Category: Astronomy

Response Prompt Many people are interested in the search for extra-terrestrial life. The question about ETs is interesting, but is it actually driven by science? For this short response, use the class presentation (“Get a Life!”) to answer these two questions: (1) What are the philosophical assumptions of naturalism that drive the search? The presentation… Continue reading Response Prompt
Many people are interested in the search for extra-terrestrial l

Use the Burke Gaffney Observatory (BGO) telescope to locate and sketch one of the brighter deep space objects currently visible. The telescope operator will have a list of suggestions. Download a few images of this object from the Internet. Compare the two images, and research more information about the type of object you’ve captured. Write… Continue reading Use the Burke Gaffney Observatory
(BGO) telescope to locate and sketch one of th

astrobiology explores life beyond Earth, studying exoplanets, extreme environments, and Mars. SETI searches for extraterrestrial intelligence through radio signals.

For this project you are going to observe some light sources. You are going to observe the SPECTRA of at least SIX light sources. You will use a spectroscope. Recall that a spectroscope spreads out light into its component colors, or WAVELENGTHS. A laser pointer emits light at just one wavelength. A light bulb emits… Continue reading For this project you are going to observe some light sources. You are going to o

Why are Mercury and the Moon so much more heavily cratered than the Earth? Explain how crater counts tell us the age of a surface. 2)Go to the home page for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, and look for the latest evidence concerning recent water flows on Mars. Write a few paragraphs describing the new evidence… Continue reading Why are Mercury and the Moon so much more heavily cratered than the Earth? Expla

This activity assesses students’ ability to apply learning objective #2: Use Hubble’s Law to intercompare distances to galaxies from redshift measurements. Understanding Cosmological Redshift. Fill out the velocity column in the table above using RV calculator above or just your own calculator. In order to calculate v = zc in km/s, use the speed of… Continue reading This activity assesses students’ ability to apply learning objective #2: Use Hub

About this Assignment In this course, you learned about the sizes of the Sun and the Moon and angular diameters of objects in outer space. Using the angular diameters of objects in space and their distance, it is possible to estimate the actual size of that object. It is also possible to estimate the angular… Continue reading About this Assignment
In this course, you learned about the sizes of the Sun and

Ch. 11 Study Questions 1. What two chemical elements is the Sun chiefly made of? 2. How hot (in Kelvin) is the surface of the Sun? 3. How hot (in Kelvin) is the center of the Sun? 4. What are the three layers of the Suns atmosphere, from bottom to top? 5. The Sun is… Continue reading What two chemical elements is the Sun chiefly made of?

Ch. 12 Study Questions 1. What is the measured parallax of stars used for? 2. Which is brighter, magnitude 5 or magnitude 0? 3. What two things does a star’s apparent magnitude depend on? 4. What one thing does a star’s absolute magnitude depend on? 5. What is a star’s luminosity? 6. Why are stars… Continue reading What is the measured parallax of stars used for?

Learning Goal: I’m working on a astronomy writing question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.A paper. Easy.Write a 1000-word paper on a topic in Observational Astronomy. List your sources in a bibliography. Example topics are listed below. If you have a different topic than those in the list, just email it… Continue reading Observational Astronomy