Teaching Science with
Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data
Jordan Raddick
The Johns Hopkins University
GriPhyN/iVDGL
Education and Outreach meeting
March 1, 2002
What is the SDSS?
• Project to map the night sky
from 9th to 23rd magnitude
• Images of 100 million objects
• Spectra for 1 million galaxies
and 100,000 quasars
continued
What is the SDSS?
• Goal: Create a 3-D map of the universe
Image courtesy Adrian Pope, JHU
Data
• Images
– Magnitudes in 5 wavelengths
– Near ultraviolet to infrared
• Spectra
– Moderate resolution
– 3800 to 9200
Angstroms
– Survey measures 640
spectra at once
Before the SDSS
Star cluster Palomar 5
After the SDSS
Star cluster Palomar 5
Accessing the Data
• All data available to anyone, free of charge, on
the SkyServer web site
• http://skyserver.sdss.org
Tools - Navigate
• Point-and-click
through the sky
• Summary of
photometric
information on each
object
• Developed by Alex
Szalay, JHU and
Jim Gray, Bay Area
Research Center
Tools – Object Explorer
• Information on
single objects
– Photometric and
spectroscopic
• Look up by
object ID, position,
spectral plate/fiber
• Correlations to
data from other sky
surveys
Tools - Query
• Search for all
objects meeting
given criteria
• Uses Microsoft
Structured Query
Language (SQL)
• SQL tutorial on site
The Power of SkyServer
Richards, et al.,
Astronomical Journal, 2001
Lauren Saks, freshman
creative writing major, JHU
• SkyServer gives the public access to real
astronomical research
Quasars project by Robert Sparks
Educational Projects
• Interactive
educational projects
– Students use
real data
– Groundbreaking
research in
classroom
– Full lesson plans
for teachers
Levels of Projects
• For Kids
• Basic
– Advanced middle school students
– High school students
– Curious adults
• Advanced
– Advanced high school students
– Introductory level college students
– Amateur astronomers
Key Features of Projects
• Flexibility
– Projects can be done quickly or in-depth, depending
on teacher needs
• Lessons make extensive use of SDSS data
• Research Challenges
– Independent follow-up work on projects that interest
students
• Teacher’s guide and sample responses for all projects
– Password protected
– Sample responses available on request to students
and others doing projects independently
continued
Key Features of Projects
• Recommended reading materials for teachers
• Correlations to National education standards
– AAAS Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science
Education
– NCTM Principles and Standards for School
Mathematics
Teacher’s Guides
• Teacher’s guides are available for all
projects
• Correlations to national educational
standards
– AAAS Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science
Education
– NCTM Principles and Standards for School
Mathematics
Example: Hubble Diagram
• 1929 – Edwin
Hubble discovers
expansion of
universe
• Foundation of
modern astronomy
• Students repeat
discovery with
SDSS data
continued
Example: Hubble Diagram
• Students calculate
relative distances
to galaxies
• Identify galaxies
from images
• Use several
methods to find
distances
continued
Example: Hubble Diagram
• Find redshifts
(velocities) from
observed spectra
• Use same
templates as
SDSS scientists
continued
Example: Hubble Diagram
• Graph redshift
vs. distance
• Straight line
suggests universe
is expanding
• Students asked
about logic of argument
• Over 40,000 galaxies to choose from
continued
Example: Hubble Diagram
• Teachers’ Guide
– Project goals
– Knowledge required
– Estimated time
– Advice on leading
classes
– Correlations to
educational standards
For Kids
• Old Time Astronomy
– Sketch celestial objects
• Scavenger Hunt
• Adopt a Galaxy
• The Constellation Game
Mooseris, the great moose of
the sky. A constellation
created by Jordan Raddick.
Basic Projects
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The Hubble Diagram
Asteroids
Spectral Types
Colors in Astronomy
Galaxy Classification
Sky Surveys
Advanced Projects
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Hubble Diagram
Colors in Astronomy
Spectral Types
H-R Diagram
Galaxies
Quasars
Sky Surveys
The Large Scale Structure of the Universe
Image Processing with SDSS Data
The SkyServer Sampler CD-ROM
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Background on SDSS
Sample images and spectra
Several sample lesson plans
For free access to all data and lesson
plans, visit http://skyserver.sdss.org
Want more information?
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Volunteer your classes to test projects
http://skyserver.sdss.org
http://www.sdss.org
E-mail raddick@pha.jhu.edu or
rsparks@fnal.gov