After watching the two videos below, express your thoughts below about anything which has inspired or fascinated you in these videos, or from any of the material in this course. What do you think will be discovered or learned in astronomy or witnessed in your lifetime?

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CASE STUDY

After watching the two videos below, express your thoughts below about anything which has inspired or fascinated you in these videos, or from any of the material in this course. What do you think will be discovered or learned in astronomy or witnessed in your lifetime?

https://xkcd.com/1248/
https://erikwernquist.com/wanderers/

Write a 5-7 page double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, persuasive business letter to someone specific and related to your topic (Dear Mr. or Mrs. X).

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DISCUSSION ESSAY

For this assignment, you will write a 5-7 page double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, persuasive business letter to someone specific and related to your topic (Dear Mr. or Mrs. X).

No title page/Running head is necessary for this paper, but you will need a separate References page (your Reference page does not count toward the 5-7 pages).

This paper should use sections/headings to break up the content into manageable parts (some possible headings might include:

  • Greeting/Salutation/reason for contact
  • Introduction of yourself/topic (rename these headings however you see fit)
  • Background/history on the topic

Depending on how you have decided to organize your persuasive arguments some options will work better than others

  • Problem/Cause/Solution (each as their own heading)
  • Problem/Solution (again each with their own heading and possibly some sub-headings incorporated)
  • Monroe’s Motivated Sequence (each of the five steps worked through)
  • Refutative pattern or Causal points (for speeches of fact)

Generally, all papers will want to start wrapping up with some

  • Acknowledgment of opposing views from critics and rebuttal/counterarguments
  • Conclusion/Call to action (repeat main points, finish strong).
  • Sincerely, your name
  • References page (APA formatted, alphabetized, hanging indents for each entry). At least six sources, four of which can be found in print and two of those four are scholarly journal articles (see assignment specs).

Why do you want to attend the Yale Summer Program in Astrophysics? What personal and academic goals do you hope to achieve at the program?

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DISCUSSION ESSAY

Prompt: Why do you want to attend the Yale Summer Program in Astrophysics? What personal and academic goals do you hope to achieve at the program? (300 Words)

Why do objects that formed from the same cloud of gas have different compositions?

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DISCUSSION ESSAY

It is worth noticing that the eight planets in our solar system make up two different groups; the four planets closest to the Sun make up the rocky terrestrial planets and the four planets farthest from the Sun make up the gaseous Jovian planets.

Why do objects that formed from the same cloud of gas have different compositions?

What does fair use mean? After reading the sources below regarding fair use policy and fair use in educational settings, summarize in your own words what fair use means and how it applies to planetarium programs.

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DISCUSSION ESSAY

What does fair use mean? After reading the sources below regarding fair use policy and fair use in educational settings, summarize in your own words what fair use means and how it applies to planetarium programs.

  • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/fair-use-rule-copyright-material-30100.html
  • https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280.shtml

Share some examples of how the freedom and support to do science has changed since then. Do you think more can be done? If so, how so. Do you think we could one day return to such difficult times? Explain. How can we prevent this from happening again?

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Cosmos

Watch this video, Cosmos – https://www.organism.earth/library/document/cosmos-3

Share your thoughts (at least 200 words) concerning the lives of Brahe, Kepler, their relationship, and the difficulties and development of science in the world at that time (do not discuss the astrology at the beginning of the video).

Share some examples of how the freedom and support to do science has changed since then. Do you think more can be done? If so, how so.
Do you think we could one day return to such difficult times? Explain. How can we prevent this from happening again?
Additionally, ask any questions you have concerning the material in this video..

You are an observer in the Northern hemisphere trying navigate your way to safety along the Oregon Trail. To do so, you really need to figure what your latitude is. On a clear night, you use the Big Dipper to locate Polaris, the North Star. You carefully measure it to have an altitude of 87 degrees above the horizon. What latitude are you at on Earth?

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DISCUSSION ESSAY

1) You are at latitude 69.4 on Earth. What is the declination of your local zenith?

Give your answer to one decimal place

Only put the number of degrees. The question will only accept purely numerical answers.

2) You are an observer in the Northern hemisphere trying navigate your way to safety along the Oregon Trail. To do so, you really need to figure what your latitude is. On a clear night, you use the Big Dipper to locate Polaris, the North Star. You carefully measure it to have an altitude of 87 degrees above the horizon. What latitude are you at on Earth?

Only put the number of degrees. The question will only accept purely numerical answers.

3)You are at latitude 5.2 in the Northern hemisphere.

If the Southern horizon is -90 degrees away from your zenith, then what is the declination of your Southern horizon at your latitude?

Give your answer to one decimal place

Only put the number of degrees. The question will only accept purely numerical answers.

 

Granulation is caused by what type of currents in the outer part of the sun? What is the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere called?

