spring 2017 syllabus ast2002 10088 basic astronomy page …n00006757/astronomylectures... · spring...

Spring 2017 Syllabus AST2002 10088 – BASIC ASTRONOMY of 13

1701 AST2002 10088 Syllabus.docx 09-Jan-17 12:43

Location:

Instructor:

Monday and Wednesday 4:30pm-5:45pm, 39/1016 (College of Health Building)

John Anderson, BS Physics (Univ of Florida), PhD Biophysics (Harvard Univ)

Senior Research Lecturer and Director, Science and Culture Initiative

Department of Physics

Office: 50/2808 (2nd floor of the Science & Engineering Building)

[email protected] +1-904-620-3988 @doctorjah

Here is my schedule for this term, including office hours and other classes I teach:

You can make an appointment to see me at a time other than during office hours, or you can contact me by

email or by telephone. Email is best. I will get back to you as soon as possible.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO

1. WHEN YOU SEND EMAIL TO ME, BEGIN THE SUBJECT LINE WITH YOUR COURSE AND

SECTION NUMBER. Also include a brief description of the topic as in this example:

Subject: AST2002 10088 – Put a brief description of what your email is about here

2. MAKE SURE YOU CAN READ YOUR UNF EMAIL, AND DON’T FORWARD IT. I will use your

unf.edu address to communicate with you via a class distribution list that contains only that address.

Messages from distribution lists are sometimes interpreted as spam and blocked or junked, so if you want

to be sure to receive emails from me—and your other UNF instructors—you should read your UNF

email directly instead of forwarding it to another account.

3. LEARN HOW TO USE CANVAS! The PowerPoint files used in class, grades, a copy of the syllabus,

and various other items will be posted there.

4. If you need more information about Canvas, UNF email, and other UNF technology resources, you can

find it online at:

http://www.unf.edu/its/Tech-Toolkit.aspx

REQUIRED MATERIALS (Bring these to every class)

The Essential Cosmic Perspective, 7th edition, Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit (2015).

Along with the textbook, you must have a subscription to the “MODIFIED Mastering Astronomy”

online homework site. If you buy it from the UNF bookstore, it is included. A cheaper option is to pur-

chase a subscription to the homework site and an electronic version of the text when you register. If you

buy a used ECP7e or one with a different ISBN you will have to purchase a separate subscription to the

homework site through Canvas. Access the MODIFIED MA ONLY through the “Pearson’s

MyLab/Mastering” link in Canvas! Pearson representative Mr. Brad Maynard will visit our class on

Wednesday, 1/11, to demonstrate Modified MA and how to get registered.

The Night Sky (a “star wheel”)

P H Y2048L 11242

50/ 2812

9:00 - 11:50

P H Y2049L 10111

50/ 2814

9:00 - 11:50

OF F IC E 50/ 2808

12:00 - 13:00

OF F IC E 50/ 2808

15:00 - 16:00

F R ID A YM ON D A Y T UESD A Y WED N ESD A Y T H UR SD A Y

A ST 2002 10088

39/ 1016

16:30 - 17:45

A ST 2002 10088

39/ 1016

16:30 - 17:45

P H Y2054L 10122

50/ 2814

9:00 - 11:50

P H Y2048L 10108

50/ 2812

13:00 - 15:50

OF F IC E 50/ 2808

12:00 - 13:00

OF F IC E 50/ 2808

12:00 - 13:00

OF F IC E 50/ 2808

15:00 - 16:00



NATURE, CONTENT, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES

AST2002 10088 Basic Astronomy is one of UNF’s general education science lecture courses. It will address

the following questions (among others):

What do we know about the astronomical universe from a scientific perspective?

Where did this scientific understanding come from?

How did it develop?

What is science?

What is scientific thinking?

The last two questions in the list are not specifically related to astronomy, and the last one is not even neces-

sarily related to science, but for those very reasons, understanding their answers is arguably the most im-

portant thing to get out of this course. Science is simply a way of explaining the world, and scientific think-

ing is how scientists go about doing that. You will learn that science is really just a more formalized, rigor-

ous, and social version of the way every individual human thinks about problems and how to solve them.

