Jamieson telescope

TITLE:

Observational astronomy with the Jamieson telescope

AUTHOR:

Benjamin Blonder

GOALS:

• Differentiate between different classes of objects
• Identify and understand major descriptive features of objects (distance, mass, temperature, luminosity)
• Understand distance scales of the universe
• Draw major features of objects

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCESS:

PREPARATION

Materials

• list of objects visible in night sky at appropriate time of year File:Catalog may.xlsx
• guide to astronomy definitions File:Astronomy definitions.docx
• red flashlights
• blankets and sweatshirts

Setup

• prepare Jamieson telescope and dome for nighttime operations

INTRODUCTION/ENGAGEMENT:

• Gather students in warm indoor location shortly after sunset.
• Tell students they will have the chance to look at the night sky through a large telescope, and will have the chance to choose what objects to look at.
• Ask students to think of night-sky objects they know, and share a small amount about each
• Ask students to brainstorm important features of night-sky objects that can help distinguish them (type, age, distance, luminosity, mass, color, location)
• Briefly discuss relevant physics (To be determined - e.g. wavelength, color temperature, distance scales)
• Tell students they will get to choose objects in each category to observe, and will get to make drawings of that object.

EXPLORATION

• Divide students into small groups of 3-4
• Let each group flip through an object catalog and choose an object they wish to see. Let them use the definitions handout to understand any confusing terms.
• Give each group 2-3 minutes to answer a set of questions about their object:
  • In what constellation is it located?
  • What is the history / mythology of the object
  • What type of object is it?
  • How far away from Earth is it? Is it in our galaxy?
  • How old is it?
  • Any other fun facts?

APPLICATION

• Move group to telescope dome and show sky map on computer, introduce students to controls
• Distribute warm blankets if needed
• Choose a group to introduce their object to the other students (use red flashlights if needed)
• Move the telescope! Let one student control the telescope, another, the dome, another, have first viewing through the scope
• Ask each student to view; all students should then answer a set of questions about the object notebook. Use red flashlights if needed.
  • how many objects do you see?
  • what color are they?
  • do they form a shape (ring, line, circle...)?
  • are there satellites present?
  • is there dust present?
  • do the objects have a size or are they points?
• Repeat for all objects and student groups.

ASSESSMENT

• Turn on dome lights
• Ask one student from each group to share their drawing of each object and recap the major features of the object.
• Ask students to brainstorm other features they might like to measure
• Discuss what more might be visible through other larger telescopes

RESOURCES

• History of Astronomy [1]
• Cosmic distance scales [2]
• Introductory astronomy and astrophysics [3]
• SIMBAD database (all objects in sky with photos and details) [4]