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Assignment 4

  1.    The visible surface of the sun is called what?
  2. Granulation is caused by what type of currents in the outer part of the sun?
  3. What is the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere called?
  4. How did Galileo conclude that the sun was rotating?
  5. The sunspot cycle has a length of how many years?
  6. The length of time it takes the sun to rotate [increases, decreases] as you go north or south of its equator.
  7. The darkest part of a sunspot is called the [penumbra, umbra].
  8. What is meant by the Maunder minimum? [Be brief]
  9. The splitting of spectral lines into several parts because of a magnetic field is called what type of an effect?
  10.    What causes an aurora? [Also called the Northern and Southern lights.]
  11. What is the name of the model that explains the sunspot cycle as a consequence of the sun’s differential rotation?
  12. There are how many known forces in nature?
  13. Stars produce their energy by means of nuclear [fusion, fission].
  14. The sun produces its energy by converting hydrogen into what element?
  15. A positron is made in the [first, second, third] step of the proton-proton chain.
  16. Has the solar neutrino problem been solved?
  17. The larger its parallax the [closer, further away] is a star.
  18. The nearest star has a parallax of how many seconds of arc?
  19. Suppose a star has a parallax of 0.25 seconds of an arc. What is its distance in parsecs?
  20. What kind of measurements did the Hipparcos Satellite make?
  21. Suppose we move 8 times further from a star. How many times fainter will it appear?
  22. The absolute magnitude of a star is defined as its apparent visual magnitude as seen from a distance of how many parsecs?
  23. What is the absolute magnitude of the sun?
  24. Does the luminosity of a star depend upon how far away it is?
  25. Suppose stars A and B have the same temperature, but B is less luminous than A. Which one has the larger diameter?
  26.    As you go to the right in the H-R diagram the temperature [increases, decreases].
  27. The majority of stars are [white dwarfs, giants, main-sequence].
  28.    To which luminosity class does the sun belong?
  29. Polaris (the North Star) is an example of a [white dwarf, main sequence, supergiant] star. [Hint: see page 143].
  30. Why are the Balmer lines in the spectra of giant stars narrower than those for main-sequence stars?
  31. Binary stars are [common, very rare].
  32. Binary stars allow us to determine what very important property of stars?
  33. In a binary system the center of mass lies closer to the [more massive, less massive] star.
  34.  What type of star is Sirius B? [main sequence, white dwarf, giant]
  35. Why does a spectroscopic binary system only allow us to find a lower limit to the masses of the stars?
  36.   It takes about how many hours for the stars of Algol to revolve?
  37. [Giants, White dwarfs, Main sequence stars] best obey the mass-luminosity relation.
  38. Which has the higher average density, supergiants or main-sequence stars?
  39. The sun converts how many million tons of mass intro energy each second?
  40. Three types of binary systems are called visual, spectroscopic, and what?

The longest wavelength of light is how many nm? Which has the shorter wavelength, red or blue light?

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Assignment 3

  1. The shorter the wavelength, the [more, less] energy it has.
  2. The longest wavelength of light is how many nm?
  3. Which has the shorter wavelength, red or blue light?
  4. The shortest electromagnetic waves are called what?
  5. What molecule in our atmosphere absorbs ultraviolet?
  6. A [reflector, refractor] uses a lens to gather light.
  7. [Refractors, Reflectors] suffer from chromatic aberration.
  8. The largest refracting telescope in the world has a diameter of how many inches?
  9. Why are the largest telescopes reflectors instead of refractors?
  10. If you were to buy a telescope on a fixed budget a [refractor, reflector] would be the best choice.
  11. True or False: The most important property of a telescope is its magnifying power.
  12. What causes the stars to twinkle?
  13. Why is the Cassegrain focus so common for telescopes?
  14. The method of achieving greater resolving power by connecting several telescopes is called what?
  15. Each of the mirrors on  the VLT has a diameter of      m.
  16. What is meant by adaptive optics?
  17. What are the advantages of CCD’s over photographic plates?
  18. What is meant by a false-color image?
  19. When light passes through a prism red is bent [more, less] than blue.
  20. The radio telescope Arecibo, Puerto Rico has a diameter of how many meters?
  21. The Hubble Space Telescope has a diameter of how many inches?
  22. The orbiting Chandra telescope is designed to detect [infrared, x-rays].
  23. Why must infrared telescopes be cooled?
  24. The nucleus of an atom has a [negative, positive] charge.
  25. The element an atom belongs to depends on how many [protons, neutrons] are in its nucleus.
  26. Isotopes of the same element differ in how many [electrons, neutrons] it has.
  27. Suppose a carbon atom has five electrons going around it. The carbon atom is [neutral, ionized].
  28. What is meant by binding energy?
  29. An atom can become excited by a collision or what other method?
  30. Suppose a hydrogen atom has its electron in the second orbit. The atom is in the [ground, excited] state.
  31. What temperature is absolute zero on the Fahrenheit scale?
  32. For black body radiation, as the temperature increases the wavelength of maximum intensity shifts to [shorter, longer] wavelengths.
  33. If light composed of a continuous spectrum passes through a cool, low density gas the result will be an [absorption, emission] spectrum. [Hint: One of Kirchhoff’s laws.]
  34. When an electron falls to a lower orbit, it [emits, absorbs] a photon.
  35. Balmer absorption lines are produced by hydrogen atoms with their electron in the [first, second, third] energy level.
  36. [High, Medium, Low] temperature stars have Balmer lines.
  37. Which has the higher temperature, an F or a K spectral type star?
  38. What is the spectral type of the sun?
  39. Molecular bands are found in [cool, hot] stars.
  40. What is the most abundant element making up the sun?
  41. The Doppler effect works for motion [along the line of sight, perpendicular to the line of sight.]
  42. Suppose the absorption lines in a star’s spectrum are shifted to the red. The star is [approaching, receding].
  43.    The Hubble Space Telescope is about how many miles above the Earth?
  44. An Atom consists mainly of [mass, empty space].
  45. True or False: Cosmic rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation
  46. Which type of spectral type is cooler, the L or T dwarfs?