And scientific thinking can be used to evaluate ideas and proposals in any area of modern culture, not just

scientific ones. Learning how to think scientifically—not accepting something as true just because someone

says it is, but because of the evidence backing it up and its consistency with other things—will serve you

well as you go out into the world and confront the vast array of private and public issues you will face in the

coming years.

Completing this course will provide you with three general education science lecture credits. UNF’s general

education program is focused on helping students develop competency in four areas: (1) Quantitative Rea-

soning and Analysis and Scientific Method, (2) Critical Thinking, (3) Communication, and (4) Cross-

Cultural Awareness, Experiential Learning, and Integrative Learning. Your work in this course will touch on

aspects of each of the first three competencies.

Course Assessment: UNF assesses how its general education courses help students achieve competencies

appropriate for each of the courses. The success of this course in helping you become more proficient in cer-

tain aspects of the first three competencies listed above will be measured in three ways:

1. The extent to which you are able to learn and comprehend findings and concepts related to astronomy

will be measured by your performance on the midterm and final exams.

2. The extent to which you are able to understand science, the scientific process, and scientific thinking will

be measured by your performance on targeted subsets of exam questions.

3. The extent to which you are able to think critically about the relationship between scientific thinking and

other ways of thinking, and then communicate your thoughts, will be measured by your performance on

the essay portion of the constellation project.

ASTRONOMY LABORATORY

A separate one-credit laboratory course, Basic Astronomy Laboratory (AST2002L), is available for general

education science laboratory credit. The smaller size of the lab class allows more personalized instruction on

many of the topics covered in this lecture course. Taking the lab course has helped students do better in the

lecture course in the past, so you may want to consider enrolling in the lab if you can, but unfortunately all

lecture students cannot be accommodated in the labs.

ATTENDANCE

To encourage you to attend class regularly, attendance will count 3% of your final grade. Statistical analysis

of the correlation between class attendance and final grade in previous terms suggests that attendance has a

considerably larger effect (15-40%) on your final grade than the 3% it counts for, so try to attend each and

every class. To get credit for attending, you must sign attendance sheets distributed near the end of each

class with the last four numbers of your UNF “N number”.

ASKING QUESTIONS IN CLASS

Do not be shy about speaking up in class if you have a question about something. Even if you think it’s a

dumb question, it is dumber not to ask if you really want to know the answer. Besides, you are probably not

the only one in the class with that question, and you will be helping those students as well as yourself. But if

you don’t feel comfortable asking questions in class, please see me after class or in my office, or contact me

by email or by phone (remember, email is better).



MAKING CONNECTIONS

Making connections between what you already know and something new is the best way to learn. So if you

see—or think you see—a connection between something in class and something you already know, feel free

to bring it up, and we will spend some time discussing it.

STUDENT RESOURCES

Mastering Astronomy. The textbook publisher, Pearson, provides a companion online resource site called

Mastering Astronomy, where you will be required to do homework assignments. You MUST link to and reg-

ister for the Mastering Astronomy site through the MyLab and Mastering link in the navigation menu on

Canvas. Once registered, you can access the homework assignments, a “study area”, chapter summaries,

quizzes, tutorials, interactive figures, a glossary, flashcards, and movies through Canvas.

Stellarium. Another resource you will find useful is the free open source “planetarium program” Stellarium,

which is available for a variety of operating systems, including Windows and iOS, at stellarium.org; there are

even mobile versions of Stellarium for iPhone and Android. A planetarium program allows you to see what

the sky above any location on Earth and a number of other celestial bodies would look like at a date and time

of your choice. Fun to play with and will be useful for your Constellation Project (see below).

IF YOU HAVE A DISABILITY

Students with disabilities who seek reasonable accommodations in the classroom or other aspects of per-

forming their coursework must first register with the UNF Disability Resource Center (DRC) located in

Building 57, Room 1500. DRC staff members work with students to obtain required documentation of disa-

bility and to identify appropriate accommodations as required by applicable disability laws including the

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). After receiving all necessary documentation, the DRC staff deter-

mines whether a student qualifies for services with the DRC and if so, the accommodations the student re-

quires will be provided. DRC staff then prepares a letter for the student to provide faculty advising them of

approved accommodations. For further information, contact the DRC by phone (904) 620-2769, email

([email protected]), or visit the DRC website (http://www.unf.edu/drc/).

