes, the sun must be shining on it. Good. Record the time indicated
by the sundial. Record the time your watch tells you it is. Are they the same? If not, why
not?
2. What patterns are there in the motions in the solar system? What exceptions are there
to these patterns?
3. What do we mean by “Apparent Solar Noon”?
4. During what phase of the moon can a Solar Eclipse occur? How about a Lunar
Eclipse? Why don't we see eclipses every time we have those phases?
Problems
1. Calculate the distance in kilometers represented by each of the following: 1 lightsecond; 1 light-minute; 1 light-hour, 1 light-day.
2. Imagine you could drive anywhere at a constant speed of 100 km/hr
a. How long would it take to drive all around the Earth?
b. How long would it take to drive from the Sun to the Earth?
c.
How long to drive to Alpha Centauri?
3. Recall the scale-model solar system. It's on a scale of 1:1010. That is, the model is
10-10 times the size of the real solar system. In the real universe, the nearest star,
Proxima Centauri is 4.3 light years away. In the model universe, where would you
find Proxima Centauri? Show your work.
4. How far above the horizon can the Sun get here in Boulder? Show how you arrived at
this answer.
17
Essay Questions
1. Which of the planets (or moons, comets, asteroids, etc.) is your personal favorite and
why? There is no right or wrong answer, but be sure to back up your choice with
several interesting features unique to that planet.
2. Our current calendar system no longer syncs up with many astronomical phenomena.
A month is not a lunar cycle, and there aren't an even number of them in a year. There
aren't an even number of weeks in a year or in a month. All kinds of problems.
Design your own calendar system that you think makes more sense astronomically.
18
ASTR 1110
Summer 2005
Sundial/Solar Calendar
Purpose: In this exercise you will construct your own sundial and use it:
1. To lay down accurate N-S / E-W lines
2. To determine the local time of solar noon and so construct a gnomon
3. To use this gnomon through the term to locate the shadow of the noon sun
and so construct a solar calendar.
Materials Needed:







