Planetarium time to review the constellations, star names, celestial coordinates, and the HR diagram. The planetarium was set for the North Pole, the equator, and a southern hemisphere location to see how different the night sky appears. BIG TEST on Monday 3-14.
Evolution of Stars (or Live Fast, Die Young) – we read a handout on the evolution of stars that could be summed up as “Mass Matters.” Notes on the HR diagram (Smartboard notes 3-8-11) and how stars evolve and then how they will plot in different places on the diagram. Try the interactive parts of this site on the Life Cycle of a Star. Meet in the planetarium tomorrow. BIG Star test on Monday 3-14-11.
Students created a human model of how we view stars and determine distances using parallax. Although the weather was too cold to go outside, these photos from last fall show how this works. Sky domes can be punched up to and including Capricorn. Students also reviewed all of the constellations and were given an extra credit assignment (flashcards). Smartboard notes 3-7-11
Today we played around with the concept of parallax. Students viewed a pencil (star) against a background of lines (more distant stars) and noted how its position changed when viewed with one eye and then the other (simulates viewing from Earth 6 months apart). Students also looked at the difference between smaller and larger baselines (A-B below). Try this stellar parallax animation and stellar parallax simulator.
If a star has a parallax (angle) of 0.5 arcseconds, what is its distance in parsecs? Light years? (you may use your notes). First correct response in each section earns a piece of candy (must be a YSHS astronomy student!).
In the planetarium today to work on constellations Bootes (Arcturus), Libra, and Scorpio (Antares). We reviewed the previous constellations and a number of HR diagrams were presented. The celestial coordinates should make more sense now! The March Sky Calendar was handed out. The Abrams Planetarium Sky notes are available here.
Students finished the celestial sphere activity and started the star map homework (due Mon 2-28). The star map is a two dimensional representation of the 3D celestial sphere.
Student were assessed on the constellations and stars up to Andromeda + HR Diagram + star basics. In preparation for using the celestial spheres tomorrow, we began our discussion of celestial coordinates Smartboard notes 2-23-11. Students should be familiar with all of the terms below.
In the planetarium today to finish the winter sky constellation. Student should be able to locate Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Taurus, Auriga, and Gemini. A Fall/Winter practice sheet was provided. If you need another one, go to the Astronomy moodle (enrolment key – rockstar). Can you find all of the winter constellations in the image below? There will be a short quiz on Tuesday 2-22-11 on the constellations up to Andromeda, HR diagram and star basics. Bring two cut out paper circles to class on Thursday 2-24-11 that show the relative size difference between our Sun and Betelgeuse (for x-credit). You may find the HR Diagram Explorer from 2-11-11 helpful.
Completed notes on stars Smartboard notes 2-16-11 including information on stellar magnitude. Check out the video (youtube) or (school site) that we watched to compare sizes of stars. You have to be impressed! Back to the planetarium tomorrow to finish up the winter sky and start on the spring constellations. There is a quiz on Tuesday 2-22-11 on constellations up to Andromeda and the basics on stars and the HR diagram.
Day to catch up on unfinished activities. Mac cart unexpectedly available, so . . . (1) Stellarium activity p.3 (2) complete Sky Domes (3) HR Diagram Explorer activity (4) notes on new constellations from Sky Guide (5) punch holes in dome for new constellations. Items 1-3 are most important. Can you connect the dots to form 10 more constellations and name them? Print out this page by going to 2-14-11.