IF YOU ARE IN THE MILITARY OR ARE A MILITARY VETERAN

Military and veteran students who return from combat exposure may be utilizing the post-9/11 GI bill to

continue postsecondary education goals and may need both physical and academic accommodations. Con-

tact the Military & Veterans’ Resource Center (MVRC) located in Building 57, Room 2700 by phone (904)

620-5131, email ([email protected]), or visit their web site (http://www.unf.edu/military-veterans/).

CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM – JUST DON’T DO IT!

Cheating and plagiarism are equivalent to stealing, and I will not tolerate them. If you are caught cheating or

plagiarizing on any assignment, project, or test—and students have been caught in the past—you will receive

a zero on it, and your final grade will be adversely affected as well.



THE COMPONENTS OF YOUR GRADE

READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. It describes the components of your grade and the percentage they

each count toward your overall final grade.

2% – Email, Internet, and Personal Information (EIPI) Assignment – One week from the first class

meeting, I will send a message to the class email distribution list with a subject containing the phrase

“Email, Internet, and Personal Information Assignment”. In that message will be instructions for how to

submit the information in the box at the bottom of page 8 of this syllabus. Your response will show me

that you are able to receive messages sent to the class distribution list, and will also provide me with

some personal information about you.

3% – Attendance – You must sign in to get credit for attending class. You may miss one class with no

penalty.

5% Current News in Astronomy – These assignments are due on the dates listed in the course sched-

ule on page 6 of this syllabus. They must be sent by email to my grader, Abubakr Hassan, at

[email protected]. Each “CNA” is a summary in your own words of a news story about the

science of astronomy from one of the following astronomy news web sites: www.space.com,

www.nasa.gov/news, www.spaceflightnow.com, or www.universetoday.com. CNAs must come from

one of those four web sites, must be current, must be about the science of astronomy (not about space-

related politics or economics, for example), and must be submitted by email no later than 11:59 PM on

the Fridays indicated in the class schedule. It must also follow this format:

In the subject line, specify CNA1, CNA2, CNA3, CNA4, CNA5, or CNA6 and the title of the

article, like in this example:

Subject: CNA1 – Life discovered in Room 1016 of UNF College of Health

In the body of the email message—not as an attachment—give the following information:

- your name

- the exact title of the news story - the specific URL of the story (not just the home page of the web site where you found it)

- a one-paragraph summary of the story in your own words, written according to the writ-

ing guidelines found on page 7 of this syllabus

If you don’t provide everything in the CNA as just described, you will not get full credit. Each CNA

must be based on a news story dated after the previous CNA was due. You are responsible for knowing

when CNAs are due by checking the course schedule in this syllabus. Be sure to send yourself a CC. I

will drop your lowest CNA assignment grade.

15% – Homework – This component is based predominantly on assignments on the Mastering Astron-

omy web site. You must register for Mastering Astronomy through the MyLab and Mastering link in

navigation menu on Canvas. The access code you need to register is included with a new textbook. If

you have a used textbook, you can purchase the necessary access code during the registration process.

You can also opt to purchase an electronic copy of the textbook and an access code during the registra-

tion process. You can get access to the site for two weeks without paying, in case your financial aid has

not come through yet, but you must purchase a subscription to maintain access after that.

Once registered, you access the site from links in MyLab and Mastering on Canvas. The first as-

signment, “Introduction to MasteringAstronomy”, is a practice assignment designed to familiarize you

with the homework site and various ways of entering answers. It is graded on a completion basis, which

means you will get full credit if you complete this assignment whether or not you answer everything cor-

rectly. You will be notified of the nature, availability, and due dates of this and future assignments by

email and in class. I will drop your lowest homework grade.