Length of string
Tape measure or yardstick
Chalk (2 or more colors would be best)
Compass (optional)
Wristwatch
Straight pole
Adhesive Tape
Setup:
Pick a place where the Sun will cast a shadow onto a flat, horizontal (preferably concrete)
surface from well before noon to well after noon. This surface should be something you
can mark on with chalk in a location where it will not be erased for several days. See
Figure 1 for suggested layout. Either choose an existing vertical post or stick you own
pole into the ground in as vertical a position as possible. Use a plumb bob or level to
align your pole.
Figure 1
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Observations Part 1: Sundial
On a clear day when you have a few hours to kill:
1. Look at the shadow from your post and mark the end of it with the chalk.
2. Continue to mark the end of the shadow at ~15 minute intervals for the next
several hours centered around Local Apparent Noon. Note that with daylight
savings time, “Local Apparent Noon” is close to 1 pm.
At a minimum your measurements must be for at least 1 to 1.5 hours long during
two periods roughly equally spaced about noon. (Example: Measure from 9:30
to 10:30 am and again from 3:30 to 4:30 pm).
Using your chalk connect your earlier markings to trace out the path of the
shadow along the ground. See Figure 2.
Figure 2
20
3. Attach a different color chalk to the string and stretch the string from the pole out
to a point on your path. Use this to trace out a circle with the pole at the center,
and intersecting the path in two locations. Mark those two intersections. See
Figure 3.
Figure 3
4. Using a tape measure or yardstick, lay out a line between your two marks and
measure the length of that line. This line is exactly east-west. Place an X at the
midpoint of this line. See Figure 4.
Figure 4
21
5. Draw a line from your pole to the X. This line, or “meridian” should be exactly
north-south. See Figure 5. You can check this with a compass, but be aware that
a compass measures “Magnetic North”. In Boulder, this deviates from true north
by 10.25.
Figure 5
6. The Sun’s shadow should cross the meridian at “Local Apparent Noon”. Return
the next day by at least 12:50 pm by your watch. Mark the tip of the shadow
when the pole’s shadow crosses your noon line as accurately as you can and
record the time. Measure the length of the shadow. See Figure 6.
Figure 6
22
Observations Part 2: Solar Calendar
1. Measure the height of your pole, or “gnomon”.
2. Pick a time of day which you can be sure that you can visit your sundial every day
(or nearly every day). At this time every day, mark the tip of the pole’s shadow.
Measure its length.
3. Specifically make a measurement on 21 June, the summer solstice.
4. Record all your measurements in a chart. (Date, Time, Length of Shadow)
Report
Write up your results as per the general instructions. Be sure to answer the following
questions:
1. Did your shadow cross the meridian at exactly 1 pm? If not, why would it be off?
2. Did the shadow change its length evenly day-to-day? If not, between which two
dates did the shadow’s length change the most?
23
ASTR 1110
Summer 2005
Hopi-style Solar Calendar
Purpose: In this exercise you will observe the position of the rising or setting sun each
day to observe how it changes over time and construct a solar calendar.
Setup:
Decide whether you will make your observations at sunrise or sunset. I’d guess most of
you like to be asleep at sunrise and will therefore choose sunset, but stranger things have
happened. Find a location at which you can consistently view the sunrise or sunset every
day. Note your precise location. The position of your eye is the most important point.
Make sure you make all your observations from the same position (standing, sitting, etc.)
Observations:
1. On the first day, sketch the horizon as you see it from your special location as
accurately as possible. Sketch only those things along the horizon that won’t
change during the next month. Alternately, take a panorama series of pictures
with a camera if you have one.
2. Locate the position of sunrise or sunset on your sketch and mark it with the date.
Make sure you choose a consistent definition of sunrise or sunset (e.g. the point
where you see the very last gleam of sunlight, the point at which the sun first
touches the mountain, or the location when the sun has half set. Pick whichever
you like, but be consistent).
3. Repeat this observation every day (or at least every other day). Mark the Sun’s
position on your sketch every day.
4. Specifically make an observation on the summer solstice, 21 June.
Report:
Write up your observations as per the general guidelines. Include your sketch or
photographs of the horizon and solar positions. Be sure to answer the following
questions.
1. Did the Sun come up or go down at the same angle to a “flat” horizon every day
or does this angle change from day to day?
2. Did the Sun’s position change evenly each day or were there some times that it
moved more from day to day than at other times? If so, which times were these?
3. How far from due east or west was sun rise or set on the solstice? Was it to the
north or the south?
24
ASTR 1110
Summer 2005
Observing Lunar Phases
Purpose: In this exercise you will plot the location of the Moon with respect to the Sun
and the Earth for a period of one month. Your own observations of the Moon’s positions
and appearances will help you understand the causes of the lunar phases and should
enable you to prove to yourself that the Moon shines by reflected light.
Setup:
Find a spot at which you have a clear view of the sky. You’ll need to be able to see the
moon every day. Note that the Moon rises and sets at different times when it’s in
different phases, so you won’t be making the observations at the same time for the whole
month.
Observations: The Lunar Log
1. For the first week, you’ll want to make the observations sometime in the
afternoon. It will be easier if you observe at the same for this set, but not
absolutely necessary.
On the Lunar log, mark the time of your observation in the first blank column. In
the second, give the location of the Moon. Tell which direction you see it, and try
to estimate it’s altitude above the horizon. In the third blank column, give the
phase the moon is in and draw a sketch of it. Be sure to mark which portion is lit.
Note the progression of the Moon’s position across the sky. If you can’t observe
due to cloud cover, be sure to state that in the log.
2. For the second and third weeks, it will be best to observe after sunset in the early
evening. Make the same kind of measurements as before.
3. For the fourth week, you’ll need to observe either later at night, or in the morning.
4. Continue observing until you see the moon in the same phase as your first
observation. Determine how many days elapse between identical phases.
The Lunar Phase Diagram
Transfer your log observations into a plot of the Moon’s motion around the Earth. For
any particular observation
1. Determine your position relative to the Sun. The Earth is rotating about its axis in
a counter-clockwise direction as seen in a view looking down on the north pole of
the Earth from space. At noon, you are directly under the Sun; at midnight, you
are directly opposite the Sun. At sunset, you are just starting to pass from
25
sunlight into shadow. Draw a stick figure at your location representing you.
2. Determine your horizon. Since you’re standing on the Earth, you can only see
half of the entire sky at a time because the Earth blocks the view of the rest of the
universe.
Draw a line representing your horizon on the Earth’s surface at the location where
you are standing. You can see everything above the line and nothing below it.
Noting that the Sun sets in the west, you can keep track of your eastern and
western horizon.
3. Locate the Moon with respect to the Earth and the Sun. Where was the moon
when you observed it?
4. Plot the Moon and it’s phase. To complete the entry, carefully and clearly mark
the Moon’s position in its orbit and record the date and time you observed it.
Erase the stick figure and the horizon line.
Report
Write up your observations as per the general guidelines. Include your lunar log and
lunar phase diagram. Be sure to answer the following questions:
1. Where are you in the diagram and midnight Boulder time?
2. If the Moon is directly overhead at 9 am Boulder time, where is it in its orbit?
3. At what time of day does the third-quarter Moon rise?
4. Approximately how much later each successive night does the Moon rise? How
did you arrive at your answer?
5. What portion of the lunar cycle is the Moon visible during the daytime?
6. Explain how your observations support the idea that the Moon shines only by
reflected light.
7. What is the length of a synodic month (the time between successive identical
phases of the Moon) ?
26
Lunar Log
Day
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Date of Obs.
31 May
01 June
02 June
03 June
04 June
05 June
06 June
07 June
9
08 June
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
09 June
10 June
11 June
12 June
13 June
14 June
15 June
16 June
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
17 June
18 June
19 June
20 June
21 June
22 June
23 June
24 June
25 June
27
28
29
30
31
26 June
27 June
28 June
29 June
30 June
Time of Observation
Location of Moon
Phase of Moon
27
Lunar Phases
Diagram
28
ASTR 1110
Constellation Quiz
Due 30 June 2005
Purpose
Astronomy first started out as people watching the night sky. They saw patterns
in the stars and came up with stories about them. I want everyone to come out of the
class knowing the sky.
My Part
I’ll point out the constellations we can see in the Planetarium and at the nighttime
observing sessions. There are a total of 88, but we can only see about 70 from our
latitude. Also, we can only see half the sky at a time so that gives us around 35
constellations. I’ll point out tricks for identifying these patterns and also name some of
the brightest stars.
Your Part
By the end of the class, I’d like you to demonstrate that you can identify at least 7
constellations, 4 stars, and at least one planet. You’ll point this out to Adam or me at one
of the night-time observing sessions. You can make as many attempts as you like (no
more than one in any given night). It will help if you practice on your own. A
planisphere (available at Fiske or the Bookstore) is a helpful item.
29
The List
Here’s a list of constellations visible from Boulder in the evenings in June and some of
the brightest stars in them (if any). The constellations are listed in order of Right
Ascension. The ones in boldface will be at prime viewing during our nighttime sessions.
Star names in italics are some of the twenty brightest stars in the sky.
Name
Canis Minor
Lynx
Puppis
Cancer
Pyxis
Antlia
Hydra
Leo Minor
Sextans
Crater
Leo
Ursa Major
Corvus
Canes Venatici
Coma Berenices
Virgo
Boötes
Libra
Ursa Minor
Corona Borealis
Serpens Caput
Draco
Hercules
Ophiuchus
Scorpius
Serpens Cauda
Corona Australis
Lyra
Sagittarius
Scutum
Aquila
Sagitta
Vulpecula
Description
Little Dog
Lynx
Stern of a ship
Crab
Compass
Pump
Water Monster
Little Lion
Sextant
Cup
Lion
Great Bear
Crow
Hunting Dogs
Berenice's Hair
Virgin
Herdsman
Scales
Little Bear
Northern Crown
Serpent's Head
Dragon
Hercules
Serpent Bearer
Scorpion
Serpent's Tail
Southern Crown
Lyre
Archer
Shield
Eagle
Arrow
Little Fox
Bright Stars
Procyon
Regulus
Denebola
Dubhe
Merak
Phad
(or Phecda)
Cor Caroli
Megrez
Alioth
Spica
Mizar (and Alcor)
Vindemiatrix
Arcturus
Alkaid
Benetnasch)
Zuben(or
Elgenubi
Zuben Eschamali
Polaris
Kochab
Gema
Etamin
Rastaban
Thuban
Antares
Vega
Altair
30
ASTR 1110
Orbital Energies Worksheet
28 June 2005
Name:___________________________________
1. What is our velocity about the Sun?
2. What is our kinetic energy from the Sun’s reference?
3. What is our gravitational potential energy from the Sun’s reference?
M = 2*1030 kg
31
4. Most of the difficulty in a manned Mars mission is getting back. What do you
think of a permanent colony, from which our explorers could never return?
5. Is it worth the risk? No space travel will ever become completely safe. But how
much is too much danger to put our people in?
32
Name: ______________________________
ASTR 1110
Problem-solving Worksheet
20 June 2005
The Moon orbits Earth in an average time of 27.3 days at an average distance of
384,000 kilometers. Use these facts to determine the mass of the Earth. You may
neglect the mass of the Moon and assume M + M ≈ M
1. Write down what you know and what you don’t know.
2. Find a relationship between the above quantities
3. Re-arrange the formula to get unknown by itself
33
4. Substitute the values for the variables
5. Crunch the numbers and combine the units
6. Check that your answer makes sense! Numbers AND units!
34
ASTR 1110
Final Exam
Friday, 24 June 2005
Your Name:__________________________________________________
Knowledge Section
(20 points)
This part is closed book. Fill this form out and turn it in before getting the rest of the
exam.
1. Important numbers in Astronomy (4 points)
a. What is an Astronomical Unit?
b. What is special about this distance?
c. What is a Light Year?
d. What is the speed of light in a vacuum?
35
2. List all the planets in the Solar System and their classification. Must get BOTH
correct for credit (1 point each, total of 9 points)
Planet
Classification
1.__________________________________________________________
2.__________________________________________________________
3.__________________________________________________________
4.__________________________________________________________
5.__________________________________________________________
6.__________________________________________________________
7.__________________________________________________________
8.__________________________________________________________
9.__________________________________________________________
3. List the seven largest Moons in the Solar System and the planets they orbit. Must
get BOTH planet AND moon for credit. (1 point each, total of seven)
Moon
Planet
1.__________________________________________________________
2.__________________________________________________________
3.__________________________________________________________
4.__________________________________________________________
5.__________________________________________________________
6.__________________________________________________________
7.__________________________________________________________
36
ASTR 1110
Final Exam
Friday, 24 June 2005
Your Name:______________________________________________
Multiple Choice Section
(20 points)
This part is open book. On the scantron, bubble in the letter corresponding to the best
answer to the question. Each question is worth 1 point. There are a total of 20 questions.
1. Imagine that the Earth’s orbit were changed to be a perfect circle about the Sun so
that the distance to the Sun never changed. How would this affect the seasons?
a. We would no longer experience a difference between the seasons.
b. We would still experience seasons, but the difference would be much LESS
noticeable.
c. We would still experience seasons, but the difference would be much MORE
noticeable.
d. We would continue to experience seasons in the same way we do now.
2. A person is reading a newspaper while standing 5 feet away from a table that has on it
an unshaded 100-watt light bulb. Imagine that the table were moved to a distance of
10 feet. How many light bulbs in total would have to be placed on the table to light
up the newspaper to the same amount of brightness as before?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
One bulb
Two bulbs
Three bulbs
Four bulbs
More than four bulbs.
37
3. Imagine that you are building a scale model of the Earth and the Moon. You are
going to use a 12-inch basketball to represent the Earth and a 3-inch tennis ball to
represent the Moon. To maintain the proper distance scale, about how far from the
surface of the basketball should the tennis ball be placed?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
4 inches
6 inches
36 inches
30 feet
300 feet
4. If you could see the stars during the day, this is what the sky would look like at noon
on a given day. The Sun is near the stars of the constellation Gemini. Near which
constellation would you expect the Sun to be located at sunset?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Leo
Cancer
Gemini
Taurus
Pisces
5. You observe a full Moon rising in the east. How will it appear in six hours?
6. How does the speed of radio waves compare to the speed of visible light?
a. Radio waves are much slower.
38
b. They both travel at the same speed.
c. Radio waves are much faster.
7. As viewed from our location, the stars of the Big Dipper can be connected with
imaginary lines to form the shape of a pot with a curved handle. To where would you
have to travel to first observe a considerable change in the shape formed by these
stars?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Across the country
A distant star
Europe
Moon
Pluto
8. Global warming is thought to be caused by the
a. Destruction of the ozone layer
b. Trapping of heat by nitrogen
c. Addition of carbon dioxide
9. Compared to the distance to the Moon, how far away is the Space Shuttle (when in
space) from the Earth?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Very close to the Earth
About half way to the Moon
Very close to the Moon
About twice as far as the Moon
10. You have two balls of equal size and smoothness, and you can ignore air resistance.
One is heavy, the other much lighter. You hold one in each hand at the same height
above the ground. You release them at the same time. What will happen?
a. The heavier one will hit the ground first
b. They will hit the ground at the same time.
c. The lighter one will hit the ground first.
39
11. With your arm held straight, your thumb is just wide enough to cover up the Sun. If
you were on Saturn, which is 10 times farther from the Sun than the Earth is, what
object could you used to just cover up the Sun?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Your wrist
Your thumb
A pencil
A strand of spaghetti
A hair
12. Which of the following would make you weigh half as much as you do right now?
a. Take away half the Earth’s atmosphere.
b. Double the distance between the Sun and the Earth.
c. Make the Earth spin half as fast.
d. Take away half the Earth’s mass.
e. More than one of the above.
13. Which of the following lists is correctly arranged in order of closest-to-most-distant
from the Earth?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Stars, Moon, Sun, Pluto
Sun, Moon, Pluto, Stars
Moon, Sun, Pluto, Stars
Moon, Sun, stars, Pluto
Moon, Pluto, Sun, stars
14. The diagram below shows the Earth and Sun as well as five different possible
positions for the Moon. Which position of the Moon would cause it to appear like the
picture at right when viewed from the Earth?
15. Astronauts inside the Space Shuttle float around as it orbits the Earth because
40
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
there is no gravity in space.
they are falling in the same way as the Space Shuttle.
they are above the Earth’s atmosphere.
there is less gravity inside the Space Shuttle.
more than one of the above.
16. On about September 22, the Sun sets directly to the west as shown on the diagram
below. Where would the Sun appear to set two weeks later?
a. farther south
b. in the same place
c. farther north
17. As seen from your current location, when will an upright flagpole cast no shadow
because the Sun is directly above the flagpole?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Every day at noon
Only on the first day of summer.
Only on the first day of winter.
On both the first days of spring and fall.
Never from your current location.
18. When the Moon appears to completely cover the Sun (an eclipse), the Moon must be
at which phase?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Full
New
First Quarter
Last Quarter
At no particular phase.
19. Mars has an average surface temperature of -53°C and an average surface pressure of
6 millibars. Yet it seems to have river channels on it? Why might this be?
a. Water flows over its surface like normal today
b. Wind scours them out. They just look like rivers.
c. The Martians dug canals
41
d. Mars has periodic flash floods, before the water freezes.
e. Mars was warmer in the past and water flowed then.
20. All of Venus’s surface appears to be the same age. Why?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
The atmosphere stops all impacts. There are no craters to count.
It’s so hot, the surface stays molten
The whole surface was resurfaced at the same time.
We’re just guessing. We can’t see the surface.
Venus was formed recently.
42
Short Answer Section
(40 points)
This section is open book. I’ll ask more open-ended questions here. You’ll need to
respond with as little as a word or as much as a few sentences. But no more than that.
Questions have varying amounts of points.
1. Two ideas for the cause of seasons are: 1) the Earth’s proximity to the Sun, and 2)
the tilt of the Earth’s axis. (5 points)
a. How could you test which (if either) of these ideas is correct? (2 points)
b. Why DO we have seasons? Include a sketch in your response. (3 points)
2. What are the phases of the Moon and why do we have them? Include a sketch in your
response. On the sketch, include the Sun, the Earth, and the position of the moon at each
phase. There should be a total of eight. (9 points)
43
3. What conditions are necessary to get eclipses? Why don’t we get them every month?
(4 points)
4. The largest telescopes on Mauna Kea are the 10 meter Keck telescopes. The largest
telescope on Kitt Peak is only 4 meters. Mauna Kea is on the Big Island of Hawaii at an
elevation of 14,000 feet. Kitt Peak is in the desert of southern Arizona at an elevation of
7,000 feet. (6 points)
a. What advantages do you get by using Keck over Kitt Peak? (3 points)
b. Why do we put telescopes in space? (3 points)
5. What was the key difference between Copernicus and Kepler’s models of the Solar
System? (2 points)
6. The labeled transitions below represent an electron moving between energy levels in
hydrogen. Answer each of the following questions. (4 points)
44
a. Which transition could represent an electron that gains 10.2 eV of energy? (1
point)
b. Which transition represents an electron that loses 10.2 eV of energy? (1 point
c. Which transition represents an electron that is breaking free of the atom? (1 point)
d. Which transition, as shown, is not possible? (1 point)
7. A sketch below shows a star emitting light and a cloud nearby. Draw a sketch of the
spectra an observer at each of the indicated positions would see. (3 points)
45
8.
Why are there two types of planets? How did the terrestrial and Jovian planets
form? (2 points)
9. Why does the surface of the Earth look so different from the surface of the Moon? (2
points
10. What controls a planet’s surface temperature? (3 points)
46
Problems Section
(20 points)
This part is open book. Do TWO of the following three questions. If you do all three,
only the first two will be graded. Show all your work. If you show your work and make
a mistake, you’re likely to get most of the credit. If you just put down the answer and
don’t show how you got it, you won’t get more than half credit, even if it’s right.
Also, watch your units! An answer without a unit is no answer at all.
Each problem is worth 10 points
Indicate which problems you want me to grade:
1
2
3
47
1. Kepler’s third law is specific. The Period must be in years, and the distance must be
in AU, and it must orbit something the mass of the Sun. Newton came up with a
generalized version of this law for objects orbit about ANY other object. Use Newton’s
version of Kepler’s third law to solve the following:
a. Triton orbits Neptune every 5.88 days at a distance of 3.54*105 km. Calculate the
mass of Neptune. You can assume that Triton’s mass is small compared to Neptune’s. (5
points)
b. Suppose Jimmy Kimmel were launched out of a cannon with a very high velocity and
began to orbit the Earth at an altitude of 1 meter. Assume there are no mountains or
buildings or anything else in the way. What is his orbital period? Remember you’ll have
to add the Earth’s radius to the altitude to get the orbital distance. You can assume
Jimmy’s mass is small compared to the Earth’s (5 points)
48
2. SPOILER ALERT: In “The Matrix”, the Machines want to use humans as a source
of power.
a. If a typical human burns about 2500 Calories in one day, how much power would he
or she radiate? (1 Calorie = 4200 Joules) (4 points)
b. A typical light bulb uses 100 Watts of power. How many of these could a human
power? Is this an efficient energy source? (2 points)
c. Perhaps instead, the Machines want to use humans for heat. Using your value for the
power emitted by a human, what is his or her temperature? Assume a human has a
surface area of 2 m2. (4 points)
d. Bonus points: Does this temperature match what you would expect a human to be at?
If not, what would account for the difference? (2 points)
49
3. Bio-Dome 2: Trouble on the Hubble!
Aliens are attacking! Lurrr, of the planet Omicron Persei 8 is invading the Earth. We
need to know the size of their force in order to defend ourselves from invasion. OH! The
Horror! Yet another B-movie! We want to use the Hubble Space Telescope to track the
Omicronian menace.
a. The alien spaceships fly in formation with 1 km of space between them. How close
must the fleet be before we can count the ships? That is, at what distance can we resolve
the fleet as multiple separate objects? The Hubble Space telescope has an angular
resolution of 0.05 arcsecond. (3 points)
b. Too late! The aliens have captured the Hubble. Don’t ask why. We need to strike
back! We plan to launch a missile to destroy the Hubble. The Hubble is only 13 meters
long, at an altitude of 570 km! How much of an angle in the sky does this subtend? That
is, what’s the size of our target? (3 points)
c. From the ground, we want to spy the target with the 10-meter Keck telescopes. These
are visible–light scopes, so we’d be looking at wavelengths around 500 nm. Can we
resolve the Hubble with Keck and thus destroy it? Or do the Omicronians take over? (4
points)
50
ASTR 1110
Midterm Evaluation
15 June 2005
1. How much do you think you’re learning in this class?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
OMGWTF, I never knew anything about all this!
Lots
A reasonable amount
Not so much
Nothing I couldn’t get of the internet
2. How is the textbook?
a. Unbelievably complex and convoluted
b. Very clear and concise
c. Written at a middle-school level
3. Are you doing the reading before class? If not, are you doing the reading at all?
4. Does the material we talk about in class make sense?
5. Do the classes reinforce or repeat what’s in the book?
6. Are the clickers useful?
7. How much time are you spending on this class?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
I should spend time on it?
< 10 hours a week
10 -- 15 hours a week
15 – 20 hours a week
> 20 hours a week
51
8. Which of our class activities do you like?
9.
Which of our class activities do you not like?
10. What could I do to make the class better?
11. Which nights would be most convenient for you to come to the observatory?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
12. Would you be interested in an early morning observing session?
52
FCQ Summary Placeholder Page
53
ACCELERATED INTRO ASTRONOMY
LAB SYLLABUS
Course:
T.A.:
Time:
Location:
Office Hours:
Office Location:
Help Room:
Office Phone:
Observing Deck:
E-mail:
ASTR 1030-L
James Roberts
L-013 Wed. 3:00-4:50 PM
SBO, Room S-175
M 10-11, Th 3-4 (but see below)
Duane Physics, F-737 (Gamow Tower)
Stadium 118 (go in the door between Gates 3 and 4)
735-3048
492-2020
James.H.Roberts@colorado.edu
EXPECTATIONS
1. You must attend each lab session. If you don't show up, you can't do the lab.
2. You must be on time to the lab. If you are more than 25 minutes late, you cannot get credit
for the lab.
3. Read the appropriate section in the lab manual before coming to class. It will help you to do
the lab more smoothly and you'll learn more if you are prepared. Also, I'll give a pre-lab quiz
as extra encouragement
4. Each lab requires you to write up a lab report. Although we may be working in groups during
the lab, everyone should write up their report alone and by themselves. I'll know if I get
duplicate lab reports.
5. There will be a few night labs you'll need to attend. Read on for the schedule.
6. Clean up the equipment after the lab
7. You must pass the lab to pass the class
MY GOALS




