Astronomy project based on stars visibility state to state due to pollution.
Name _________________________________ I.D. Number _______________________ Project 3 Astronomy (SCIH 043 056) Be sure to include ALL pages of this project (including the directions and the assignment) when you send the project to your teacher for grading. Don’t forget to put your name and I.D. number at the top of this page! You may need online access to complete this project. This project will count for a significant portion of your overall grade for this course. Be sure to read all the instructions and assemble all the necessary materials before you begin. You may need to print this document and complete it on paper. Feel free to attach extra pages if you need them. You will complete either Option 1 OR Option 2, not both. When you have completed this project you may submit it electronically through the online course by scanning the pages into either .pdf (Portable Document Format), or .doc (Microsoft Word document) format. Make sure your pages are legible before you upload them. **Check the instructions in the online course for more information. Which Option did you choose? _____________ Option 1: Where did all the stars go? One of my favorite things to do when I was a kid was to go outside and look at the stars. As an adult, I moved to a major city and the stars seemed to vanish from the sky. Where did they go? Objective In this experiment you will investigate how the number of visible stars in the night sky can change from place to place because of light pollution. Introduction If you live in a big city or urban area it is hard to see many stars at night. In most urban areas only the most brilliant stars, planets and the Moon can be seen. This is because of something called light pollution which is the accumulation of background light from homes, automobiles, streetlights and any other source of light in an urban area. This accumulation of background lighting can make it difficult to see the stars at night. Light pollution is a problem for many urban observatories. As the new development of homes and cities comes closer and closer, urban observatories experience more light pollution. This is why the world’s best observatories are located in remote areas, like the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. It is located in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, protecting the observatory from encroaching development and light pollution. Project 3 SCIH 043 How much light pollution do you have in your backyard? Can you find the best places to view stars in your area? You can find out by conducting an experiment to measure the visibility of stars at different locations. Materials and Equipment • cardboard star counter (a toilet paper tube or paper towel tube) • flashlight • notebook • pencil • a clear night without clouds, fog or a full moon • a parent or other adult to drive you or accompany you at night • choose at least three different locations for star gazing, vary your locations based on the amount of light pollution: your backyard, a city park, downtown, a busy street corner, the outskirts of town, the countryside, the mountains, near an observatory, campground, etc. Procedure 1. First, decide with your parent(s) or other adult where you will go and choose the locations of your 3 different test sites. You may want to provide a map of the location of your test sites as part of your project. You can make and print a map with your computer by using Google Maps (maps.google.com). 2. Prepare your notebook with a data table for your observations. You will need a data table for each site, including space to write a description for each location and to perform any calculations: Complete and submit your data table according to the instructions given. Location: Description: Star Counts: Sum of Counts: Average Count: Total Visible Stars: 3. You will need to pack your bag of supplies since you will be conducting this experiment in the field. Bring your cardboard star counter (toilet paper tube), a notebook, a pencil and a flashlight. 4. On a night when the sky is clear and there is not a full moon, go to your different test sites with your field equipment. Project 3 SCIH 043 5. At each test site walk to a safe area that is clear and not surrounded by objects blocking your sky view. Write down a description of the site in your notebook. 6. Turn off your flashlight (if you have it on) and allow your eyes to adjust to the light for a few minutes. 7. Hold your counting tube up to your eyes, count all of the stars you see through the tube, being careful not to count any star twice. Write the number in your data table. 8. Repeat nine more times, moving your counting tube slightly to a new view of the sky each time. Write each number in your notebook. You should have ten different counts for each of your test sites. 9. Add together the ten numbers, and then divide the sum by ten. This number will be the average number of visible stars you can see through the tube in that area. Write this number in the data table. 10. Next, calculate the total number of stars in the sky. When using a toilet paper roll to calculate the number of stars in the night sky, the number of stars you see in the tube is equal to a fraction of the total number of stars in the sky. To calculate the total number of stars in the sky, multiply your average by 104. Write this number in your data table. 11. Drive to your next location and repeat steps 4-9 for each test site. 12. Make a bar graph of your averages and analyze your data. Complete and submit your bar graph per beginning instructions. Answer the following and submit all components. 1. Which locations had the most visible stars? The least? 2. Look back at your description of each site and think about why each site was better or worse than the others. Do you notice any trends? 3. When finished please submit your data table, bar graph and project answers to your teacher. Project 3 SCIH 043 Option 2: Research Answer each question in BOTH Part A and Part B in a full paragraph or short essay using correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. Be sure to cite any sources that you use beyond the course materials or textbook, and do NOT copy the answers directly from any source. Part A – Research the phenomenon of light pollution and explain why it is a problem for astronomers. Do some research and answer each question in a paragraph or short essay. 1. Name TWO factors that contribute to light pollution and describe how each contributes to light pollution. [20 points possible; 10 for each factor]. 2. How does light pollution affect astronomers? [10 points possible]. 3. Identify and describe TWO advances in technology that have helped astronomers reduce the effects of light pollution. [20 points possible; 10 for each technical advance]. Part B – Reflection, refraction, and particles in the atmosphere affect how we see the Moon on Earth. Do some research and answer each question in a paragraph or short essay. 1. What are reflection and refraction and why do they affect how the Moon appears on Earth? [20 points possible; 10 for reflection and 10 for refraction]. 2. What causes the Moon to sometimes appear orange but become white / silvery as it rises? [10 points possible]. 3. What conditions would cause the Moon to appear red in color? [10 points possible] 4. What conditions would cause the Moon to appear blue in color? (This question is asking about the Moon actually looking blue, NOT the ring-around-the-moon phenomenon that is sometimes called a “blue moon.”) [10 points possible]. Project 3 SCIH 043 This project can be submitted through the online course. Check the Project page in the online course. Option 1 Bibliography • Weinrich, Dave. “Counting Stars.” Mangilao, Guam: UOG Planetarium. [1/29/06] http://www.guam.net/planet/starcount.html • Gardner, R. and Webster, D. 1987. Science in Your Backyard. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc. • Bonnet, R.L. and Keen, G.D. 1992. Space and Astronomy: 49 Science Fair Projects New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Inc. • Asimov, Isaac. 1990. Library of the Universe: Projects in Astronomy. Milwaukee, WI: Gareth Steven’s Inc. Option 1 Credits • Project 3 Sara Agee, Ph.D., Science Buddies SCIH 043
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