30% – Midterm Exam (TENTATIVE date is Wednesday, 1 March 2017)

The midterm will be comprehensive. Makeup exams will be given at my convenience and only for

valid and documented reasons.

You may use one (1) crib sheet written in your original handwriting on the front and back of one

standard sheet of letter-sized (8½x11) printer paper.

15% – Group Constellation Project – See the last several pages of this syllabus for a detailed descrip-

tion of this project and the forms you will need to complete it, which include certification statements that



all members of your group must sign to get full credit for the project. Grading will be based on a rubric,

which will be posted on Canvas.

30% – Final Exam (DEFINITE date is Wednesday, 26 April 2017, 3:00 – 4:50 pm)

The final exam will be comprehensive, but weighted toward material covered after the midterm.

Makeup exams will be given at my convenience and only for valid and documented reasons.

For the final exam you may use two (2) crib sheets written in your original handwriting on the front

and back of two standard sheets of letter-sized 8½x11 printer paper.

Extra Credit: You can receive extra credit for attending occasional observing sessions on the dates

listed in the course schedule. (These sessions are tentative, because observations happen only if the

weather permits.) To get extra credit, you must sign an attendance sheet at the session and must turn in a

brief hard-copy report of what you observed at the beginning of the first class following the observation

session, using the “Extra Credit Report Form” downloadable from Canvas. The report must contain the

following information:

your name

the day the observation session occurred (e.g., Tuesday)

the date the observation session occurred (e.g., 31 January 2017)

where the observation session occurred (e.g., UNF Building 50 observation deck)

a summary in paragraph form of what you observed and what you observed it with (naked

eyes, a specific type of telescope, etc.), following the writing guidelines on page 7 of this syl-

labus.

“Lab observation” sessions will be at UNF in conjunction with the astronomy lab classes, will generally

be held on the observation deck on the roof of Building 50, and will be worth one “unit” of extra credit.

On the dates of the observations around 7:10 PM you can contact the lab instructor, Jamila Douari, at

620-1933, to find out if and when the session will occur.

Other “dark sky observation” sessions will involve travel on certain Saturday evenings about 50

miles west of UNF to the NEFAS Swamp Site in the Osceola National Forest in conjunction with the

Northeast Florida Astronomical Society (NEFAS, www.nefas.org, 858-3347). Because of the travel in-

volved, the dark sky sessions will be worth three “units” of extra credit. You will be notified by email on

the day of the observation whether dark sky sessions are “go” or “no go”.

Other extra credit opportunities might occur from time to time. If they do, you will be notified by

email and in class.

The units of extra credit you earn will be added to your overall score after the components of

your grade described above are added together. The exact point value of a “unit” of extra credit will be

determined at the end of the course and will depend on how many extra credit opportunities actually oc-

cur. You may attend and get extra credit for as many extra credit sessions as you like, including more

than one session during the same week.

GRADING SCALE

A A- B+ B B- C+ C D F

> 89.95 88.95 to

89.95

87.95 to

88.95

79.95 to

87.95

78.95 to

79.95

77.95 to

78.95

69.95 to

77.95

59.95 to

69.95 < 59.95

MATERIAL COVERED

The textbook contains 19 chapters divided into six parts. We might not cover every chapter in the book, but

you are responsible for all of the material in each chapter we do cover, whether or not we cover all parts

of the chapter in class, and you are responsible for all material covered in class, even if it is not in the

book. The book is well-written and if you apply yourself you can understand the material. And of course,

ask questions if you don’t understand something you hear in class or read in the textbook.

