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Space Exploration & Astronomy Today

Space Exploration & Astronomy Today. These careers are just… out of this world!. Think about what astronomers do Draw a picture or two of an astronomer at work on a typical work day / night Be sure to include a short caption! Be prepared to share your work with others. Activity Time!.

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Space Exploration & Astronomy Today

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  1. Space Exploration & Astronomy Today These careers are just… out of this world!

  2. Think about what astronomers do Draw a picture or two of an astronomer at work on a typical work day / night Be sure to include a short caption! Be prepared to share your work with others Activity Time!

  3. What Did You Draw?

  4. What ClipArt Had to Draw

  5. Is That Drawing Accurate? • Astronomers spend only a few night per year observing • Typically, less than 5 • Many astronomers don’t even use telescopes • Astronomers never look through telescopes • Eyes aren’t sensitive or objective enough for astronomy • Eyes don’t create a permanent, reproducible copy of what they see • No research observatory in the world has a telescope with an eyepiece

  6. Can Astronomers… • Take a star into a lab and dissect it? • Make a solar system by combining chemicals in test tubes? • Send instruments to the inside of the Sun or planets? • Watch a star like the Sun evolve over its 10,000,000,000 year lifetime?

  7. ??????? Computers Spectrometers Spacecraft Space Telescopes Earth-bound telescopes The Six Tools of Astronomers

  8. ??????? Computers Spectrometers Spacecraft Space Telescopes Earth-bound Telescopes The Six Tools of Astronomers

  9. Earth-Based Telescopes • Use mirrors, not lenses • Why not lenses? • Collect light for a CCD (digital camera) • Often located on remote mountaintops close to the ocean • Why might locations like that be preferable?

  10. Not all Earth-based telescopes are designed to study visible light But only radio, visible, and some infrared can be seen through the atmosphere Earth-Based Telescopes Cont.

  11. ??????? Computers Spectrometers Spacecraft Space Telescopes Earth-bound telescopes The Six Tools of Astronomers

  12. Costs $50,000/lb. to launch into space Why would astronomers pay so much just to put a scope into space? No cloudy weather Can observe waves normally blocked by the atmosphere No turbulent air; high resolution Space Telescopes

  13. ??????? Computers Spectrometers Spacecraft Space Telescopes Earth-bound telescopes The Six Tools of Astronomers

  14. Cost $50,000/lb. to launch into space Extremely close-up views Can analyze rocks on the surface of objects Spacecraft

  15. Spacecraft Limitations • At 38,000 mph, how long would it take to go to the Moon? (238,000 miles) • How long to Venus? (25,000,000 miles) • How long to Pluto? (3,000,000,000 miles) • How long to the nearest star? (25,500,000,000,000 miles) • Obviously, spacecraft are limited to studying Solar System objects

  16. ??????? Computers Spectrometers Spacecraft Space Telescopes Earth-bound Telescopes The Six Tools of Astronomers

  17. Consists of all electromagnetic waves Only some waves are visible to human eyes Detectors of other waves have been invented The Electromagnetic Spectrum

  18. Each element emits/absorbs light at specific wavelengths Can use these lines to determine which elements are present Can also be used to measure the Doppler effect Spectral Lines

  19. Use prism or diffraction grating to separate EM waves by wavelength Can then measure position, width, and intensity of spectral lines Lots can be figured out from spectral line measurements Spectroscopes

  20. Which Element is in the Tube? Hydrogen Helium Carbon

  21. ??????? Computers Spectrometers Spacecraft Space Telescopes Earth-bound telescopes The Six Tools of Astronomers

  22. Can simulate various processes Long time frames Huge scales Interior of stars / planets Can make predictions based on models Can perform numerous & complex calculations Can procrastinate via AIM, Facebook, MySpace… Computers

  23. ??????? Computers Spectrometers Spacecraft Space Telescopes Earth-bound telescopes The Six Tools of Astronomers

  24. A Science Education!!! • Most astronomy is done by analyzing the physics and chemistry involved • Math and computer skills are also frequently used frequently • What examples from this unit can you see physics used? • Chemistry? • Math? • Any other sciences?

  25. Astronomy Major at VU • 24 credits Physics • including 4 credits labs • 16 credits Math • 8 credits Chemistry • including 2 credits labs • 7 credits Astronomy • including 4 credits labs • 8 credits Computer Language (recommended)

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