Astronomy Project due in 24 HRS (3 pg Paper)
Instructions
Most astronomers use sophisticated equipment to collect data (such as radio telescopes, photoelectric detectors, and spectrographs). This equipment is often controlled by computer-driven automatic systems. In addition to collecting data firsthand, astronomers also spend much of their time analyzing already existing data and writing research papers. They also present their work in oral presentations to share their conclusions with the astronomy research community.
EXISTING DATA SETS
A scientific research paper that answers a research question that can be addressed using existing astronomical data.
Existing data can be found in many places:
1. Planetary Data Sets – If you are interested in asking a question about our solar system planets, try NASA’s Planetary Data System (PDS), which archives scientific data collected from planetary missions, astronomical observations, and laboratory measurements. Go to: http://pds.nasa.gov or the data portal at http://img.pds.nasa.gov/portal
2. Planetary Photos – If you want to ask a question that can be answered using planetary images, NASA also provides a searchable collection of press release images from NASA planetary missions. For example, if you were interested in analyzing the surface of Jupiter to better understand its disappearing cloud stripe, you might look at images of Jupiter during the period of its disappearance (May 2010). Go to: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html
3. Planetary and Satellite Maps – If you had a research question about the locations or scale of features on our solar system’s planets and moons, you can create maps of their surfaces, with customizable locations and scales. Go to: http://www.mapaplanet.org or the Planetary Image Atlas at: http://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/search/search.html#QuickSearch
4. Galaxy Zoo – If your research question moves beyond our solar system, you can participate in an interactive project of galaxy research, classifying millions of galaxies taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Go to: http://www.galaxyzoo.org
5. SETI – If your research question has to do with the origin, nature, and prevalence of life in the universe, you can download and analyze radio telescope data housed by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute. Go to: http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu or http://www.seti.org
6. CLEA – The Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy develops laboratory exercises that illustrate modern astronomical techniques using digital data and color images. For example, you can determine the speed of light using observations of the eclipses of Jupiter’s moon Io. Your question has to be unique, but this site may give you good examples of how to formulate a research question. Go to: http://www3.gettysburg.edu/~marschal/clea/CLEAhome.html.
7. SLOOH – If your research question requires a live online telescope, try SLOOH (which comes from the word “slew” which is a movement of a telescope). SLOOH is a robotic telescope service that can be viewed through a web browser. Go to: www.slooh.com
8. Micro-observatories – There are other micro-observatories available online, some of which send the image to you by email. Examples include the Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s MicroObservatory. Go to: http://mo-www.harvard.edu/MicroObservatory/ There are also free interactive observing tools available from Sky & Telescope that can help you answer research questions about the setting Sun, which planets are visible in the night sky, phases of the moon, track satellites, calculate transit times of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, or calculate the dates and times of the eclipsing variable star Algol. Go to: www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/javascript
STRUCTURE OF YOUR RESEARCH PAPER
The goal of the scientific research paper is to present in writing a research question that can be answered by analyzing an already existing set of astronomical data, like the data available at the web sites listed above. Basically, your research paper has to contain seven parts, labeled as follows:
(A) Research Problem – What problem exists in astronomy that you would like to solve? In other words, why is your research significant or important? Remember to cite any literature that you read from other sources.
(B) Research Question – What question would you like to answer to solve this problem?
(C) Hypothesis - What educated guess do you have about your research question? In other words, what do you think the answer to your question might be and why?
(D) Research Methods – What steps did you follow to answer this question? What data did you analyze? Where did you get this data? How did you analyze the data?
(E) Findings – What did you find after analyzing your data? Remember to cite all evidence (data) used to support your claims. You should include a graph of your data in this section.
(F) Conclusions – What conclusions can you draw about your findings? How do you think these findings will apply to other areas of astronomy?
(G) Bibliography – A list of references.
* Papers must be formatted into the seven sections listed above and each section must be labeled distinctly. Papers not formatted correctly WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
When you write the research paper, divide your narrative into these seven parts and label them accordingly. The length of your paper depends on your research question, but should run between 3 and 4 pages. This page range does not include your Title Page or Bibliography.
You will be expected to cite references from Internet, books, and journal articles that provide evidence to support your Research Problem. List all of your references in a Bibliography.