A tentative schedule for the course is on the next page. Exams, due dates for assignments, and other

important time-sensitive events are bold, italicized, and arrowed, and potential extra credit observing ses-

sions and holidays are italicized.

http://www.nefas.org/



T - E - N - T - A - T - I - V - E C L A S S S C H E D U L E

Week Day Date What's happening

1 M 1/9 Meeting 1

W 1/11 Meeting 2

2

M 1/16 N O C L A S S - M A R T I N L U T H E R K I N G, J R D A Y

W 1/18 Meeting 3

M 1/16 EIPI message will be sent out (be able to read UNF email by now)

F 1/20 EIPI assignment due back by 11:59 PM

Sat 1/21 Third Quarter Dark Sky Observation in Osceola Forest (weather permitting)

3

M 1/23 Meeting 4

W 1/25 Meeting 5

F 1/27 Current News in Astronomy assignment #1 (CNA1) due by 11:59 PM

Sat 1/28 New Moon Dark Sky Observation in Osceola Forest (weather permitting)

4

M 1/30 Meeting 6

W 2/1 Meeting 7

M-R 1/30-2/2 Lab Observation at UNF (weather permitting)

5

M 2/6 Meeting 8

W 2/8 Meeting 9


6

M 2/13 Meeting 10

W 2/15 Meeting 11


Sat 2/18 hird Quarter Dark Sky Observation in Osceola Forest (weather permitting)

7

M 2/20 Meeting 12

W 2/22 Meeting 13



8

M 2/27 Meeting 14

W 3/1 MIDTERM EXAM (T-E-N-T-A-T-I-V-E D-A-T-E)


9 M 3/6 Meeting 15

W 3/8 Meeting 16

10

M 3/13 Meeting 17

W 3/15 Meeting 18



11

M 3/20 N O C L A S S - S P R I N G B R E A K

W 3/22 N O C L A S S - S P R I N G B R E A K


12

M 3/27 Meeting 19

W 3/29 Meeting 20



13

M 4/3 Meeting 21

W 4/5 Meeting 22

F 4/7 LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW FROM CLASSES

M 4/3 CONSTELLATION PROJECT DUE AT BEGINNING OF CLASS

14

M 4/10 Meeting 23

W 4/12 Meeting 24


15

M 4/17 Meeting 25

W 4/19 Meeting 26


16 M 4/24 N O C L A S S - F I N A L S W E E K

W 4/26 FINAL EXAM 3:00 PM – 4:50 PM

Since it is tentative, changes may occur in this schedule, but any changes will be announced to the class.



GUIDELINES FOR GOOD WRITING

The following was written by Jeffrey Bennett, the principal author of our textbook, with some modifications

added by me. You should keep these guidelines in mind when you write not just in this course but through-

out your career in college and beyond.

Presenting Homework and Writing Assignments1

All work that you turn-in should be neat and easy to read, well-organized, and demonstrate mastery of the

subject matter. You will be more likely to get the grades you want—and the jobs you want—if what you

write has the hallmarks of high quality. The following guidelines will help you do this.

Always use proper grammar, proper sentence and paragraph structure, and proper spelling.

All answers and other writing should be fully self-contained. A good test is to imagine that a friend is

reading your work, and ask yourself whether the friend would understand exactly what you are trying to

say. It is also helpful to read your work out loud to yourself to make sure it sounds clear and coherent.

In problems that require calculation:

- Be sure to show your work clearly. By doing so, both you and your instructor can follow the

process you used to obtain an answer.

- Word problems should have word answers if necessary. That is, after you have completed any

calculations, if it isn’t entirely clear what the answer means, add one or more complete sentences

that describe the point of the problem and the meaning of your solution.

- Express your word answers in a way that would be meaningful to most people. For example,

most people would find it more meaningful if you point out that a result of 720 hours is approx-

imately 1 month. Similarly, if a precise calculation yields an answer of 9,745,600 years, it may

be more meaningful in words as "nearly 10 million years." Of course, if the problem asks for a

precise answer, you should provide one.

Finally, pay attention to details that will make your assignments look good. For example:

- Use standard-sized white paper with clean edges (e.g., do not use colored paper, do not tear pa-

per out of spiral notebooks, etc.).

- Staple all pages together. Don't use paper clips or folded corners because they don‘t hold the

pages securely and tend to get caught with other students' papers. You can buy a stapler for a

couple of bucks.

- Include illustrations whenever they help to explain your answer.

- Make your work look professional by using a word processor for text and equations and by

creating graphs or illustrations with a spreadsheet or other software.

- Use a ruler to make straight lines in sketches and hand-drawn diagrams. If you write by hand,

write neatly and legibly.

