Teacher Workshop – September 23rd, 2016
Agenda
September 2016 Workshop Agenda V2
Size Scales – The Solar System and Beyond
Orbits PowerPoint File – Presentation about Kepler’s laws.
Orbits PowerPoint PDF – Presentation about Kepler’s laws.
Solar Beat – A visual and musical depiction of Kepler’s Third Law.
Build a Solar System – An online calculator that will determine distances and sizes of objects in the solar system and beyond based on a user-input value for the size of the Sun.
Student Orrery – A classroom activity that allows students to set up a scale model of a portion of the solar system and then simulate the movements of the planets.
Exoplanets PowerPoint File – A brief presentation on how planetary systems form, how exoplanets are detected, and how astronomers deduce information about the exoplanet systems.
Exoplanets PowerPoint PDF – A brief presentation on how planetary systems form, how exoplanets are detected, and how astronomers deduce information about the exoplanet systems.
Exoplanets.org – An up-to-date catalog of all confirmed and candidate exoplanets.
The Sun, Solar Observation, and Eclipses
Sun and Scales PowerPoint File – A short presentation that shows some of the different types of phenomenon present on the Sun. Also depicted are the sizes of the planets and other stars as compared to the Sun.
Sun and Scales PowerPoint PDF – A short presentation that shows some of the different types of phenomenon present on the Sun. Also depicted are the sizes of the planets and other stars as compared to the Sun.
Moon PowerPoint File – A presentation covering different aspects of the Moon including how it formed, some of its physical features, and how tides work.
Moon PowerPoint PDF – A presentation covering different aspects of the Moon including how it formed, some of its physical features, and how tides work.
Moon Phases and the Horizon Simulator – An online Flash simulator that shows the relationship of the Sun and Moon together during a given phase. Useful for also learning about telling time from the Moon.
Eclipse PowerPoint File – An overview of eclipse mechanics, how to safely view solar eclipses, and specifics about the upcoming August 2017 total solar eclipse.
Eclipse PowerPoint PDF – An overview of eclipse mechanics, how to safely view solar eclipses, and specifics about the upcoming August 2017 total solar eclipse.
Moon Orbit Inclination & Eclipses – An online Flash simulator that gives a view of the Earth-Moon system from the viewpoint of the Sun. Especially useful for understanding why eclipse seasons occur.
Light
Introduction to Light PowerPoint File – An introduction to how atoms emit specific wavelengths of light and how one can use these spectra to determine properties such as composition, temperature, and velocity. Also included are quick examples of images from astronomy that make use of different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Introduction to Light PowerPoint PDF – An introduction to how atoms emit specific wavelengths of light and how one can use these spectra to determine properties such as composition, temperature, and velocity. Also included are quick examples of images from astronomy that make use of different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Star Wheels and Stellarium
Stellarium Software – A free, open-source planetarium program for Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Uncle Al’s Star Wheel – A PDF star wheel/planisphere (northern hemisphere) that you can print out and put together on your own. Cardstock paper is recommended.
Seasons & The Star Chamber
Seasons PowerPoint File – A short presentation about the causes of the seasons.
Seasons PowerPoint PDF – A short presentation about the causes of the seasons.
Telescopes
Telescopes PowerPoint File – A presentation about the history of the telescope, the various types and properties of telescope designs, and observing from the ground and space.
Telescopes PowerPoint PDF – A presentation about the history of the telescope, the various types and properties of telescope designs, and observing from the ground and space.
Sundials
Cookeville Horizontal Dial – A horizontal dial (set for Cookeville latitude and longitude) that can be printed and labeled with timelines.
Cookeville Horizontal Dial with Timelines – A horizontal dial (set for Cookeville latitude and longitude) that can be printed. Timelines and lines of declination have already been included.
Equatorial Summer Dial – The top (summer) portion of an equatorial dial. Can be printed and assembled along with the bottom (winter) portion of the equatorial dial.
Equatorial Winter Dial – The bottom (winter) portion of an equatorial dial. Can be printed and assembled along with the top (sumer) portion of the equatorial dial.
Sundial Vocabulary – Terminology commonly used when discussing sundials.
Equation of Time – A graph showing how many minutes fast/slow a sundial is as compared to mean solar time versus date.
Conversion of UT to GST – A guide of how to convert Universal Time to Greenwich Sidereal Time.
Information About the Solar System – A table of information about solar system bodies, such as mass, orbital period, etc.