To stimulate and maintain your interest in astronomy
For you to understand how science is done
For you to learn observational techniques
To reinforce the concepts you learned in class by hands-on experimentation.
OFFICE HOURS
So you have some questions and you want answers, but you don't want to go to the professor.
And you're sure you'll have class during the TA's office hours. You're in luck! The APS
department has set up a Help Room. It will be staffed with 2 TAs Monday through Friday from
10-12 and Monday through Thursday from 1-4. Any of our TAs ought to be able to help you
with any astronomy question you have so feel free to go anytime during those hours. I'll be there
during the hours listed at the top of the page. Should any of this change, I'll be sure to let you
know.
LAB MANUALS
Your lab manual has already been paid for by your course fees! If you want another, you can
download it from http://lyra.colorado.edu/sbo/manuals/manuals.html. We're not trying to make
money off them. But please print it at home, not here.
54
PRE-LAB QUIZZES
Before coming to lab, you should read the section in the lab manual dealing with the lab. It will
explain what we're trying to accomplish that day and how to go about it. If you come prepared,
the lab will go a lot more smoothly and you'll learn a lot more. If you don't do the reading, there's
a chance you could get frustrated trying to figure out the equipment and techniques on the fly.
To further encourage you on the reading, I'll give a short quiz every week before the lab. These
should be easy questions if you've done the reading and will basically be free points. These
quizzes will count as 10% of the lab grade.
LAB REPORTS
You'll collect a bunch of data during the lab, but how do I know you understood what you did?
After the lab, each of you will synthesize your results into a lab report. Although we will work in
groups during the lab, each of you should write up your own lab report.
Here's what to put in it:

Introduction
This should introduce the lab. Why are we doing this lab (other than because I said you have
to)? What do we hope to learn? What results do we expect?

Methods
What did you do? Tell me the procedures you went through during the lab. I don't need all
the details, but give me all the big steps.

Data
This section includes all the information you collected during the course of the lab, and
nothing else. It's important that this section contain the raw data you collected, unaltered and
uninterpreted. If you make a mistake later in your interpretation, we can at least see what you
started with.

Analysis
This section should contain the answers to the questions asked in the lab manual and any
manipulation of the data you needed to do to get the answers. Check that your answers are
reasonable. Also, restate the question in your responses. That helps me know that you
understand the question and the answer.

Conclusions
What did you learn from this exercise? Did the actual results match your predictions? Why or
why not? What could be done to improve the results.
You must type up your lab report. Any notes you made in lab are for you to keep. You don't
need to hand in a lab notebook or anything like that. But do type up your data in a coherent
format and include that. Lab Reports are due at the beginning of the next lab session.
GRADING





Scoring is out of 100 points
Prelab counts as 10%
Labs reports are due ate the beginning of the next lab session
10% deducted each day a lab is late
Lowest lab score dropped
55
LAB SCHEDULE
Dates
Lab
25 Aug
Colorado Model Solar System
01 Sept
Celestial Motions
15 Sept
Celestial Motions, continued
22 Sept
Kepler's Laws
29 Sept.
Introduction to CCD Imaging
06 Oct.
Spectroscopy and Light
13 Oct.
Optics
20 Oct.
Optics, continued
27 Oct.
Planetary Geology
03 Nov.
Planetary Geology, continued
10 Nov.
Planetary Atmospheres
17 Nov.
Planetary Atmospheres, continued
01 Dec.
The Sun
Note that four of the labs require two sessions to complete. You only need to write one lab report
for each of those, not two.
Also note that there are no labs on 08 Sept., 24 Nov., and 08 Dec.
NIGHTTIME OBSERVING SCHEDULE
The night labs are typically a lot easier, a lot less work, and the most interesting of all the labs.
We have 6 nighttime sessions assigned to us and 4 labs to complete. Why more nights than labs?
We need clear skies to do these activities and we may get clouded out. We suggest everyone
attend all sessions in case the last 2 are clouded out.
The first 3 night labs aren't as structured as the daytime labs. You can work at your own pace and
do the labs in any order you like. You don't need to write up a full-blown report for these. Just
answer the questions asked and hand in any sketches you make.
56
The fourth lab is
a bit more
involved. We'll
only do that if we
have enough
clear nights.
We'll save it for
the end in any
event. You need
to complete two
of the night labs,
although you are
encouraged to try
everything out.
After all, you've
already paid for
the class. Here's
the
schedule:Date
Start Time
Moon Phase
Mon. 30 Aug.
08:00 pm Full*
Wed. 15 Sep.
08:00 pm New
Tue. 05 Oct.
07:30 pm 3rd Quarter
Wed. 20 Oct.
07:30 pm 1st Quarter*
Mon. 08 Nov.
07:00 pm Waning Crescent
Mon. 29 Nov.
07:00 pm Waning Gibbous*
Observing Projects:




Constellation and Bright Star Identification
Telescope Observing
Observing Lunar Features*
The Messier Catalog (CCD Imaging)**
*The Moon can only be seen on the nights that are starred.
**Pending sufficient clear nights to complete the other three.
All the night labs are dependent on clear skies. Before leaving your home to come to the
observatory, look up. If it's pouring like crazy, don't bother showing up. If it's just a bit cloudy,
we can probably still do something. If you aren't sure about the visibility, call the observing
deck.
POLICIES
Honor Code
All students are subject to the universities honor code. You can find it here:
http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode
57
Basically, no cheating. Don't copy a friend's lab report and hand it in as your own. I don't mind
if you talk to each other about the lab, but write it up by yourself. Violation of the honor code
will be reported and can result in academic and/or non-academic sanctions.
Disability Services
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability please submit to me a letter from
Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services
determines accommodations based on documented disabilities (303-492-8671, Willard 322,
www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices).
Religious Observances
If religious observances conflict with the scheduled labs, please discuss this with me as soon as
possible (preferably two weeks) in advance of the conflict to request a mutually acceptable
accommodation.
58
James Roberts
ASTR 1030
15 September 2004
The Colorado Scale Model Solar System
Introduction
The scale model solar system is a representation of the actual solar system on a
1:10 billion scale. The sizes of the Sun and the nine planets and the distances between
the Sun and each planet has been scaled down by this factor, and these objects have been
placed out in a line across campus. By walking this scale model solar system, we will get
a sense for how vast and empty space really is. Because the model solar system is at a
scale of 1:10 billion, we expect that all distances we measure will be a factor of 10-10
smaller than the actual values. Additionally, we will feel a sense of power at being able
to walk through the solar system and fifty times the speed of light.
Methods
We sought to measure the distances between the Sun and each of the planets. The
true solar system is very large, would take a good deal of money and time to traverse and
would be generally inaccessible to a lab such as this. Therefore we use the Scale Model
Solar system as a proxy. We can measure the distance from the model Sun to each of the
planetary plaques and scale up the distances by 1010 to recover the actual values.
However, even at this scale, the Sun-Pluto separation is 500 m. It would be timeconsuming and unwieldy to attempt to measure these distances with a tape measure. We
therefore measured only one distance in this manner, that from the Sun to the Earth. By
definition, this distance is 1 astronomical unit (AU). We then walked the distance from
the Sun and the Earth, counting the paces. The measured value of the AU serves as a
benchmark for the paces. Since we know how many paces are in an AU, by pacing to
each of the other planets we can determine their distances in AU. Since we have
measured the length of an AU in meters, we can also convert the distances to the other
planets in meters. Likewise, knowing the speed of light, we can easily calculate how
long it takes light to travel to each of the planets and state their distances in “lightminutes”.
To increase the efficiency of the measurements, we did not pace from the Sun to
each planet separately. Once we paced from the Sun to Earth, we then went directly to
Mars, then to Jupiter, etc. rather than starting at the Sun each time. The distance from
planet to planet was then added to the previous total to keep track of how far each planet
was from the Sun.
Finally, to illustrate why the outer solar system is so much cooler than the inner
solar system, we estimated the angular size of the model sun by comparing it to the angle
subtended by a fingertip extended at arm's length (1º), and observing how this angle
dropped the farther we moved away from the Sun.Data
59
Table 1: Pacing and Timing
Paces from last Time from last
measurement measurement (s)
Mercury*
Paces from
Sun
Time from Sun (s)
6
5
6
5
Venus*
12
9
12
9
Earth*
17
11
17
11
9
7
26
18
Jupiter
65
42
91
60
Saturn
78
42
169
102
Uranus
181
93
350
195
Neptune
189
96
539
291
57
30
596
321
Mars
Pluto
* Mercury, Venus and Earth were each measured from the Sun. Each of the other
planets was measured from the previous planet in the list.
Table 2: Orbital and Physical Data
Rotational Orbital
Surface
Period (h) Period (y) Temperature
(ºC)
Radius
(R
Mass
(M
Known
Distance from
Sun ( 106 km)
Mercury
58.7 days
88.0 days
-178 -- 430
0.38
0.06
57.9
Venus
243 days
225 days
480
0.95
0.08
108
-75 -- 55 6378 km 6*1024 kg
149.6
Earth
23.9 365.3 days
Mars
24.6
1.88
-140 -- 20
0.53
0.11
228
Jupiter
9.8
11.9
-110
11.3
317.9
778
Saturn
10.2
29.5
-180
9.4
95.1
1430
Uranus
17.2
84
-220
4.1
14.5
2880
Neptune
16.1
165
-190
3.9
17.1
4500
6.4 days
248
-233
0.18
0
5200
Pluto
Analysis

The Inner Solar System
60

Please see Table 1 for pacing and timing information and Table 2 for the orbital and
physical data from the plaques.

The distance between the model Sun and model Earth is 14.9 m. The model is at a
scale of 1:10 billion, so this distance corresponds to 1.49*108 km in the real solar
system. This value is only 0.4% off of the true value of an AU (1.496*108 km), so this
scale model is an accurate representation of the solar system.

I took 17 paces to get from the Sun to the Earth. Thus
1 AU = 17 paces
1 pace = 1/17 AU = 0.059 AU

See Table 3 for measured planetary distances in AU. As an example:
d♂ = 9 paces * 0.059 AU/pace
d♂ = 1.53 AU

See Table 3 for measured planetary distances in km. As an example:
d♂ = 1.53 AU * 1.5*106 km/AU
d♂ =2.3*108 km

a. Light can travel 1 AU in 500 s. I walk one scale AU in 11 s.
v = 1 AU / 11 s = 0.091 AU/s
c = 1 AU / 500 s = 0.002 AU/s
v/c = 500 s / 11 s
v/c = 45
I walk through the solar system at 45 times the speed of light!
b. Please see Table 3 for measured planetary distances in light-minutes. As an
example:
d♂ = 1.53 AU * 8.3 l.m./AU
d♂ = 12.7 Measured Distance (AU)
lm
Mercury
0.35
Measured Distance (106
km)
Measured Distance
(light-minutes)
53
2.9
61
d♂ = 12.7 Measured Distance (AU)
lm
Measured Distance (106
km)
Measured Distance
(light-minutes)
0.71
106
5.9
Earth
1
149
8.3
Mars
1.53
229
12.7
Jupiter
5.4
803
45
Saturn
9.9
1.49*103
83
Uranus
21
3.1*103
172
Neptune
32
4.8*103
264
Pluto
35
5.3*103
293
Venus

a. It has been 35 years since mankind first walked on the Moon.
b. At the scale of the model the moon is.
d☾ = 3.84*105 km * 10-10 * 105 cm/km
d☾ = 3.84 cm
Mankind has gone 3.8 cm into space.

The nearest a planet ever gets to earth is Venus at conjunction.
d = d - d♀
d = 1.49 * 108 km - 1.06 * 108 km
d = 4.3*107 km
On the scale of the model:
d = 4.3*107 km * 10-10 * 105 cm/km
d = 430 cm
d/d = 112
The nearest planet is 112 times the distance to the moon.

The model Sun appears to subtend about 0.5º viewed from the model Earth.
62

The true Sun is so bright that it is really hard to measure, but it also appears to
subtend about 0.5º.

From the model Earth, Jupiter and Saturn appear to be separated by about 1.5º.

a. When Mars is at opposition (closest approach) it is 0.53 AU from Earth.
d = d♂ - d
d = 26 paces – 17 paces
d = 9 paces * 0.059 AU/pace
d = 0.53 AU
b. Expressed in light-minutes, this becomes 4.4 light-minutes.
d = 0.53 AU * 8.3 l.m./AU
d = 4.4 l.m.

