Title: SOFIA Education/Public Outreach with the Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (EXES). ... In... more Title: SOFIA Education/Public Outreach with the Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (EXES). ... In addition to traditional laboratory exercises [eg the celestial sphere, optics, optical telescopes, spectroscopy, use of CCD cameras, and error analysis], there will be practice in using ...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jul 5, 2023
This short survey of the History of Astronomy provides a brief overview of the ubiquitous nature ... more This short survey of the History of Astronomy provides a brief overview of the ubiquitous nature of astronomy at its origins, followed by a summary of the key events in the development of astronomy in Western Europe to the time of Isaac Newton. Goals Give a schematic overview of the history of astronomy in different areas throughout the world, in order to show that astronomy has always been of interest to all the people. List the main figures in the history of astronomy who contributed to major changes in approaching this discipline up to Newton: Tycho Brahe, Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. Conference time constraints prevent us from developing the history of astronomy in the present day, but more details can be found in other chapters of this book PreHistory With dark skies, ancient peoples could see the stars rise in the eastern part of the sky, move upward, and set in the west. In one direction, the stars moved in tiny circles. Today, for those in the northern hemisphere, when we look north, we see a star at that position-the North Star, or Polaris. It isn't a very bright star: 48 stars in the sky are brighter than it, but it happens to be in an interesting place. In ancient times, other stars were aligned with Earth's North Pole, or sometimes, there were no stars in the vicinity of the pole. Since people viewed the sky so often, they noticed that a few of the brighter objects didn't rise and set exactly with the stars. Of course, the Moon was by far the brightest object in the night sky. It rose almost an hour later each night, and appeared against a different background of stars. Its shape also changed in cycles (what we now call phases). But some of these lights in the sky moved differently from the others. These came to be called wanderers or planets by the Greeks. Virtually every civilization on Earth noticed, and named, these objects. Some ancient people built monuments such as standing circles, like Stonehenge in England, NASE publications Geometry of Light and Shadows 6 or tombs such as the ones in Menorca in Spain that aligned with the Southern Cross in 1000 BC. The Babylonians were great recorders of astronomical phenomena, but the Greeks built on that knowledge to try to "explain" the sky. The Greeks Most ancient Greeks, including Aristotle (384 BCE-322 BCE), thought that Earth was in the center of the universe, and it was made of four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Beyond the Earth was a fifth element, the aether (or quintessence), that made up the points of light in the sky. How did these wanderers move among the stars? Mostly, they went in the same direction that the stars went: rising in the east and moving toward the west. But sometimes, they seemed to pause and go backwards with respect to the stars. This backward motion is called "retrograde" motion, to tell it apart from the forward motion, called "prograde." The Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (c. CE 90-c. CE 168) worked in Alexandria in North Africa in the second century CE. Ptolemy wanted to be able to predict the positions of planets and came up with a mathematical solution. Following Aristotle, he placed the Earth at the center of the universe. The Moon and the planets go around it in nested circles that got bigger with distance from Earth. What if the planets really move on small circles whose centers are on the big circles? Then, on some of the motion on the small circles, they'd be moving faster backwards than the centers of these circles move forward. For those of us on Earth, we'd see the planets move backwards. Those small circles are called "epicycles," and the big circles are called "deferents." Ptolemy's idea of circles moving on circles held sway over western science for over a thousand years. Going from observation to theory using mathematics was a unique and important step in the development of western science. Although they didn't have the same names for the objects they observed, virtually every culture on Earth watched the skies. They used the information to set up calendars and predict the seasonal cycles for planting, harvesting, or hunting as well as religious ceremonies. Like the Greeks, some of them developed very sophisticated mathematics to predict the motions of the planets or eclipses, but this does not mean that they attempted what we would call a scientific theory. Here are some examples: Africa The standing stones at Nabta in the Nubian Desert pre-date Stonehenge by 1000 years. Egyptians used astronomy to align their pyramids as well as extend their religious beliefs to include star lore. Petroglyphs at Namoratunga (Kenya) share aspects of modern cattle brands. Star lore comes from all areas of Africa, from the Dogon region of Mali, to West Africa, to Ethiopia, to South Africa.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jul 5, 2023
