Category: Activities

{ A Changing Cosmos Contents } { All GSS Books } This investigation is based on activity “Explore the Life Cycle of Stars using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey” by Jordan Raddick (Johns Hopkins University), Theresa Moody, and Dr. Wil van der Veen (New Jersey Astronomy Center). For a related investigation in which […]

Investigation 5.3 { A Changing Cosmos Contents } Materials target star in B target star in V  standard star in B  standard star in V  btarg1 vtarg1 btarg1 vtarg1 btarg2 vtarg2 btarg2 vtarg2 btarg3 vtarg3 btarg3 vtarg3 btarg4 vtarg4 btarg4 vtarg4 Activity In this activity you will determine the color of stars that have been […]

{ A Changing Cosmos Contents } { All GSS Books } Based on GEMS Color Analyzers activities and work by Elizabeth E. Roettger, Vivian Hoette, and Kevin McCarron. Use colored filters to decode secret messages, look at rainbows, and learn how astronomers can decode information from the sky. Materials Filters – Roscolux: Medium Red #27, […]

{ A Changing Cosmos Contents } { All GSS Books } A star’s color is a direct effect of the temperature at its surface.  To understand this look at an incandescent light controlled by a dimmer or rheostat.  As the setting of the dimmer changes, thus changing the current to the light bulb and therefore […]

Chapter 5 { A Changing Cosmos Contents } I. Filters Filters are used on telescopes to determine the brightness of an object in a specific color. One use of this information is to estimate the color of stars. Astronomers generally use a set of standard filters, meaning that the color of light each filter lets […]

{ A Changing Cosmos Contents } { All GSS Books } by Rich Lohman Materials Image Processing software such as JS (online app) – https://js9.si.edu JS9-HOU – https://hou-js9plugins.educontinuum.org SalsaJ available from European HOU site Images: AsteroidAustriaFTS.zip asteroidAustriaJPGs.zip Background:   Many of the asteroids which circle the sun are located in the region between the orbits of Mars […]

{ A Changing Cosmos Contents } { All GSS Books } by Rich Lohman Materials Image Processing software such as JS (online app) – https://js9.si.edu JS9-HOU – https://hou-js9plugins.educontinuum.org SalsaJ available from European HOU site Images : asteroid1998wt.zip  (4.2 Mb; FITS) asteroid1998wtJPGs.zip  (840 Kb) Introduction On March 4, 2005, telescopes from two different observatories in the United […]

Investigation AC4.5 { A Changing Cosmos Contents } Materials I. Plotting the Light Curve for a Cepheid A Cepheid was monitored for a 15-day time span, but on only eight of those nights were the skies clear enough to get good images. You are to measure the brightness of the star on each image and […]

{ A Changing Cosmos Contents } { All GSS Books } Image Processing software such as JS (online app) – https://js9.si.edu JS9-HOU – https://hou-js9plugins.educontinuum.org SalsaJ available from European HOU site Image: Mgclust.fts Materials I. The Magnitude Scale Using magnitude scale definitions on the previous page, the following  are examples of determining how many times brighter one […]

{ A Changing Cosmos Contents } { All GSS Books } A basic physics lab activity using a light sensor to measure brightness of light source(s) at various distances.  Materials: Computer light sensor or Photo cell and ohmmeter Light bulb(s) Meter stick What to do: Hook the photocell to the ohmmeter, and check that the […]