Sojourner was not steered remotely from earth, because the signals would take 4.4
minutes to reach the rover. If Sojourner ran into any troubles, it would take 4.4
minutes to tell us about them, and nearly 9 minutes before it would receive new
instructions. Operating this way is inefficient at best and dangerous at worst.
II. Journey to the Outer Planets
1. On the scale of the model, Ceres would be about 76 m across.
rCeres = 760 km * 10-10 * 109 m/km
rCeres = 76 m
Although an object this size is technically visible to the unaided eye, it would be
the size of a speck of dust. You would never notice it if you walked by it. The
human eye can resolve things that subtend no less than 1 arcmin. A scale model
Ceres would subtend 1 arcmin from 26 cm away.
sin (1') = rCeres / dCeres
dCeres = rCeres / sin (1')
dCeres = (76 m) / (2.9*10-4) * 104 cm/ m
dCeres = 26 cm
63
If you were farther from the scale Ceres than 26 cm, your eyes could not resolve it.
2. From Jupiter, the Sun appears to subtend about 0.1º. Given that my fingertip is 1º, this
is a real challenge to measure with any accuracy, but the Sun is considerably smaller
than it looked from Earth. At Jupiter, we are at 5.4 AU from the Sun. Since we're 5
times as far out as Earth, it makes sense that the Sun looks 5 times smaller.
3.
a. Jupiter and Saturn are really about 4.5 AU apart at closest approach.
dS – dJ = 9.9 AU – 5.4 AU
dS – dJ = 4.5 AU
b. The inner solar system is about 1/3 the size of the separation between Jupiter's
and Saturn's orbits
d♂ / (dS – dJ ) = 1.53 AU / 4.5 AU
d♂ / (dS – dJ ) = 0.34
4. From the information listed on the plaque:
rJ / rS = 11.3 / 9.4
rJ / rS = 1.2
This implies that Jupiter is larger than Saturn. However, if Saturn's rings are
added to it's diameter, Saturn becomes much larger. If we go out to the outer edge of the
A ring (the outermost ring of any brightness), Saturn becomes 1.223*105 km in radius.
rrings = 1.223*105 km * (r⊕/6378 km)
rrings = 19.2 r⊕
rJ / rrings = 9.4 / 19.2
rJ / rrings = 0.49
Saturn's rings have twice the diameter as Jupiter. However, Saturn is farther away
than Jupiter, making it appear smaller.
(rJ / rrings) * (dS / dJ) = 0.49 * 9.9 AU / 5.4 AU
(rJ / rrings) * (dS / dJ) =0.9
Even though Jupiter is much closer to Earth, it looks slightly smaller than Saturn's rings
64
through a telescope.
5. Uranus has completed only 2 orbits since its discovery.
# orbits = (current year – year of discovery) / PU
# orbits = (2004 – 1781)y * 1 orbit / 84 y
# orbits = 2.65 orbits
6. Neptune was discovered in 1843 and has such a long period that it has not yet
completed one orbit since its discovery.
# orbits = (current year – year of discovery) / PN
# orbits = (2004 – 1846) y * 1 orbit / 165 y
# orbits = 0.96 orbits
7. Pluto has a highly elliptical orbit. For convenience, the plaque was placed midway
between Pluto's mean distance and perihelion distance. It's mean distance would place
it on the other side of Colorado Ave.
8. The Sun would appear to subtend about 51 arcseconds from Pluto.
AngleP / Angle⊙ = d⊙ / dP
AngleP = (d⊙ / dP) * Angle⊙
AngleP = (1 AU / 35 AU) * 0.5º
AngleP = 0.0143º * 3600 arcsec/1º
AngleP = 51 arcsec
This is below the resolution of the human eye! From Pluto the Sun would look
like just another star, albeit the brightest star in the sky.
III.
Beyond Pluto
1. Voyager 2 is so far from the Sun that very little solar radiation hits it. The Sun is 4000
times fainter than from Earth. It could not generate enough solar power to function.
Therefore, it was outfitted with a nuclear power source. The brightness, B, goes as the
solid angle subtended by an object, which drops off with the square of the distance.
BVoyager // B = (r /rVoyager)2
BVoyager // B = (1 AU / 63 AU)2
65
BVoyager = 2.5*10-4 B
2. On the scale of the model, Proxima Centauri could be found at about the distance of
Anchorage or Panama. And there wouldn't be much to see until you got there.
3. Let's take Pluto's orbit to be the size of our solar system. It's actually larger than that,
but there's nothing very big out there. Pluto's plaque is 0.5 km from the model Sun. If
the 2 primary stars of -Centauri are 0.3 km apart then that's 0.6 times the size of our
Solar System.
d-Cen / dSS = 0.3 km / 0.5 km.
d-Cen / dSS = 0.6
That's like having a second Sun at the orbit of Uranus. Temperatures here would be
somewhat warmer, though probably not dramatically so. Our orbit, however would be
dynamically unstable. The Earth would probably be ejected from the system and sent to
coast through the vast cold void between stars.
4. On the scale of the model, Vega would be located at about 2.4*104 km from the Sun.
dVega = 25 l.y. * (9.46*1012 km/l.y.) * 10-10
dVega = 2.4*104 km
While we could go that far on Earth, we'd actually be approaching Boulder again from
the other side. We'd have to put the plaque up in space, about 6% of the distance to the
real Moon.
5. Andromeda would have to be located 2.3*109 km away, between the orbits of Saturn
and Uranus. The plaque would have to be 9.5*107 km across to contain the galaxy, or
nearly the size of Venus's orbit!
dAnd = 2.4*106 l.y. * (9.46*1012 km/l.y.) * 10-10
dAnd = 2.27*109 km
rAnd = 105 l.y. * (9.46*1012 km/l.y.) * 10-10
rAnd = 9.46*107 km
IV.
Follow-up Questions
1. Please see Table 4 for the error estimates in the measured planetary distances. As an
example:
66
error = |dactual - dmeasured| / dactual
error♂ (2.29*108 km - 2.3*108 km)| /2.29*108 km
error♂ = 4.4*10-3 = 0.44%
Table 4: Errors in Planetary Distances
Error (%)
Mercury
Venus
8.5
1.85
Earth
0
Mars
0.44
Jupiter
3.2
Saturn
4.3
Uranus
7.3
Neptune
5.7
Pluto
Average
1.25
3.6
The mean error is simply the sum of the errors for each planet divided by the number
of planets.
<error> = (error) / N
<error> = (8.5 + 1.85 + 0.0 + 0.44 + 3.2 + 4.3 + 7.3 + 5.7 + 1.25) % / 9
<error> = 3.6 %
The primary source of error came from the measurement technique. Pacing is not a
terribly accurate form of measurement. I may not have kept the same stride the entire
way. Using a tape measure would be quite a bit more accurate, but also time consuming.
2. The trend is for planetary temperatures to get lower as they get farther from the Sun.
Venus and Neptune are two notable exceptions. Venus's runaway greenhouse effect
helps it to retain heat more efficiency, even though its cloud layer blocks so much
sunlight that it actually receives less than the Earth does! Neptune is not so much
warm as Uranus is cool. Uranus has no internal source of heat like the other giant
planets do. The reason for this is not well understood. However, the fact that Neptune
does generate heat causes it to be warmer than Uranus.
67
3. The Sun contains 99.4% of the mass in the solar system. Of the remaining mass,
Jupiter contains 15.8% and the Earth has a paltry 0.05%.
f⊙ = M⊙ / MSS
f⊙ = 1.99*1030 kg / 2.002*1030 kg
f⊙ = 0.994
Mremaining = MSS - M⊙
Mremaining = 2.002*1030 kg - 1.99*1030 kg
Mremaining = 1.2 * 1028 kg
f= M / Mremaining
f = 5.97*1024 kg / 1.2 * 1028 kg
f = 0.0005
fJ = MJ / Mremaining
fJ = 1.9*1027 kg / 1.2 * 1028 kg
fJ = 0.158
4. In the inner solar system, ice is not stable. Solar radiation vaporizes the ice and the
solar wind blows it away. Therefore, it cannot be accreted by planets in the inner solar
system. Out by Jupiter, ice can stick around. Therefore Jupiter had much more
material available and grew to be larger than the Earth.
Conclusions
We have verified that the scale model solar system is an accurate representation of
the real Solar System on a scale of 1:10 billion within a reasonable error range. These
errors are largely due to inconsistencies in the pacing. We could improve the error by
using a tape measure, but this would be time consuming. The setup would also require us
to stretch the tape across Regent Drive where it could be destroyed by passing cars and
would therefore be inadvisable.
68
We understand some of the difficulties in operating spacecraft. Even the
relatively close Mars rovers cannot be operated remotely as the light travel-time causes
unacceptable delays. Because the Sun's illumination drops off as we move farther away
from it, missions to the outer solar system require a nuclear power source. Solar power is
simply not practical so far from the source.
We have learned that space is quite large and empty. If the Sun is the size of a
grapefruit, then Jupiter, the largest planet, is the size of a large blueberry. After passing
Pluto on Colorado Ave., which is no more than a speck, you would pass nothing at all
until you reached Anchorage.
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ASTR 1030
Optics
Prelab Quiz
13 Oct. 2004
Name:________________________________
1.
What is refraction?
2.
Below you see three rays of light coming from an object and hitting a lens. The light
doesn't stop at the rays, but continue through it. Draw the ray paths after passing
through the lens.
f
Optical axis
f
3.
4.
The lens equation is:
1/f = 1/dobject + 1/dimage
Is this an equivalent expression?
f = dobject + dimage
What determines the brightness of an image?
70
5.
In a refracting telescope, what is the objective lens?
6.
In a Cassegrain telescope, why is there a hole in the primary mirror? Draw a picture
if it helps.
71
FCQ Summary Placeholder Page
72
ASTR 2000: Ancient Astronomies
Extra Credit Homework
Due: 10 December 2002
Casting Your Birth chart
The purpose of this exercise is for you to cast your own birth chart and see the arrangements of
the stars and planets at the time you were born. We’ll skip any kind of interpretation; there are as
many interpretations as there are astrologers. You can do that on your own if you like. This
chart, however, will be an actual representation of the sky and you can use it for any astrological
purpose you want. I’ve included my own as an example. Let’s step through this.
Step 1: Draw your circle and houses.
As in Homework 4, the framework for your chart is a circle with the Earth at the center. The
circle is then divided into twelve equal wedges, or “houses”. The Ascendant, or rising point is at
the left of your circle, the midheaven at the top, the descendant at the right, and the nadir at the
bottom. The houses start at the Ascendant point and go counterclockwise around the diagram.
These are tied to the local horizon system and never move. Over the course of a day, objects will
rise at the Ascendant and set at the Descendent, but the houses remain fixed. The objects will
therefore pass through the houses in reverse order.
Step 2: Determine your Ascendant Sign
Which sign was rising at the time you were born? This will depend on the exact date, time, and
location you were born. Try to get not only the sign, but how far into the sign the Ascendant
point is. For example, my Ascendant is 12° of Libra, so that goes on the Ascendant points.
A good website for this calculation is http://www.achernar.btinternet.co.uk/quickcalc_two.html
but feel free to look for other sources for this information. You will need to know the date you
were born, the time, and geographic coordinates of your birth. Don’t forget to use the appropriate
time zone and consider whether you would need to correct for Daylight Savings. Probably, you’ll
want the first of the three tables it generates.
Since each sign is 30° wide, mark the 0° of each sign. My 0° of Libra would go 12° above the
Ascendant, since it rises beforehand. That puts it near the middle of the 12th house. 30° of Libra
is 18° below the horizon for me, in the middle of the 1st house. The other signs follow going
counterclockwise around the wheel. Remember, the numbers above are only for my specific
case; you’ll have to figure out your own.
Step 3: Plot your Planets, Sun and Moon
That was the hard part. Now, you just need to plot the locations of the Sun, Moon, and all the
planets at the time you were born. To do this, you should consult an Astrological Ephemeris (not
an Astronomical Ephemeris!). You could look at lengthy lists of tables, or find a website that
calculates it for you given your birth date. If you used the website recommended above, all that
information will have been calculated also. Just put the planets in the appropriate places on the
chart once you’ve found what degrees in which signs all your planets are in.
73
Questions:
There isn’t nearly enough room here, so write your answers on a separate sheet of paper,
attach your birth chart and hand it all in.
1. Where was the Sun when you were born? What time of day does this suggest it
was? Is this consistent with the time you put into this?
2. What was the phase of the moon when you were born?
3. What planets were up in the sky when you were born?
4. Look for any important configurations in your chart:
Oppositions: Two objects nearly opposite each other
Conjunctions: Two objects in the same part of the sky
Trines: Objects 120° apart in the sky. Three such trines can form an equilateral
triangle in your chart.
Squares: Objects 90° apart in the sky. Four Squares form a square in your chart.
5. Why would an Astronomical Ephemeris not be sufficient to calculate the
planetary positions?
6. Some astrologers say that a planet influences a person through it’s gravity. What
is the gravitational force of Mars on a newborn baby? What is the gravitational
force of, say, the doctor in the hospital room at the time the baby was born? You
may find the following information useful.
F = G*M*m / r2
G = 6.67*10-8 kg*m-3*s-2
M♂ = 6*1022 kg
r♂ = 3*1011 m
r = 1.5*1011 m
(Gravitational Constant)
(Mass of Mars)
(Orbital Distance of Mars)
(Orbital Distance of Earth)
You may make your own assumptions as necessary about the mass of the baby,
doctor, etc. We’re looking for order of magnitude estimates here.
7. Does it seem likely that the planets have significant gravitational influence upon a
person’s life?
74
ASTR 1010 Lab Goals
We hope to complete two versions of each lab. One will be available to
students and another will guide the TA and LA with additional information
about the lab. The version for the TA and LA will contain information
about how to perform demonstrations and help students complete the
experiments. It will also provide prompts for discussion and answers to
questions found in the student manual.
The following are explanations for each section within the lab template:
Big Idea
• The main idea “big idea” of a lab should be very clear. At the end of the lab,
students should be able to write a paragraph about the lab that summarizes and
describes the main idea and how it relates to what was done in the lab.
Learning Goals
• Each lab should target a number of specific learning goals
• These are ideas we expect students to develop during the lab
Activities: Demonstrations and experiments
• Students are always asked to predict what they think will happen before the
experiment or demonstration is done. After the experiment or demonstration,
students are asked to record what really happened and reflect upon their
findings.
Discussion
• Instead of the TA giving a mini lecture at the start of the lab, discussion is built
into the lab at the appropriate places
Questions
• A number of qualitative questions ask students about their knowledge before
quantitative questions
Summary Paragraphs
• Much of the lab can be completed during the lab period. However, students are
expected to summarize the lab in a series of paragraphs at home following
completion.
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Lab Title
If an applicable graphic is available it may be inserted here
Big Idea
Information about the Big Idea section: The Big Idea will be written out in less than
three sentences. It is a statement that brings together all concepts from the lab.
Students can and should know that the Big Idea statement may be used as an essay
question for exams. The Big Idea will be placed in a box to create a more visually
appealing lab manual for students.
Learning Goals