This article contains useful information about stars and stellar evolution for teachers of Physic... more This article contains useful information about stars and stellar evolution for teachers of Physical Science at the secondary school level. It also includes links to the typical school science curriculum, and suggests some relevant activities for students. Goals Understand stellar evolution and the processes that determine it. Understand the Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram Understand the system of absolute and apparent magnitudes. Cosmic Lights 11 These four simple principles apply to all stars. They can be expressed as equations, and solved on a computer. This gives a model of the Sun or any star: the pressure, density, pressure, and energy flow at each distance from the centre of the star. This is the basic method by which astronomers learn about the structure and evolution of the stars. The model is constructed for a specific assumed mass and composition of the star; and from it astronomers are able to predict the star's radius, power and other observed properties. (figure 5). Astronomers have recently developed a very powerful method of testing their models of the structure of the Sun and stars-helioseismology or, for other stars, asteroseismology. The Sun and stars are gently vibrating in thousands of different patterns or modes. These can be observed with sensitive instruments, and compared with the properties of the vibrations that would be predicted by the models. The Energy source of the Sun and Stars Scientists wondered, for many centuries, about the energy source of the Sun and stars. The most obvious source is the chemical burning of fuel such as oil or natural gas but, because of the very high power of the Sun (4 x 10 26 W), this source would last for only a few thousand years. But until a few centuries ago, people thought that the ages of the Earth and Universe were only a few thousand years, because that was what the Bible seemed to say! After the work of Isaac Newton, who developed the Law of Universal Gravitation, scientists realized that the Sun and stars might generate energy by slowly contracting. Gravitational (potential) energy would be converted into heat and radiation. This source of energy would last for a few tens of millions of years. Geological evidence, however, suggested that the Earth, and therefore the Sun, was much older than this.
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, Aug 1, 2015
The main purpose of this panel discussion was to encourage conversation around potential collabor... more The main purpose of this panel discussion was to encourage conversation around potential collaborations between the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) and IAU Divisions. The discussion was facilitated by the OAD and the conversation revolved mainly around two questions: (i) What should the OAD be doing to enhance the work of the Divisions? (ii) What could the Divisions (both members and respective scientific discipline in general) contribute towards the implementation of the IAU strategic plan?
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2002
"Decoding Starlight" is the name of the... more "Decoding Starlight" is the name of the 2,400 square-foot, interactive, and bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibit on spectroscopy that opened in March 2002 at the new McDonald Observatory Visitors Center in Fort Davis, Texas. The exhibit was designed by McDonald Observatory public outreach and education staff, astronomers, Sears-Russell Consultants, Inc. of Canada and built by ExPlus, Inc., Dulles, Virginia. Rhotenberry-Wellen Architects, Midland,
This paper will present data to ascertain how well the AASTRA project is meeting its program goal... more This paper will present data to ascertain how well the AASTRA project is meeting its program goals. The goals of AASTRA are: - to use astronomy as a vehicle to promote activity-based science teaching - to enhance the teaching of astronomy in elementary and secondary schools - to bring science education in line with the national topical goals as reflected by the NRC National Science Education Standards, AAAS' Project 2061, and NSTA Scope, Sequence, and Coordination projects - to provide astronomy workshops to elementary and secondary teachers using hands-on astronomy activities - to encourage the professionalism of the participants - to increase interactions among professional astronomers, science educators, and elementary/secondary school teachers. Qualitative and quantitative information collected by the evaluation team are used in an on-going evaluation of the program. Among the data collected are: baseline information about the participants, observations at the summer institute, interviews with a random sample of participants, and reflective surveys concerning the effectiveness of the goals and progress of the participants (administered 10-months following the summer institute). In addition, each teacher who attends a peer-led workshop completes an evaluation instrument. These forms and summaries of the workshops are submitted by the agents to the AASTRA office. The summer-institute site directors, astronomy education consultant, and project manager monitor a sample of the peer-led workshops through personal visits. Modifications to the project based on this on-going evaluation are used to improve the quality of the delivery of the program. AASTRA is supported by NSF under grant ESI 93-53377 and the AAS. Additional support is provided by Loyola University of Chicago, Northern Arizona University of Flagstaff, University of Maryland at College Park, and the University of Texas at Austin.