Although submitting work of this high quality requires what some might consider "extra" effort, it serves two

important purposes directly related to learning:

1. The effort you expend in clearly explaining your work helps you learn. By writing down

what you are thinking, and then reading or hearing someone else read what you wrote, you

involve multiple brain areas and establish connections between them. This reinforces your

learning, even if it is about something you think you already understand.

2. By making your work clear and self-contained so that you can read it without referring to a

textbook or some other source, it will be a much more useful study guide when you review

for a quiz or exam.

You know what high-quality work looks like. With a little extra time and effort, you can make your

own work look that way, too.

1 ©2001 Jeffrey O. Bennett and 2017 John Anderson



EMAIL, INTERNET, AND PERSONAL INFORMATION ASSIGNMENT

This “EIPI” assignment is worth 2% of your overall grade (see “Components of Your Grade” above). On

Monday, 16 January 2017, you will receive an email message from me with the words “Email, Internet, and

Personal Information Assignment” in the subject line. That message will contain instructions specifying how

to submit the information listed in the table at the bottom of this page. The purpose of the EIPI assignment is

make sure you can receive email sent to your UNF email address, to introduce you to the web sites you’ll

need to use for your CNA assignments, and to provide me with some personal information about you. To get

full credit for the EIPI assignment, you must submit the information listed in the table at the bottom of this

page in the manner specified in the email message by 11:59 PM on Friday, 20 January 2017.

You can prepare for the EIPI even before you receive the email message by spending at least an hour

exploring the same web sites you use for Current News in Astronomy assignments (see “Components of

Your Grade” above)—space.com, nasa.gov/news, spaceflightnow.com, and universetoday.com—as well as

any astronomy-related links on those sites that interest you. Your response to #9 below will be based on this

web-surfing exercise. When you submit your assignment, be sure you have followed the guidelines in “Pre-

senting Homework and Writing Assignments” on the previous page.

ITEMS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE EIPI

1. Your name and UNF N number

2. Your telephone number

3. Your hometown and high school

4. Your status at UNF (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, postgraduate student, transient student)

5. If you are a postgraduate or transient student, what institution did you come from? If not, answer

“N/A”.

6. Your major

7. A brief description of your educational and career goals.

8. A single paragraph describing what you hope to learn in this class. (Use the writing guidelines on

page 7.)

9. A single paragraph briefly describing something you learned by exploring the web sites listed

above. (Use the writing guidelines on page 7.)

10. A single paragraph answering this question: “What is science?” This is not a test, so there is no

“right” answer, and no research is necessary. I want you to tell me honestly what you think sci-

ence is. Later in the course I will ask you to answer this question again to see if you have changed

your mind. (Use the writing guidelines on page 7.)


GROUP CONSTELLATION PROJECT

DUE IN CLASS ON MONDAY, 3 APRIL 2017

This project has two components, an observation log and a research essay, and counts 15% of your over-

all grade. You must work in groups of two or three students on both components.

THE OBSERVATION LOG (signed certification required, see below)

The observation log is designed to help you learn how to find objects in the sky such as planets, stars, and

constellations, and also to see how they move in the sky over the course of time. From among the con-

stellations that will be visible in the night sky throughout the time between now and when the project is

due on the 3rd of April, pick a constellation that contains at least one bright star. Use your star wheel (The

Night Sky) to help you choose an appropriate constellation (bright stars = big dots on the star wheel).

Choose a single bright star in your constellation, and make a total of at least five (5) naked eye ob-

servations, each one about two weeks from the last, of the altitude and azimuth of that same star. IM-

PORTANT NOTE: your bright star CANNOT be Polaris, the North Star, because it doesn’t move

(much) in the sky. Here are some helpful definitions:

– The horizon is what you are looking at when you stand up and look straight ahead.

– The altitude is the number of degrees that your star is above the horizon when you observe it. The

altitude of a star on the horizon is 0. The altitude of one at the zenith (straight overhead) is 90. See

Figure 2.6 in the textbook.

