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Spring 2009

Nevada Science Standards
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Astrophysics Spring 2009
Syllabus

exam_view player download

Stardust@Home


Stardust Powerpoint.pptx or Stardust Powerpoint 97-2003

On-Line Resources

Part 1: Planetary Astronomy Part 2: Stellar Astronomy
Ch 2 The Sky and Telescope
Ch 1: Kepler's Laws
Ch 3: Terrestrial Planets
Ch 4: Jovian Planets and their Satellites
Ch 5: Debris
 Ch 6 Interstellar Medium and Star Formation
Ch 7 Main Sequence Stars and the Sun
Ch 8 Stellar Evolution
Ch 9 Stellar Remnants (White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, Black Holes)
Ch 10 Galaxies and Clusters
Ch 11 Cosmology

Class Schedule

Tuesday, 05/12/09
Topic: Nebulas
Objectives:
1. Explain what Nebulas are
Assignments:
1. Nebual Quiz
Monday, 05/04/09
Topic: Main Sequence Stars
Objectives:
1. Explain how star distances are determined
2. Relate Spectra to Star Temperature
Assignments:
1. Main Sequence Stars.ppt
Thursday, 04/23/09
Topic: Star Formation
Objectives:
1.Explain the role of molecular clouds in star and solar system formation
Assignments:
1. Molecular Clouds.ppt or Molecular Clouds.ppsx
2. Stardust at Home
Tuesday, 04/21/09
Topic: Star Formation
Objectives:
1. Describe the 4-Fources
2. Explain how heavy elements are formed
3. Describe the fate of stars
Assignments:
1. Life of stars video questions
Wednesday, 04/08/09
Topic: The Sun
Objectives:
1. Plot the Solar Cycle, 1700 to 2007
2. Explain how the electron was discovered
3. Describe the fate of the Sun
Assignments:
1. Graph the solar cycle, sunspots vs. years
2. Graph J.J. Thomson's results of a moving charge in an electric field
3. Video Questions for "Death of the Sun"
Monday, 03/23/09
Topic: Fusion in the Sun
Homework: Fusion in the Sun
Tuesday, 03/03/09
Topic: Comets
Homework: Comet
In-Class Work: Solar System Project
1. Video: Comet
Wednesday, 02/25/09
Topic: Jupiter
Homework: Jupiter
In-Class Work:
1. Video: Jupiter
Monday, 02/23/09
Topic: Pluto
Homework: Pluto
In-Class Work:
1. Video: Pluto.
Thursday, 02/19/09
Topic: The Outer Planets and Pluto
Homework: The Outer Planets
In-Class Work:
1. Video: The Outer Planets. 10 Bullets each on Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus
2. Video: Pluto. 30-Bullets
Web Assignment: Write a 1/2- 1 page summary on each article
1. The Green Comet
2. One-way Mission to Mars
Tuesday, 02/17/09
Topic: Determining a Planets Mass using Kepler's and Newton's Laws
Homework: N/A
In-Class Work: 1. Determining the Mass of a Planet
2. Video: The Outer Planets
Thursday, 02/12/09
Topic: Determining a Planets Mass using Kepler's and Newton's Laws
Homework: N/A
In-Class Work: 1. Determining the Mass of a Planet
2. New Horizons Spacecraft
Tuesday, 02/10/09
Topic: Kepler's Laws and Saturn
Homework: N/A
In-Class Work: 1) Kepler's Laws and 2) Video: Saturn
On-Line Assignments: 1. Eccentricity
2. Kepler's Laws
Friday, 02/06/09
Topic: Kepler's Laws and Circular Motion
Homework: N/A
In-Class Work: 1) Kepler's Laws
On-Line Assignments: N/A
Friday, 01/23/09
Topic: Ch 30: Lenses
Homework: Ch 30 Questions: 1-13, 24-30, 36-42, 57-59
In-Class Work: 1) Ch 1 Quiz, the Night Sky, 2) V-Lab 27: Lenses
On-Line Assignments: Has the Moon changed its face?
Wednesday, 01/21/09
Topic: The Night Sky
Homework: Read and Answer Questions in Ch 1
In-Class Work: Read Ch 1 and/or do on-line assignments
On-Line Assignments:
1) Solar Declination
2) Retrograde Motion
3) Parallax
4) Lunar Phases
5) Celestial Poles
6) Star Position
Monday, 01/12/09
Topic: Ch 2 Sky and telescope
Homework: TBA
In-Class Work: TBA
On-Line Stuff: 1) Create account on Heaven's Above

