Astronomy


 * Astronomy.**


 * <>day 8>>﻿ ||



Crispian Jago's tube map of scientists.

There were a few things that we didn't get around to doing during in the session, so I've been trying to find the most comprehensive resources that I can. Astronomy started out as a purely observational science; its a good idea to understand how those observations are made and quantified. This link from the Royal Astronomy Society of Canada explains Right Ascension and Declination quite extensively. I've also found an online copy of a book called The Complete Idiot's Guide to Astronomy*. I've been trying to make sure that the website that I downloaded it from is legitimate... I think so but just in case be assured that it's been downloaded in good faith. Here it is, anyway:
 * I'm not casting any aspersions, by the way... it just seemed a nice, approachable book.

Key things that we discussed on the day: Astronomy can be a hard topic for pupils to grasp for a variety of reasons. There are common misconceptions to be addressed - such as the idea that the Sun is closer in the summer (not true!) and that the Moon provides its own light. The solar system is in constant motion in three dimensions - this can be incredibly hard for students to get their heads around. There's an inherent difficulty in understanding concepts like that when they're translated into two dimensions so it's a good idea to try to find three dimesional ways of modelling ideas whenever you can so that you have a framework to which to refer subsequent diagrams.

Much of the work during the day was based around modelling and explaining concepts. We looked at physical models for seasonal variations in day length and temperature, phases of the moon (+) (+)and tides.

We spent some time considering geosynchronous and geostationary orbits - many school science books do not make the distinction! Orbits are an interesting thing to explain - Neil's personal preference is to go to the gym and use a trampoline to illustrate gravity, although you need to be fairly au fait with the idea of a three dimensional space being distorted by mass. Perhaps Homer Simpson can help or if not, this video from HowStuffWorks called 'understanding gravity' might. ALternately, there's an excellent, detailed set of resources that you could use with classes at ThinkQuest. There's a fun simulation on NASA's 'space place' which explains newton's cannon and orbits and a slightly more detailed, mathematical analysis of said model at the 'School for Champions'. All of those sites are pretty good and will reward a bit of poking about. There's an interesting piece on comet orbits and if you want to make a comet there are instructions on **Practicalphysics.org**.

Gravity also leads you on to the formation and life cycle of stars. There's a wealth of videos on YouTube - worth a look but sort through for a good one (I found this and a slightly wider-ranging piece from 'Cosmos' but YouTube was being frustratingly slow on the office PC...) and there's a nice animated sim here at exploring earth - another good site. There's a presentation of stellar life cycles here from our old friends at the Canadian Space Authority (handy if you need it in French...) but it might be a little condescending for some. Again, with masses of detail, ThinkQuest has a great resource.

Other worthwhile activities that crossed my mind... there's a lot to be done with Solar System data - students can plot graphs and infer causal relationships, even work out approximate orbital speeds and try to derive the formula. How Science Works can be accessed by looking at the dates of discovery of the planets and trying to explain them - this introduces specialist vocab like albedo - as well as the search for life on other worlds, the cost vs benefit of space exploration and the concepts of geoengineering. The role of religion in astronomical progress and Galileo's house arrest at the behest of the Inquisition are worth students' attention. There is much in the topic to engage creative learners, from designing moonbases to modelling astronomical processes.