– The azimuth is the number of degrees between true north (the point on the horizon directly below the

North Star, Polaris) and the point on the horizon directly below your star, measured clockwise from

true north. In Figure 2.6 in the textbook, “direction” is similar to azimuth. As an example, these are

the azimuths of the cardinal directions: North is 0° (and also 360, which is sometimes more conven-

ient to use), East is 90°, South is 180°, and West is 270°. Polaris, and therefore true north, can be

found by following the “pointer stars” of the Big Dipper (see your star wheel and Figure 2.13 in the

textbook).

You use a very simple tool to measure altitude and azimuth: your hand on the end of your outstretched

arm! It turns out that if you hold your arm straight out and spread your fingers wide, the angular separa-

tion between the tip of your thumb and the tip of your little finger is about 20°, the angular width of your

clenched fist is about 10°, and the angle spanned by the tip of your finger is about 1° (see Figure 2.7 in

the textbook). By moving various combinations of these from the horizon up to the star you can measure

the altitude, and by moving various combinations of them sideways from true north to the point on the

horizon directly below the star you can measure the azimuth.

You should be able to measure altitude and azimuth to within a few degrees of the correct value us-

ing this hand measurement method. Try it and check your result to see how well you did with a planetar-

ium program like Stellarium, the free one mentioned on page 3 above. You may use a planetarium pro-

gram to check your hand measurements, but you may NOT use one to get your altitude and azimuth

measurements. The measurements recorded in your observation log must be made by the hand meas-

urement method in the real night sky, and all members of your group have to sign a statement certifying

that to be the case to get credit for the log.

Try to make your observations at about the same time each night and about every two weeks, so you

can get a sense of how the constellation moves in the sky over time as a result of the Earth’s motion

around the Sun. Take advantage of every clear night that you can. The last page of this syllabus is a log

sheet on which to record your observations. For each observation, you must legibly record the names of

the constellation and the star, the date and time you made the observation, the approximate latitude and

longitude of your observing location (Jacksonville is approximately 81W 30N), the hand-measured az-

imuth of the star in degrees, the hand-measured altitude of the star in degrees, and the weather conditions

(clear, partly cloudy, hazy, etc.). An example observation of Polaris (not an eligible star for your project)

is on the first line of the log sheet. As with any assignment you turn in for this course, your log sheet

should be quality work, so make sure you write legibly and spell everything correctly, because points may

be deducted if you do not. At the bottom of the log sheet there is an “Observation Log Certification

Statement”. Sign the certification statement after you have made all of your observations to certify that

you made the observations using the hand measurement method in the real night sky on the dates written

into the log. All members of your group must sign the Observation Log Certification Statement for the

group to get any credit for the observations—NO EXCEPTIONS!


THE RESEARCH ESSAY (signed certification required, see below)

Comparing Mythological and Scientific Explanations

Since ancient and probably prehistoric times, people have identified patterns in the night sky, and created

stories to explain how those patterns got there. The older stories are part of the mythology of virtually

every culture. Modern science also has an explanation—a scientific story—for how the patterns got

there. This research essay asks you to think about the differences and similarities between mythological

and scientific explanations—and by extension, mythology and science in general. The explanations

themselves are clearly different on the surface, but are they similar in other ways?

So, choose a single myth from a single culture that explains the origin of the pattern of stars tradi-

tionally associated with the constellation that contains the star you observed for the observation log.

Choose only one (1) myth from only one (1) culture! Write an original research-based essay comparing

the scientific and mythological explanations of how the traditional pattern of stars associated with your

constellation came to look the way it does in the skies of Earth. Be sure to understand that I am NOT

asking about how the stars in the constellation formed, what their physical characteristics are, or why

humans see the patterns. Rather, I am asking you about the explanations of how the stars came to be

arrayed in the traditional constellation pattern that we view from Earth; how did it come to look that

way? The scientific explanation, by the way, is a simple one, and is the same for all constellations. In

your essay, answer the questions in the bulleted list below. Grammar, spelling, and clarity count! Organ-

ize your essay in five sections in the order given in the list, each one with a heading consisting of the

words indicated in bold:

Introduction: What is the main idea (the thesis) of your essay?

