Hours: 25
July 2018
Goals of this homeschool astronomy course include the following.
1. To familiarize students with basic terms and concepts concerning study of the universe, galaxies, stars, constellations, and the solar system
2. To familiarize students with tools used to study the skies
3. To familiarize students with the basics of space exploration
4. Be able to identify five constellations in the night sky
5. Learn to use binoculars and spotting scopes to examine objects in the sky
Resources include the following.
1. Selected readings
2. Observing the night sky using the naked eye
3. Lectures and presentations at University of Wyoming Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium
4. Select videos from Crash Course Astronomy video series (YouTube)
5. Worksheets
6. Word Search and Crossword Puzzles
7. Constellation Puzzle (from Amazon.com)
8. Constellation Flashcards
9. Sky Guide iPhone/iPad App
10. Selected challenges from the UW Planetarium Summer of Astronomy Activity Challenge
11. Binoculars and spotting scope
Section I: Home Study (15 hours)
1 – Observing the Universe / Telescopes
Reading: DK Space pp 14-35
Worksheet #1
2 – Stargazing
Reading: DK Space pp 213-239
Worksheet #2
3 – Rockets & Space Exploration
Reading: DK Space pp 66-89
Worksheet #3
4 – Light
Video: Crash Course Astronomy #24
Stump the Teacher: Write 5 True/False questions
5 – Distances
Video: CC Astronomy #25
Stump the Teacher: Write 5 True/False questions
6 – Stars, Sun, Planets, Earth & Moon, and Space Debris
Reading: Usborne Science pp 154-173
Worksheet #6
7 – UW Planetarium Summer of Astronomy Activity Challenge
Worksheet: http://wyomingspacegrant.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/summer2018challenges.pdf
Complete the following worksheets:
1. The Many Faces of the Moon
2. Mighty Gas Giants
3. A Constellation Just for You
4. Meteors!
5. Astronomy All Around Us
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Section II: Planetarium Presentations (10 hours)
University of Wyoming HARRY C. VAUGHAN PLANETARIUM
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Fri, June 29
8:00PM FUTURE SKIES DURATION: 50 MINUTES
The Sun rises and sets each day, constellations change with the seasons, and planets march through the Zodiac. These are the astronomical motions that humans have witnessed over centuries. But the entire universe is constantly evolving and changing our view of the night sky. Tonight will introduce you the night sky’s long-term evolution,
This Month’s Sky – Tues, July 3
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7:00PM THIS MONTH’S SKY DURATION: 45 MINUTES
As the months and seasons change here in Wyoming, new astronomical events occur in our nighttime sky. From constellations to meteor showers to visible planets, This Month’s Sky acts as your guide to these remarkable events and where to find them.
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Friday July 6
8:00PM CREATING AN INTERGALACTIC EMPIRE DURATION: 50 MINUTES
Can we terraform and colonize Mars? Are there other habitable planets outside our own solar system? Can we reach them? Tonight we explore the reality of human colonization on other planets.
8:00-10:00PM FREE TOUR OF OUR STAR OBSERVATORY
Join us any time tonight between 8:00 and 10:00pm on the roof of the Physical Sciences Building to tour our STAR Observatory. Weather permitting, we will set up the telescopes to peer closer into the evening sky.
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Tues, July 10
7:00PM DISTANT WORLDS – ALIEN LIFE? A PLANETARIUM FULL DOME MOVIE DURATION: 50 MINUTES
Does alien life exist out there? In this show, we journey outward to see what it takes for life to develop – starting with life here on Earth and moving out to the rest of our solar system and on to alien planets that orbit distant stars in our galaxy.
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Friday, July 13
8:00PM MONSTERS OF THE COSMOS DURATION: 50 MINUTES
In the grand scheme of the universe, we are but a speck of dust in floating in the cosmic winds. Tonight we’ll take a chilling look into the various ways our speck of dust could come to an end, from the amazing energy of a gamma ray burst or hyper nova, to reality itself ceasing to exist.
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Saturday, July 14
11:00AM THE EARTH’S COMPANION DURATION: 40 MINUTES
The Moon is the Earths constant companion, growing and shrinking, or providing spectacles like eclipses. Today we will look at our most faithful friend in the sky.