Jack C. Davis Observatory (JCDO), Carson City, NV Sun Pictures


3-7-09
3-7-09
3-7-09

3-7-09

The Earth's Magnetic Field

Spectra of Stars

The Sun at different wavelengths


Radio Wave (10.7 cm)
Microwave (1.7 cm)
Infrared (1,083 nm)
Visible
Ultraviolet (19.5 nm)
X-Ray (10 nm)
Blackbody Radiation Applet
Element Spectra
Electromagnetic Spectrum Applet
Spectrum_color Applet
HR Diagram Applet
Astronomy Applets
HR Activities
HR Applet 2
Nick Strobel's Astronomy Notes
Physics Java Applets
Blackbody Spectrum

Courtesy of NASA and the University of California, Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory

Geomagnetic Event Observation Network by Students (GEONS)

The THEMIS Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) team has established ten ground-based magnetometer stations each located across the United States and Canada, including WNCC's Jack C. Davis Observatory. High school students and teachers are helping collect data for NASA's THEMIS mission to study space storms. The network of these teachers, students, and magnetometers together with other students who participate using the web is called the Geomagnetic Event Observation Network by Students (GEONS). Current Carson City Schools involved are Carson High School and Carson Middle School
Solar X-rays:

Geomagnetic Field:
Status
Status
SOHO Observatory
  
From n3kl.org

Carson City, NV: 24 Hour Magnetic Field Plots
click on the images below for real-time displays


Spectrograph
XYZ-Plot		 HDB-Plot

*Waves in the Earth's magnetic field have a frequency that is given on the y-axis.

*The color represents the amount of power in the waves:

*Red indicates a lot of power and interesting space weather. However, it can also indicate cars passing by the school or other moving metal nearby the magnetometer.

*Blue very little power.

*Green-yellow is solid background noise in the magnetometer.

Time is on the x-axis in Universal Time. The y-axis measures the magnetic field (nanotesla). There are three panels representing the Earth's magnetic field:

1) 1st pannel X-direction: Centered on the North-South Magnetic Line
2) 2nd pannel Y-direction: is centered perpendicular to X which is East-West
3) 3rd pannel Z-direction: is centered on perpendicular to earths surface, Up-Down

Earth's magnetic field strength is largest in the Z panel, this means that Earth's magnetic field in the U.S. is mostly downward. The next largest magnetic field strength is in the X panel, indicating that Earth's magnetic field in the U.S. points strongly northward towards Earth's magnetic pole.

Time is on the x-axis in Universal Time. These are three panels representing Earth's magnetic field:

1) 1st panel shows the magnetic field strength in units of nanotesla in the H-direction: the direction horizontal to Earth's surface like the way in which a typical compass points
2) 2nd panel shows the angle (D) from the X-direction (close to magnetic north) where the magnetic field is pointing
3) 3rd panel shows the total magnetic field strength at this location.

Each HDB plot represents magnetic field data observed at the Jack C. Davis observatory. Because the angle is so small in the D panel, this means that the horizontal directional changes in Earth's magnetic field due to space weather or electrical currents nearby are very small compared with Earth's total magnetic field.

GEONS Archive Data
Carson City: 30-Minute Plots
Earth's Magnetic Field Calculator
Magnetometer ASCII Data
Template

Courtesy of NASA and the University of California, Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory

NOAA: Space Weather Now K-index Info Space Weather.com Wrath of RA Space Weather Center IMF

NOAA Space weather Scales, disturbances in the geomagnetic field caused by gusts in the solar wind that blows by Earth.

Δx (nT) K-index NOAA Geomagnetic Storm Level
> 500 K = 9 G5: Extreme
330-500 K = 8 G4: Severe
200-330 K = 7 G3: Strong
120-200 Kp = 6 G2: Moderate
70-120 K = 5 G1: Minor
40-70
20-40
10-20
5-10
0-5		 K = 4
K = 3
K = 2
K = 1
K = 0		 G0: Below storm alert

Geomagnetic Events Observation by Carson High School Students


Average Daily Magnetic Field Strength
Daily K-indices


Kp (Planetary), Courtesy of NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

January 2008

Date
Magnetic Field Strength, B (nT)
ASCII Data Calculations
K-Indices
Click on the links to see spectrographs for k ≥ 5
Sunspots
Carson City, NV
39.19 N
119.75 W
Loysburg, PA
40.17 N
78.38 W
Pineridge, SD
43.11 N
102.60 W
Petersburg, AK
56.83 N
133.16 W
McGrath, AK
62.97 N
155.62 W
Kiana, AK
66.98 N
160.43 W
Carson City, NV
KIndices
Loysburg, PA
KIndices
Pineridge, SD
KIndices
Petersburg, AK
KIndices
McGrath, AK
KIndices
Kiana, AK
KIndices
Estimated
Planetary
Kp
1/31/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1/30/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1/29/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1/28/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1/27/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1/26/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1/25/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1/24/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1/23/08
50,047
 