The mythological explanation: How does the myth you chose say the star pattern came to be?

The scientific explanation: How does modern science say the star pattern came to be?

Comparing myth and science: If you look deeper than the obvious differences in the specific details

of the stories, how are the mythological and scientific explanations different and how are they similar?

Conclusion: Briefly, how does your essay support your thesis?

Length: Your essay should be 2-3 pages long, double-spaced, but no longer than 3 pages. Use 12-

point Times New Roman or equivalent-sized font. I am looking for quality, not quantity, so there is no

minimum number of words required. Practice economy of style. Use as many words as you need to

make your essay coherent and thorough, but do not exceed the three-page limit.

Bibliography: You must have at least three different published sources for your essay. At least one

must be an Internet source and at least one must be a hard-copy source other than our textbook. Online versions of print media, including but not limited to journals, magazines, and newspapers accessed

through the UNF library or elsewhere, do not count as hard-copy sources. I have placed some books on

reserve in the library that you might find useful. Use in-text citations in your essay, and include a bibliog-

raphy (see http://libguides.unf.edu/citationguide for citation guidelines). Note that the purpose of a cita-

tion is to provide enough information for a reader to find the source. All standard citation styles (APA,

MLA, etc.) are designed to do this, so use whichever one you like.

Illustration: Include one (1) and only one image clearly showing the entire constellation you are writ-

ing about, with the star you observed clearly labeled on it, and the source of the image indicated on the

same page with the image. (This source does not count as one of the sources for your essay.) The image

can be a photograph or a diagram, but don’t draw it yourself.

Format: All text must be typed or printed out from a word processor. When you turn it in, your project

should contain all of the materials listed in the box below in the order given in the box. Do NOT use re-

port covers. Sign the “Research Essay Certification Statement” after you have completed the research

essay portion of the project. All members of your group must sign the research essay certification

statement for the group to get any credit for the essay—NO EXCEPTIONS!

TO GET FULL CREDIT, TURN IN THE FOLLOWING ITEMS STAPLED TOGETHER (DEDUCTION IF NOT) IN THE ORDER

GIVEN (DEDUCTION IF NOT) ON MONDAY, 3 APRIL 2017 (5% PER DAY—NOT PER CLASS—LATE PENALTY):

1. A cover sheet with a title, your name, the term (Spring 2017), and AST2002 10088.

2. The research essay as described above, no more than three double-spaced pages long.

3. The bibliography for the essay as described above.

4. One image of your constellation, labeled and with citation as described above.

5. The signed Research Essay Certification Statement on the next page of this syllabus.

6. The observation log sheet with signed Observation Log Certification Statement.


RESEARCH ESSAY CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

This statement must be signed—a measure of your honesty—and included with your research essay

With our signatures below, we certify on our honor that the research essay in this project is our own work

and written in our own words, with the possible exception of a relatively small number of quotations,

which, if present, we have properly attributed to their source. Except for those properly attributed quota-

tions, we certify that we did not copy from nor plagiarize any source whatsoever in producing this work.

Signed ____________________________________Print Name_________________________________



Your group will NOT get credit for your research essay unless ALL members have signed above.


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AST2002 BASIC ASTRONOMY CONSTELLATION PROJECT LOG SHEET

Constellation Star Date Time Your Location

(town/°lat/°long)

Azimuth

(°)

Altitude

(°) Weather

Jacksonville

Ursa Minor Polaris 1/21 20:32 30 N 360 30 Clear

81 W

OBSERVATION LOG CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

This statement must be signed—a measure of your honesty—to get credit for your observations

With our signatures below, we certify on our honor that all of the observations we have reported on this

log were made by members of our group on the dates listed above using the hand measurement method in

the real outdoor night sky. No other method (computer program, Internet, etc.) was used to obtain the

measurements listed on this log.




Your group will NOT get credit for your observation log unless ALL members have signed above.

spring 2017 syllabus ast2002 10088 basic astronomy page …n00006757/astronomylectures... · spring...

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