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Astronomers as Observers and Experimenters: Exercises and Projects for the Laboratory and Night Sky

Astronomers as Observers and Experimenters: Exercises and Projects for the Laboratory and Night Sky

Author(s): Jeffrey A Wilkerson

Edition: 5

Copyright: 2021

Pages: 292

Edition: 5

Copyright: 2021

Pages: 292

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New Fifth Edition Coming Soon!

Now available in a new fifth edition, the popular astronomy laboratory manual Astronomers as Observers and Experimenters: Exercises and Projects for the Laboratory and Night Sky integrates new exercises, connections between exercises, as well as all the favorite exercises from past editions - updated to connect to recent discoveries and news in astronomy.

Students will gain experience in making meaning out of observations and experiments by using observational results to make models of the universe. The excitement and challenge of the scientific process is evident at every step. Students will recognize astronomy as a human endeavor, with real people needing to make real decisions all along the way. The reader also is prompted to understand uncertainty in measurements and observational bias that is ever-present in astronomy. This edition of the book encourages users to connect the laboratory work to material they are learning elsewhere in the course, placing that laboratory work within the historical evolution of our understanding of the universe. Science as a shining example of human ingenuity, determination and drive to know what is around us comes alive.

Instructors will appreciate the flexibility this manual offers. Exercises are simple to use individually and can be adapted to be completed in a single laboratory setting, however long that may be. Many exercises, however, can be extended to connect to other course material or to lead to reflective homework outside of class. Some exercises can be grouped into a larger set of activities pertaining to a topic like, say, the structure of the Milky Way. Other exercises can be developed into full projects as desired.

Introduction: The Processes of Science
Learning Goals
How to Use This Manual

Part I: Sky Observations and Observing Tools
Exercise 1: Astronomy as Part of the Scientific Enterprise
Exercise 2: Observing Exercises
Exercise 3: Star Charts and Catalogues
Exercise 4: Atmospheric Extinction of Starlight
Exercise 5: Observing with Simple Tools
Exercise 6: Angular Resolution
Exercise 7: Image Size—Focal Length Relationship
Exercise 8: Kirchhoff’s Laws and Spectroscopy

Part II: Measuring Distance in the Universe
Exercise 9: Trigonometric Parallax
Exercise 10: Distance to the Pleiades
Exercise 11: Distances of Cepheid Variable Stars
Exercise 12: Galactic Distances and the Hubble–Lemaître Law

Part III: Measuring in the Solar System
Exercise 13: Duration of the Sidereal Day
Exercise 14: Lunar Features and Mountain Heights
Exercise 15: Determining the Mass of the Moon
Exercise 16: Evidence of the Earth’s Revolution 
Exercise 17: Solar Rotation
Exercise 18: Measuring the Diameters of Pluto and Charon
Exercise 19: Kuiper Belt Objects
Exercise 20: Determining the Velocity of a Comet

Part IV: Measuring Stars and Galaxies
Exercise 21: Proper Motion of a Star
Exercise 22: Spectral Classification
Exercise 23: Finding the Period of an Eclipsing Binary Star System
Exercise 24: Supernova 1987A
Exercise 25: Color-Magnitude Diagrams of Open Star Clusters
Exercise 26: The Distribution of Star Clusters on the Sky
Exercise 27: Galaxies in the Virgo Cluster
Exercise 28: The Absolute Magnitude of a Quasar

Part V: Projects
Project 1: Measuring the Duration of the Sidereal Day
Project 2: Modeling the Orbit of the Moon
Project 3: Mapping Dust and Gas in the Galaxy Using Cluster Reddening

Appendix 1: How to Write Laboratory Reports
Appendix 2: How to Handle Data
Appendix 3: SC1–SC2 Charts, Star Finder Parts, and Translucent Graph Paper

Jeffrey A Wilkerson
Jeffrey Wilkerson developed an interest in astronomy by watching the dark skies while growing up in southern Indiana. He spent as much time as possible outdoors and was drawn naturally to observe and study the night sky. Jeff's interest in astronomy was nurtured by Bob Kasting, a caring high school physics teacher who started his day early to allow students to work in the school planetarium before classes. In addition, he made the physics laboratory and equipment available to students wanting to work outside class. One piece of equipment in particular, a homemade 6-inch reflecting telescope, fueled Jeff's interest in astronomy.

Jeff attended Indiana University, where he studied physics and worked in research groups studying cosmic rays and the properties of atomic nuclei. He earned his Ph.D. from the Berkeley campus of the University of California where he developed instrumentation for X-ray astronomy. In 1997, he joined the faculty of Luther College where he teaches physics, astronomy and general science. He has done collaborative research work with more than thirty undergraduate students in the past ten years. These projects have included monitoring variable stars in the field of M23, searching for period evolution in eclipsing binary stars, and monitoring the long-term luminosity stability of a wide variety of stars.
 