 
 
 
 
11122223
 
 
 
 
 
00100112
 
1/22/08
50,047
 
 
 
 
 
01101223
 
 
 
 
 
01000101
 
1/21/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11111111
 
Carson City, NV
39.19 N
119.75 W
Loysburg, PA
40.17 N
78.38 W
Pineridge, SD
43.11 N
102.60 W
Petersburg, AK
56.83 N
133.16 W
McGrath, AK
62.97 N
155.62 W
Kiana, AK
66.98 N
160.43 W
Carson City, NV
KIndices
Loysburg, PA
KIndices
Pineridge, SD
KIndices
Petersburg, AK
KIndices
McGrath, AK
KIndices
Kiana, AK
KIndices
Estimated
Planetary
Kp
1/20/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13212122
 
1/19/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11333312
 
1/18/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
33312322
 
1/17/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31122223
 
1/16/08
50,055
 
 
 
 
 
23323233
 
 
 
 
 
33332223
 
1/15/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
32223202
 
1/14/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
33343333
 
1/13/08
56,375
 
 
 
 
9
 
 
 
 
 
63359876
32213332
 
1/12/08
 
 
 
 
 
56,412
 
 
 
 
 
32231132
00112432
 
1/11/08
 
 
 
 
 
56,428
 
 
 
 
 
66531132
10110011
 
Carson City, NV
39.19 N
119.75 W
Loysburg, PA
40.17 N
78.38 W
Pineridge, SD
43.11 N
102.60 W
Petersburg, AK
56.83 N
133.16 W
McGrath, AK
62.97 N
155.62 W
Kiana, AK
66.98 N
160.43 W
Carson City, NV
KIndices
Loysburg, PA
KIndices
Pineridge, SD
KIndices
Petersburg, AK
KIndices
McGrath, AK
KIndices
Kiana, AK
KIndices
Estimated
Planetary
Kp
1/10/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20011101
 
1/09/08
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
32211011
 
1/08/08
50,068
 
 
 
 
56,380
01010233
 
 
 
 
33587775
23221442
 
1/07/08
 
 
 
 
 
N/A
 
 
 
 
 
N/A
44233012
 
1/06/08
 
 
 
 
 
56,391.32
 
 
 
 
 
56599866
24223333
 
1/05/08
 
 
 
 
 
56,378
 
 
 
 
 
33779867
22444434
12
1/04/08
50,062
 
 
 
 
56,399
01011213
 
 
 
 
21431113
00000102
 
1/03/08
50,064
 
 
 
 
 
10110022
 
 
 
 
 
00000000
 
1/02/08
N/A
52,334
 
 
 
56,406
N/A
00012331
 
 
 
12142221
00000000
13
1/01/08
50,067
 
 
 
 
56,407
01010233
 
 
 
 
33232222
11001101
11
GEONS Archive Data 2007
Astronomy Related Links
Western Nevada College SETI Variable Stars
The Planetary Society NASA  
Sky and Telescope Heavens-Above  
Windows to the Universe UC Berkeley-Space Science Laboratory  
UC Berkeley/NASA-THEMIS Project GEONS  
Fleischman Plantarium Astronomical Society of Nevada  
Current NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Missions Space.com Astronomy Calender
Gravity Probe B Astrophotography  
CNN Space Science News Fox Science News University of Arizona Astronomy
UC Berkeley Astronomy UC Berkeley Space Science Lab Cal Tech Astronomy
Jet Propolsion Laboratory Stanford Astronomy Cambridge Astronomy
University of Washington Astronomy UCLA Astronomy MIT Astronomy
Mauna Keo Observatories Palomar Observatory University of Virginia Observatories
NOAA Pine Mt. Observatory National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Multimedia Links

Videos Interactive Applets PowerPoints
Feather vs. The Hammer Lunar Eclipse Aug 2007 Time Dilation The Drake Equation Mr. Parent's: Earth's Magnetic Field
    Kepler's 1st Law Kepler's 2nd Law Gravity Probe B
    Kepler's 3rd Law Elemental Emission/Absorption Spectra The Science Behind Magnetometer Signatures
    Powers of Ten Kepler Motion  
    Stellar Parallax Lunar Phases  
    Galilean Moons Hubble Expansion Law  

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