On Exams:
· Astronomy in the News
· NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day
Sky Watch Project:
Identify objects or constellations containing objects like
supernovae and black holes that are relevant to the course.
Keep a log of your observations explaining where you were,
what time it was, what direction you were looking and what
you saw or did not see. Record enough information so that
I can tell you actually went out at night and tried to see
something. Noting the location and phase of the Moon can be useful. For each object, give a brief summary of why the
object you are observing is important and relevant to the class.
Keep an eye on Betelgeuse in Orion. Also locate Sirius A, the
Crab Nebula, Cassiopeiae A, Cygnus X-1, Sagittarius A, and
other objects we talk about in class. Some of these objects
can be seen with the naked eye and some cannot, but you can
locate the region in the sky where they are.
Some things we will talk about can be seen now but not later in
the term, some can be seen only later in the term and not now.
You need to check when various things can be seen at what time
of night and when in the season. For orientation, check out the
web site Whole Sky Chart from the link on the class web site.
This allows you to enter a time and find what is observable then.
It does not name all the objects, so it is only a starting place.
Due on Monday after each hourly exam. You can only get credit for
each object once, but it is never too late to try.
All reports must be typewritten on 8-1/2x11 inch paper.
Credit: up to 5 points added to term average (one half a letter
grade; equivalent to 25 points on a single exam!). Each report
will be graded on a scale of 0 to 5 and then the four reports
averaged to determine the final extra credit score.