What is the angle between the celestial equator and the ecliptic? On about what date does the sun cross the celestial equator heading to the south?

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Assignment 2

  1. The sun and stars rise and set because of the Earth’s [rotation, revolution]
  2. The sun moves about how many degrees per day along the ecliptic?
  3. True or False: Astrology is considered an important branch of astronomy.
  4. On February 1 what constellation will the sun appear to be in?
  5. The zodiac is how many degrees wide?
  6. As seen from the north celestial pole all the planets revolve [clockwise, counterclockwise].
  7. Why do we always find the planets near the ecliptic?
  8. What is the angle between the celestial equator and the ecliptic?
  9. On about what date does the sun cross the celestial equator heading to the south?
  10. The Earth is nearest the sun around the [first part of July, first part of January].
  11. The sun is furthest north of the celestial equator at the time of the [summer, winter] solstice.
  12. Which planet can appear at a greater angular distance from the sun, Mercury or Venus?
  13. The moon moves [eastward, westward] against the background of the stars.
  14. When the moon is between new and first quarter it is [waxing crescent, waxing gibbous].
  15. The first quarter moon rises at about what time?
  16. The actual time it takes the moon to revolve around the Earth is [27.3, 29.5] days.
  17. True or False: The moon always keeps the same side facing Earth because the moon does not rotate.
  18. The moon’s orbit around the Earth is tilted by about how many degrees to the plane of the Earth’s orbit around the sun?
  19. To have a lunar eclipse, the moon must be [new, full].
  20. Why can the totally eclipsed moon look reddish?
  21. To see a total solar eclipse you must be in the [umbra, penumbra] of the moon’s shadow.
  22. What is the maximum time the sun can remain totally eclipsed?

23 To have an annular eclipse the moon must be at or near [apogee, perigee].

  1. When the sun is partially eclipsed, what is a safe way to view it?
  2. The sun’s outer atmosphere is called the [corona, photosphere].
  3. What causes the diamond-ring effect?
  4. What is the Milankovitch hypothesis? [Give a brief description]
  5. Aristotle believed in the [heliocentric, geocentric] theory.
  6. How did Ptolemy explain retrograde motion?
  7. How did Copernicus explain retrograde motion?
  8. Who supplied the observational data that enabled Kepler to come up with his three laws of planetary motion?
  9. True or False: The planets revolve around the sun in ellipses with the sun at the geometric center of the ellipse.
  10. Suppose a planet sweeps out an area, call it A, in one day. In terms of A, Kepler’s second law tells us it would sweep out how large an area in five days?
  1. If a planet had an average distance from the sun of 4 AU, how long does it take to revolve around the sun? [Hint: Use Kepler’s third law]
  2. How did Galileo’s discovery of 4 moons of Jupiter help support the heliocentric theory?
  3. In the Ptolemaic theory, could we ever see Venus in the gibbous phase?
  4. Why was Galileo put on trial? [Be brief]
  5. Suppose object A exerts 8 pounds of force on object B. How much force does B exert on A? [Hint: use Newton’s third law.
  6. True or False: Mass and weight are the same things.
  7. If two objects are moved 4 times further apart, their gravitational attraction will be how many times weaker?
  8. True or False: Astronauts orbiting Earth feel weightless because they are beyond Earth’s gravity.
  9. A geosynchronous satellite is how many miles from the Earth’s center?
  10. The center of mass of the Earth and moon lies closer to the [moon, Earth].
  11. The circular velocity just above the Earth’s atmosphere is how many miles per hour? [Hint: The answer is in the text. You don’t have to do any calculations.]
  12. At new and full moon we have [neap, spring] tides.