Question I
Question II
Question III
Question IV
…
Information about the Learning Goals section: The Learning Goals Section
will introduce the essential and core questions of the lab to the students. They
will be presented in a bulleted format. Each question will correspond to a section
in the lab manual where there are experiments, demonstrations, and more
questions. These questions found in the Learning Goals Section can be
introduced in lecture before the students see them in lab and they may also be
readdressed through clicker questions in the week following the lab.
Any definitions or diagrams necessary or helpful to carry out the lab may be
presented here in bulleted format. If helpful, this section may also refer students
to their textbook for information necessary in the lab.
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Activities
Question I: The first bulleted question from the Learning Goals section will be inserted
here. Following the question will be a solid black line and a space where students may
take notes from classroom discussion.
______________________________________________________________________
Space for notes
Demonstration (associated with question I)
The explanation will briefly explain the demonstration that will be held
during the lab period.
Notes and Observations:
A space will be left where students may take notes during the
demonstration
Questions:
Each question corresponds with the classroom demonstration and
encourages students to engage in the subject.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Experimentation (associated with question I)
Directions:
The directions for the experiment will appear in a bulleted format.
However, in an attempt to step away from the “cookbook format,” the
directions provided will be minimal and they will encourage student to
engage in the experiment.
Questions:
Questions will relate to the experiment and ask students do dive deeper
into the material.
a)
b)
c)
d)
77
Question II: The second bulleted question from the Learning Goals section will be
inserted here following the same format as above.
______________________________________________________________________
Space for notes
Demonstration (associated with question II)
(explanation)
Notes and Observations:
(space)
Questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Experimentation (associated with question II)
Directions:
(bulleted directions)
Questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Question III: Same format as above.
______________________________________________________________________
Space for notes
78
Demonstration (associated with question III)
(explanation)
Notes and Observations:
(space)
Questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Experimentation (associated with question III)
Directions:
(bulleted directions)
Questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Question IV: Same format as above.
______________________________________________________________________
Space for notes
Demonstration (associated with question IV)
(explanation)
Notes and Observations:
(space)
79
Questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Experimentation (associated with question IV)
Directions:
(bulleted directions)
Questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Summary Paragraphs:
After completing the lab, students will be expected to create a short paragraph
that summarizes the key points from the lab. It will relate directly to the Big Idea
statement and will also include answers to questions from the Learning Goals
section. Students should be capable of having thorough answers to the questions
after exploring the subject through demonstrations, experiments, and discussion.
80
Constellation and Bright Star
Identification and Telescope
Observation
Big
Idea
Students should have a cool experience using a telescope, and gain some ability to find
constellations, planets, and bright stars.
Learning Goals