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Dec 1, 2007
Ralph Robert Robbins, Jr., died on 2 December 2005, in Kyle, Texas. His wife, Maria Elena Robbins... more Ralph Robert Robbins, Jr., died on 2 December 2005, in Kyle, Texas. His wife, Maria Elena Robbins, his daughters Julia Robbins Kelso and Stephanie Juarez Balles, his son Matthew Juarez, and five grandchildren survive him. Bob was on the faculty at the University of Texas from 1968 until his retirement in 2003. Bob was born in Wichita, Kansas, on 2
ABSTRACT McDonald Observatory has a long history of providing teacher professional development (P... more ABSTRACT McDonald Observatory has a long history of providing teacher professional development (PD), and recently we have developed a new workshop model for more advanced participants. By choosing a select group of middle and high school teachers from those previously involved in our past PD programs, we have created a joint workshop / observing run program for them. After traveling to the observatory, the teachers participate in an an observing run with a research astronomer. The teachers are trained first-hand how to take observations, operate the telescope, set up the instrument, and monitor observing conditions. The teachers are fully put in the role of observer. They are also given background information before and during the workshop related to the science and data they are helping to collect. The teachers work in teams to perform the nightly observations with an astronomer. They also perform new interactive classroom activities with education staff, and use other telescopes on the mountain. This is a unique experience for teachers as it allows them to take the resources and experiences directly back to their classrooms and students. They can relay to their students what skills for specific careers in STEM fields are needed. Evaluation from these workshops shows that there is: increased content knowledge among participants, greater impact that will be passed on to their students, and an authentic research experience that can't be replicated in other PD settings. In addition, not only is this program beneficial to the teachers, but this group is a benefit to the education program of McDonald Observatory. Building on an existing PD program (with a 16 year history) we have the opportunity to test out new products and new education endeavors with this devoted group of well-trained teachers, before bringing them to wider teacher and student audiences. This program is currently supported by the NSF grant AST-1211585 (PI Sneden).
Title: SOFIA Education/Public Outreach with the Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (EXES). ... In... more Title: SOFIA Education/Public Outreach with the Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (EXES). ... In addition to traditional laboratory exercises [eg the celestial sphere, optics, optical telescopes, spectroscopy, use of CCD cameras, and error analysis], there will be practice in using ...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jul 5, 2023
This short survey of the History of Astronomy provides a brief overview of the ubiquitous nature ... more This short survey of the History of Astronomy provides a brief overview of the ubiquitous nature of astronomy at its origins, followed by a summary of the key events in the development of astronomy in Western Europe to the time of Isaac Newton. Goals Give a schematic overview of the history of astronomy in different areas throughout the world, in order to show that astronomy has always been of interest to all the people. List the main figures in the history of astronomy who contributed to major changes in approaching this discipline up to Newton: Tycho Brahe, Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. Conference time constraints prevent us from developing the history of astronomy in the present day, but more details can be found in other chapters of this book PreHistory With dark skies, ancient peoples could see the stars rise in the eastern part of the sky, move upward, and set in the west. In one direction, the stars moved in tiny circles. Today, for those in the northern hemisphere, when we look north, we see a star at that position-the North Star, or Polaris. It isn't a very bright star: 48 stars in the sky are brighter than it, but it happens to be in an interesting place. In ancient times, other stars were aligned with Earth's North Pole, or sometimes, there were no stars in the vicinity of the pole. Since people viewed the sky so often, they noticed that a few of the brighter objects didn't rise and set exactly with the stars. Of course, the Moon was by far the brightest object in the night sky. It rose almost an hour later each night, and appeared against a different background of stars. Its shape also changed in cycles (what we now call phases). But some of these lights in the sky moved differently from the others. These came to be called wanderers or planets by the Greeks. Virtually every civilization on Earth noticed, and named, these objects. Some ancient people built monuments such as standing circles, like Stonehenge in England, NASE publications Geometry of Light and Shadows 6 or tombs such as the ones in Menorca in Spain that aligned with the Southern Cross in 1000 BC. The Babylonians were great recorders of astronomical phenomena, but the Greeks built on that knowledge to try to "explain" the sky. The Greeks Most ancient Greeks, including Aristotle (384 BCE-322 BCE), thought that Earth was in the center of the universe, and it was made of