New Fifth Edition Coming Soon!

Now available in a new fifth edition, the popular astronomy laboratory manual Astronomers as Observers and Experimenters: Exercises and Projects for the Laboratory and Night Sky integrates new exercises, connections between exercises, as well as all the favorite exercises from past editions - updated to connect to recent discoveries and news in astronomy.

Students will gain experience in making meaning out of observations and experiments by using observational results to make models of the universe. The excitement and challenge of the scientific process is evident at every step. Students will recognize astronomy as a human endeavor, with real people needing to make real decisions all along the way. The reader also is prompted to understand uncertainty in measurements and observational bias that is ever-present in astronomy. This edition of the book encourages users to connect the laboratory work to material they are learning elsewhere in the course, placing that laboratory work within the historical evolution of our understanding of the universe. Science as a shining example of human ingenuity, determination and drive to know what is around us comes alive.

Instructors will appreciate the flexibility this manual offers. Exercises are simple to use individually and can be adapted to be completed in a single laboratory setting, however long that may be. Many exercises, however, can be extended to connect to other course material or to lead to reflective homework outside of class. Some exercises can be grouped into a larger set of activities pertaining to a topic like, say, the structure of the Milky Way. Other exercises can be developed into full projects as desired.

Introduction: The Processes of Science
Learning Goals
How to Use This Manual

Part I: Sky Observations and Observing Tools
Exercise 1: Astronomy as Part of the Scientific Enterprise
Exercise 2: Observing Exercises
Exercise 3: Star Charts and Catalogues
Exercise 4: Atmospheric Extinction of Starlight
Exercise 5: Observing with Simple Tools
Exercise 6: Angular Resolution
Exercise 7: Image Size—Focal Length Relationship
Exercise 8: Kirchhoff’s Laws and Spectroscopy

Part II: Measuring Distance in the Universe
Exercise 9: Trigonometric Parallax
Exercise 10: Distance to the Pleiades
Exercise 11: Distances of Cepheid Variable Stars
Exercise 12: Galactic Distances and the Hubble–Lemaître Law

Part III: Measuring in the Solar System
Exercise 13: Duration of the Sidereal Day
Exercise 14: Lunar Features and Mountain Heights
Exercise 15: Determining the Mass of the Moon
Exercise 16: Evidence of the Earth’s Revolution 
Exercise 17: Solar Rotation
Exercise 18: Measuring the Diameters of Pluto and Charon
Exercise 19: Kuiper Belt Objects
Exercise 20: Determining the Velocity of a Comet

Part IV: Measuring Stars and Galaxies
Exercise 21: Proper Motion of a Star
Exercise 22: Spectral Classification
Exercise 23: Finding the Period of an Eclipsing Binary Star System
Exercise 24: Supernova 1987A
Exercise 25: Color-Magnitude Diagrams of Open Star Clusters
Exercise 26: The Distribution of Star Clusters on the Sky
Exercise 27: Galaxies in the Virgo Cluster
Exercise 28: The Absolute Magnitude of a Quasar

Part V: Projects
Project 1: Measuring the Duration of the Sidereal Day
Project 2: Modeling the Orbit of the Moon
Project 3: Mapping Dust and Gas in the Galaxy Using Cluster Reddening

Appendix 1: How to Write Laboratory Reports
Appendix 2: How to Handle Data
Appendix 3: SC1–SC2 Charts, Star Finder Parts, and Translucent Graph Paper

Jeffrey A Wilkerson
Jeffrey A Wilkerson
Jeffrey Wilkerson developed an interest in astronomy by watching the dark skies while growing up in southern Indiana. He spent as much time as possible outdoors and was drawn naturally to observe and study the night sky. Jeff's interest in astronomy was nurtured by Bob Kasting, a caring high school physics teacher who started his day early to allow students to work in the school planetarium before classes. In addition, he made the physics laboratory and equipment available to students wanting to work outside class. One piece of equipment in particular, a homemade 6-inch reflecting telescope, fueled Jeff's interest in astronomy.

Jeff attended Indiana University, where he studied physics and worked in research groups studying cosmic rays and the properties of atomic nuclei. He earned his Ph.D. from the Berkeley campus of the University of California where he developed instrumentation for X-ray astronomy. In 1997, he joined the faculty of Luther College where he teaches physics, astronomy and general science. He has done collaborative research work with more than thirty undergraduate students in the past ten years. These projects have included monitoring variable stars in the field of M23, searching for period evolution in eclipsing binary stars, and monitoring the long-term luminosity stability of a wide variety of stars.