Gilroy's Space Science & Astrophysics Blog » due date

Test T04: Black Holes, the Beginning, and the End

gilroy0 — Fri, 15 May 2009 01:27:39 +0000

Download the T04A test and print a copy.
You may use any printed resource or the Internet but you may not consult other people.
The Unit 09 Cosmology class notes are here.
Type your responses and print. Make sure your name is on your paper!
Hand everything in on Wed May 20.
Take the survey. The password is the same as for downloading articles. OPTIONAL.

Protected: Unit 10: Extreme Theory

gilroy0 — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:42:06 +0000

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Protected: Unit 9B: Cosmology

gilroy0 — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:40:39 +0000

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Protected: Unit 9A : Cosmology

gilroy0 — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:35:21 +0000

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Protected: Unit 08 Stellar Remnants

gilroy0 — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:29:58 +0000

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

P11 Topics and Dates

gilroy0 — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:45:38 +0000

I will record what objects people sign up for and what dates they choose here.

Edomwonyi: NGC 2787 on Apr 29
Olson: Antenna Galaxy on Apr 29
Kuo: NGC 1300 on Apr 29
Washington: M81 on Apr 29
Stoop: Hoag’s Object on May 6
Delcore: Sombrero Galaxy on May 6
Pone: Black Eye Galaxy on May 6
Lamendola: Centaura A on May 6
Nicholas: Andromeda on May 13
Hower: Whirlpool Galaxy on May 13
Williams: Starburst Galaxy NGC 253 on May 13

Protected: Unit 07: Life Cycle of Stars

gilroy0 — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:46:35 +0000

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

ICE-02

gilroy0 — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:22:29 +0000

In class on Fri Mar 6 we listened to President Kennedy and Tasmin Archer. As an in-class exercise, I would like you to complete the following assignment. It should only be a handful of paragraphs and is meant to engage you creatively.

H030-001A: Instructions
H030-001B: Text of President Kennedy’s Address to the Joint Session of Congress
H030-001C: Lyrics of “Sleeping Satellite” by Tasmin Archer
Audio of the President’s Address
Audio of “Sleeping Satellite” (to be added later)

Your writing will be collected on Tue Mar 24.

Protected: Unit 05 Articles: Planetary Formation

gilroy0 — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:40:52 +0000

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Kepler ‘s Laws

gilroy0 — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:11:12 +0000

This assignment is meant to be done on Tue Feb 24 while Mr. Gilroy is at the Blood Drive, but you can complete it at a different time if you want. The written part is to be handed in on Thu Feb 26. You will be asked to run some online simulations and answer questions. Please type your responses (you don’t need to type the question), print it out, and hand it in on Thursday.

You should feel free to work together on these but be sure to write your answer in your own words. You should also feel free to utilize the Internet as a resource but again, translate what you find into your own words. In either case, be sure to give credit where it is due!

Run the Kepler’s Law simulation at UNL (http://astro.unl.edu/naap/pos/animations/kepler.swf). NB: You probably want to do this in another tab or window so that you can switch back to these directions.

The “semi-major axis” is essentially what we mean when we say “the distance from the Sun”.

1. Ready the simulation for First Law by making it look like the following (click to enlarge).

2. Play with the slider marked “eccentricity” and see what happens to the orbit.

Q01: What is the effect of increasing the eccentricity? What happens when eccentricity is set to 0?

3. Set up the simulation for 2nd Law by clicking “Kepler’s 2nd Law” on the tabs in the lower left and then make the parameters the same as the following:

4. Press “start animation”. Then press the “start sweeping” button. This will color in a region whose area is 1/16 of the total orbit. (You can change that number.)

Q02: What can be said about the speed of a planet when it is close to the Sun, as opposed to when it is far away? (That is, which is faster.)

Q03: Does your answer depend on the semimajor axis? Does it depend on the eccentricity?

For the next two questions, you will have to look out on the Net. Be sure to give your source.

Q04: What doe the words “aphelion” and “perihelion” mean? What is the root of these words?

Q05: List the planets in order of eccentricity, from least eccentric to most. (The planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.) Where would Pluto fall in this list?