four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Beyond the Earth was a fifth element, the aether (or quintessence), that made up the points of light in the sky. How did these wanderers move among the stars? Mostly, they went in the same direction that the stars went: rising in the east and moving toward the west. But sometimes, they seemed to pause and go backwards with respect to the stars. This backward motion is called "retrograde" motion, to tell it apart from the forward motion, called "prograde." The Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (c. CE 90-c. CE 168) worked in Alexandria in North Africa in the second century CE. Ptolemy wanted to be able to predict the positions of planets and came up with a mathematical solution. Following Aristotle, he placed the Earth at the center of the universe. The Moon and the planets go around it in nested circles that got bigger with distance from Earth. What if the planets really move on small circles whose centers are on the big circles? Then, on some of the motion on the small circles, they'd be moving faster backwards than the centers of these circles move forward. For those of us on Earth, we'd see the planets move backwards. Those small circles are called "epicycles," and the big circles are called "deferents." Ptolemy's idea of circles moving on circles held sway over western science for over a thousand years. Going from observation to theory using mathematics was a unique and important step in the development of western science. Although they didn't have the same names for the objects they observed, virtually every culture on Earth watched the skies. They used the information to set up calendars and predict the seasonal cycles for planting, harvesting, or hunting as well as religious ceremonies. Like the Greeks, some of them developed very sophisticated mathematics to predict the motions of the planets or eclipses, but this does not mean that they attempted what we would call a scientific theory. Here are some examples: Africa The standing stones at Nabta in the Nubian Desert pre-date Stonehenge by 1000 years. Egyptians used astronomy to align their pyramids as well as extend their religious beliefs to include star lore. Petroglyphs at Namoratunga (Kenya) share aspects of modern cattle brands. Star lore comes from all areas of Africa, from the Dogon region of Mali, to West Africa, to Ethiopia, to South Africa.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jul 5, 2023
This article contains useful information about stars and stellar evolution for teachers of Physic... more This article contains useful information about stars and stellar evolution for teachers of Physical Science at the secondary school level. It also includes links to the typical school science curriculum, and suggests some relevant activities for students. Goals Understand stellar evolution and the processes that determine it. Understand the Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram Understand the system of absolute and apparent magnitudes. Cosmic Lights 11 These four simple principles apply to all stars. They can be expressed as equations, and solved on a computer. This gives a model of the Sun or any star: the pressure, density, pressure, and energy flow at each distance from the centre of the star. This is the basic method by which astronomers learn about the structure and evolution of the stars. The model is constructed for a specific assumed mass and composition of the star; and from it astronomers are able to predict the star's radius, power and other observed properties. (figure 5). Astronomers have recently developed a very powerful method of testing their models of the structure of the Sun and stars-helioseismology or, for other stars, asteroseismology. The Sun and stars are gently vibrating in thousands of different patterns or modes. These can be observed with sensitive instruments, and compared with the properties of the vibrations that would be predicted by the models. The Energy source of the Sun and Stars Scientists wondered, for many centuries, about the energy source of the Sun and stars. The most obvious source is the chemical burning of fuel such as oil or natural gas but, because of the very high power of the Sun (4 x 10 26 W), this source would last for only a few thousand years. But until a few centuries ago, people thought that the ages of the Earth and Universe were only a few thousand years, because that was what the Bible seemed to say! After the work of Isaac Newton, who developed the Law of Universal Gravitation, scientists realized that the Sun and stars might generate energy by slowly contracting. Gravitational (potential) energy would be converted into heat and radiation. This source of energy would last for a few tens of millions of years. Geological evidence, however, suggested that the Earth, and therefore the Sun, was much older than this.
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, Aug 1, 2015
The main purpose of this panel discussion was to encourage conversation around potential collabor... more The main purpose of this panel discussion was to encourage conversation around potential collaborations between the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) and IAU Divisions. The discussion was facilitated by the OAD and the conversation revolved mainly around two questions: (i) What should the OAD be doing to enhance the work of the Divisions? (ii) What could the Divisions (both members and respective scientific discipline in general) contribute towards the implementation of the IAU strategic plan?