Find the North Star and orient yourself in the sky
Become familiar with the night sky through observations, use of a Planisphere
(star wheel) and/or planetarium software
Look through the telescope thoughtfully
Learn how to photograph celestial objects
Activities
1: Learn to identify several constellations, planets and bright stars. Learn how to
use a planetarium program and/or a star wheel.
DO THIS BEFORE YOU COME TO LAB
**Your TA may ask you to email this information to him or her before your lab!
Below are lists of our favorite constellations, bright stars, planets and deep-sky objects.
81
Use the planetarium program that came with your textbook, the Starry Night program in
the Cosmos Lab, or a star wheel to decide which objects should be visible when you
come to lab. Optional: You can also use a book called The Stars, A New Way to See
Them by H.A. Ray (same person who wrote the Curious George series). This book is a
great tool that clearly shows pictures of the constellations.
1a: Select 6 constellations to identify. For each of these objects, determine its celestial
co-ordinates, the time of night the object will be visible and what part of the sky you will
find it (N, S, E, W, Zenith, etc.). You should also come up with a way to find the object
in the sky.
Constellations
Translation
Constellations
Translation
Pisces
Andromeda
Cassiopeia
Aries
Perseus
Taurus
Orion
Canis Major
Gemini
Auriga
Canis Minor
Cancer
Leo
Ursa Major
Virgo
Libra
Fishes
Chained Maiden
Queen
Ram
Hero
Bull
Hunter
Great Dog
Twins
Charioteer
Little Dog
Crab
Lion
Great Bear
Virgin
Scales
Boötes
Ursa Minor
Corona Borealis
Scorpius
Hercules
Draco
Sagittarius
Lyra
Aquila
Capricornus
Delphinus
Cygnus
Pegasus
Cepheus
Aquarius
Herdsman
Little Bear
Northern Crown
Scorpion
Strongman
Dragon
Archer
Lyre
Eagle
Sea-goat
Dolphin
Swan
Flying Horse
King
Water Bearer
In the space below, sketch 6 constellations or give a description of how you would find
each in the sky. Remember, when you come to lab, you will be asked to identify these
constellations to your TA or LA.
1.
2.
3.
4.
82
5.
6.
Now fill in this chart with the information you found from the planetarium program or star
wheel.
Object
Constellations
Right Ascension
-----------------------
Declination.
------------------
Rise
---------
Set
----------
Direction
---------------
1b: From this list, select 3 bright stars to identify. Again, for each star, determine its
celestial coordinates, the time of night the object will be visible and what part of the sky
you will find it (N, S, E, W, Zenith, etc.). You should also come up with a way to find
each of these stars in the sky. Remember, you will be asked to identify 3 stars when
you come to lab.
Bright Stars
Algol, Mirfak
Aldebaran
Betelgeuse
Rigel
Bellatrix
Saiph
Sirius
Castor, Pollux
Capella
Procyon
Regulus
Mizar
Merak
Dubhe
Spica
Zuben Elgenubi
Zuben Elschamali
Arcturus
Polaris
Antares
Vega
Altair
Deneb
Albireo
Alpheratz
Markhab
83
Fill out this table with the information you gathered about each of the 3 stars you will be
identifying:
Object
Stars
Right Ascension
-----------------------
Declination
------------------
Rise
----------
Set
----------
Direction
--------------
1c: Choose a deep sky object, or planet, from the list below that you will be
photographing. You should also come up with a backup object if your primary target is
for any reason not visible. Find out the same information for these objects as you did
for the constellations and bright stars. Also find out what kind of object your target is
(planet, nebula, globular cluster, etc.). Then, fill in the table below.
Deep Sky Objects
M31: Andromeda Galaxy
M32: satellite galaxy of M31
M110: satellite galaxy of M31
M1: Crab Nebula
M45: Pleaides
M42: Orion Nebula
M41: open cluster
M36: open cluster
M37: open cluster
M44: Praesepe (Beehive Cluster)
M67: open cluster
M81: Bode’s Galaxy
M82: Cigar Galaxy
M97: Owl Nebula
M101: Pinwheel Galaxy
M87: Virgo A
M104: Sombrero Galaxy
M64: Blackeye Galaxy
M3: globular cluster
M51: Whirlpool Galaxy
M33: Triangulum Galaxy
Object
Deep-sky object
R.A.
--------
Dec.
--------
M5: globular cluster
M4: globular cluster
M6: Butterfly cluster
M7: Ptolemy’s cluster
M80: globular cluster
M13: Hercules Globular Cluster
M92: globular cluster
M16: open cluster assoc. w/ Eagle Nebula
M8: Lagoon Nebula
M17: Horseshoe Nebula
M20: Trifid Nebula
M22: globular cluster
M24: Saggitarius Star Cloud
M25: open cluster
M55: globular cluster
M11: Wild Duck cluster
M57: Ring Nebula
M71: globular cluster
M27: Dumbbell Nebula
M15: globular cluster
M2: globular cluster
Rise
--------
Set
------
Direction
---------------
Type
------------------------------
**YOU MAY BE ASKED TO EMAIL THIS INFORMATION TO YOUR TA BEFORE
YOUR LAB**
84
2: Demonstrate knowledge of the night sky
Activity I: Directions:
Point out the following objects to your TA or LA:
8.
9.
10.
6 constellations of your choice. Give the name for each constellation you
identify. Actually trace out which stars are in the constellations, don’t just
point to an area of the sky.
3 bright stars. They need not be in the same constellations you identified.
Any planets that may be visible at the time.
3: Observe celestial objects through the telescopes
Activity 2:
Directions
Talk to the TA or LA operating the 16” telescope and provide him or her with the
names of the deep-sky objects you selected.
The TA or LA will point the telescope at each of your targets in turn. Do the
following when you observe.
85





Look at the sky in the direction the telescope is pointing. Understand
where your object fits in the big picture.
Look in the eyepiece. What do you see? If nothing, tell your TA
immediately! The pointing may be a bit off, or the object may simply be
too faint to make out well. The TA may need to make some adjustments
to get the best view.
Assuming you see it, consider the following questions. What shape is the
object? Can you make out any colors? How large is the object? Does it
all fit in the field of view or can you only see a piece of it.
Sketch the object below. Draw what you actually see, not what you think
it ought to look like. Indicate any color variations on the sketch.
Repeat these steps with your back up object. (You will finish with two
sketches)
Object 1:
Object 2:
Field of View:
Field of View:
3: Image a celestial object with the CCD camera
86
Activity 3:
Directions
Talk to the TA or LA operating the 18-inch telescope and give him or her the
name of your favorite of the two objects that you sketched. He or she will point
the telescope at the object and turn the camera on.






Look at the direction the telescope is pointing. Is it the same direction as
the 16” was when you looked at your object through there?
Look through the telescope at the object. Do you see anything? If your
object is not there, tell your TA immediately!! Does the object look any
different through the 18-inch telescope?
Using CCDSoft, take an image of your object. Your TA will guide you with
advice on how long to expose, any filters to use, etc., but YOU will be the
one taking the image.
Eventually, an image will appear on the monitor. Save this image to a file.
Name it something you’ll recognize.
Take a look at it. Does it look the same as your sketch?
Email your image file to everyone in your group. Print it out if the
printer’s available. Now take it home and hang it up for your roommates
to gawk at. Save the file for possible future use in an astronomy lab.
87
FCQ Student Responses
Summer 2005 General Astronomy – The Solar System
He is very enthusiastic about astronomy. Does a good job keeping you interested. Has a vast
range of knowledge on the subject.
The way you tried to lighten it up w/ jokes and the fact that you explain things very well.
I liked the way the material was presented. Labs were good too. It was all effective because you
made it entertaining and fun.
One of the best teachers I've had.
James is an excellent instructor and understands how to teach students. Observatory, planetarium
and experiments were great.
He was a nice approachable teacher. Passionate about work and presented material well.
I really learned a lot and enjoyed this course! Thank you, you did a great job!
The questions made us think and process giving us not just data, but ideas.
I really liked your clear & interesting lecture style, and your humor and sweet inside jokes made
this science class very fun & interesting. Awesome work.
James' positive attitude and clear love of the topic kept the class moving along very well, and
helped make it more enjoyable.
Opportunity to rewrite assignments gives a lot of extra motivation and really pounded the
concepts into my head.
Fall 2004
Accelerated Introductory Astronomy Laboratory
James was attentive and knowledgeable. He was good about answering questions. Plus, he
watches all the right TV shows.
Attitude of us learning is more important than the grade was great.
Good pre-lab quizzes. They weren't too hard.
Wry wit and a dry humor much appreciated.
Patience and ability to explain concepts invaluable and unparalleled.
The instructor did a good job of explaining what was going on, and was able to make difficult
subject matter easy to understand.