Activity: Modeling Craters and Eclipses
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Friday, July 20
8:00PM THE GREAT GIANTS AND THEIR CHILDREN DURATION: 50 MINUTES
The outer planets of our solar system are known as “Gas Giants” due to their tremendous size. With great size comes a pull of gravity so strong that many moons are trapped in orbit around these planets. Join us as we take a voyage to these great giants and witness the dynamic nature of their many moons.
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Friday, July 27
8:00PM FUTUROLOGY DURATION: 50 MINUTES
Human curiosity and imagination have led us to build technological marvels, but when looking into the future it is difficult to differentiate science fiction from science fact. Tonight, let’s take a realistic look into the future of space exploration, and discover the most important scientific instruments ever built.
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Saturday, July 28
11:00AM A HOME BEYOND HOME DURATION: 40 MINUTES
When we look up to the stars, there seems to be and endless amount of space for people to go. Among those stars, there may be a new planet we can call home. So let’s go on an adventure to explore some of these strange new worlds and discover if humanity can find its place among the stars.
Activity: Design an Exo-Planet
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Worksheets
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Worksheet 1 – Observing the Universe / Telescopes
Reading: DK Space pp 14-35
Worksheet
T/F/Maybe
_____ People have always known the earth is round.
_____ A ship sailing over the horizon should get smaller and smaller if the earth is flat.
_____ The orbits of the planets are perfectly circular.
_____ Johannes Kepler (1609) was the first to realize that planets move in a rectangular pattern.
_____ Isaac Newton made the first reflecting telescope (1668).
_____ Sonic the Hedgehog is the fastest thing in the universe.
_____ Light moves at about 670 million mph (miles per hour).
_____ Infrared telescopes detect heat, revealing things hidden by clouds of dust.
_____ Scientists search for radio signals from space using Very Large Array (VLA) telescopes.
_____ Data coming back from the Bubble Space Telescope, launched into earth orbit in 1990, has significantly increased our understanding of the universe.
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Worksheet 2 – Stargazing
Reading: DK Space pp 213-239
T/F/Maybe
____ The nearest star to earth is approximately 30 million miles away.
____ Among stars, the sun is average in size and brightness.
____ Most starts are born in a huge cloud of gas and duster, called a nebula.
____ The larger a star is, the longer its life will be. Some stars will last forever.
____ One supernova can outshine a galaxy containing billions of stars.
____ Interstellar space is the space between stars, which is completely empty.
____ There are only two known solar systems.
____ Most galaxies are believed to contain supermassive black holes at their centers, and a bunch of tiny ones, known as grey holes, around the perimeter.
____ All you have to do to see all the stars in the universe is to go outside at night and look at the sky with the naked eye.
____ Constellations are groups of stars that look like characters, animals, and objects from myths and legends.
____ The 12 constellations of the Zodiac are visible from both the northern and southern hemispheres.
List the 12 constellations of the Zodiac
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
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Worksheet 3 – Rockets & Space Exploration
Reading: DK Space pp 66-89
T/F/Maybe
____ Rockets are sent into space using giant rubber bands from mom’s desk.
____ Humans have been launching into outer space since the very beginning.
____ The Space Bus was the world’s first re-usable spacecraft.
____ Satellites in orbit serve purposes including study of the weather, study of stars, and communication.
____ Space probes are unmanned machines that probe regions beyond the earth’s orbit.
____ When a satellite’s mission is accomplished, it simply self-destructs and disappears.
Answer:
1. What is the term for people who go into space?
2. Give some examples of animals that have gone into space, besides humans.
3. If you could explore space, what would you look for, and why? What kinds of things would you need to take with you?
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Worksheet 4 – Stars, Sun, Planets, Earth & Moon, and Space Debris
Reading: Usborne Science pp 154-173
T/F/Maybe
____ Mars is known as the “green planet” because its of its lush fields of grass.
____ Earth is the only planet with a moon. No other planets have moons.
____ As viewed from the moon, the earth looks just like the moon when the moon is viewed from earth.
____ The moon is kept in orbit around the earth through sheer force of concentration.
____ All planets in the solar system are roughly the same size.
____ Saturn has at least 62 moons.
____ Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.
____ Comets are balls of flavored ice.
List the planets in order, starting from the one closest to the sun.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.