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2002
"Decoding Starlight" is the name of the... more "Decoding Starlight" is the name of the 2,400 square-foot, interactive, and bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibit on spectroscopy that opened in March 2002 at the new McDonald Observatory Visitors Center in Fort Davis, Texas. The exhibit was designed by McDonald Observatory public outreach and education staff, astronomers, Sears-Russell Consultants, Inc. of Canada and built by ExPlus, Inc., Dulles, Virginia. Rhotenberry-Wellen Architects, Midland,
This paper will present data to ascertain how well the AASTRA project is meeting its program goal... more This paper will present data to ascertain how well the AASTRA project is meeting its program goals. The goals of AASTRA are: - to use astronomy as a vehicle to promote activity-based science teaching - to enhance the teaching of astronomy in elementary and secondary schools - to bring science education in line with the national topical goals as reflected by the NRC National Science Education Standards, AAAS' Project 2061, and NSTA Scope, Sequence, and Coordination projects - to provide astronomy workshops to elementary and secondary teachers using hands-on astronomy activities - to encourage the professionalism of the participants - to increase interactions among professional astronomers, science educators, and elementary/secondary school teachers. Qualitative and quantitative information collected by the evaluation team are used in an on-going evaluation of the program. Among the data collected are: baseline information about the participants, observations at the summer institute, interviews with a random sample of participants, and reflective surveys concerning the effectiveness of the goals and progress of the participants (administered 10-months following the summer institute). In addition, each teacher who attends a peer-led workshop completes an evaluation instrument. These forms and summaries of the workshops are submitted by the agents to the AASTRA office. The summer-institute site directors, astronomy education consultant, and project manager monitor a sample of the peer-led workshops through personal visits. Modifications to the project based on this on-going evaluation are used to improve the quality of the delivery of the program. AASTRA is supported by NSF under grant ESI 93-53377 and the AAS. Additional support is provided by Loyola University of Chicago, Northern Arizona University of Flagstaff, University of Maryland at College Park, and the University of Texas at Austin.
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Dec 1, 2007
Ralph Robert Robbins, Jr., died on 2 December 2005, in Kyle, Texas. His wife, Maria Elena Robbins... more Ralph Robert Robbins, Jr., died on 2 December 2005, in Kyle, Texas. His wife, Maria Elena Robbins, his daughters Julia Robbins Kelso and Stephanie Juarez Balles, his son Matthew Juarez, and five grandchildren survive him. Bob was on the faculty at the University of Texas from 1968 until his retirement in 2003. Bob was born in Wichita, Kansas, on 2
ABSTRACT McDonald Observatory has a long history of providing teacher professional development (P... more ABSTRACT McDonald Observatory has a long history of providing teacher professional development (PD), and recently we have developed a new workshop model for more advanced participants. By choosing a select group of middle and high school teachers from those previously involved in our past PD programs, we have created a joint workshop / observing run program for them. After traveling to the observatory, the teachers participate in an an observing run with a research astronomer. The teachers are trained first-hand how to take observations, operate the telescope, set up the instrument, and monitor observing conditions. The teachers are fully put in the role of observer. They are also given background information before and during the workshop related to the science and data they are helping to collect. The teachers work in teams to perform the nightly observations with an astronomer. They also perform new interactive classroom activities with education staff, and use other telescopes on the mountain. This is a unique experience for teachers as it allows them to take the resources and experiences directly back to their classrooms and students. They can relay to their students what skills for specific careers in STEM fields are needed. Evaluation from these workshops shows that there is: increased content knowledge among participants, greater impact that will be passed on to their students, and an authentic research experience that can't be replicated in other PD settings. In addition, not only is this program beneficial to the teachers, but this group is a benefit to the education program of McDonald Observatory. Building on an existing PD program (with a 16 year history) we have the opportunity to test out new products and new education endeavors with this devoted group of well-trained teachers, before bringing them to wider teacher and student audiences. This program is currently supported by the NSF grant AST-1211585 (PI Sneden).
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