Join My Astronomy Class - Fall 2011

[Ad Astra]

Hello Folks!

It's been awhile since I've posted - the start of the academic year is always hectic!

Many of us want to learn all we can about astronomy - but few people actually have access to a full-on observational astronomy class such as the one I teach.

Astronomy is an activity that we accomplish - not something that you can learn by sitting in a classroom reading about it - so all my students are required to get out into the dark, use bins and telescope to try sketching, locating objects, and generally learning the sky and how to use their equipment the old fashioned way - out in the dark!

The first 8 laboratory exercises are posted here, free to download for one and all. They will help you to learn a bit more about your equipment, about the fall sky and constellations, and about the wonders that we all enthuse over here.

If you are a teacher, or an observing club outreach person - these should be ideal for you! All are written at the introductory level, and should be suitable for anyone from 12 years old on up. Almost all are "one page easy" making them suitable to print out and hand out at an outreach event.

Have fun, post comments and questions if you have them, and above all - enjoy the sky!

Dan

Intro to Stellarium Lab.doc

Lab #1 - Circumpolar constellations on Stellarium.doc

Lab #2 - Circumpolar Live Sky.doc

Lab #3 - The Summer Triangle.doc

Lab #4 - Double Stars in Scorpio.doc

Lab #5 - Deep Sky Scorpio - Binos.DOC

Lab #6 - Zenithal Wonders.doc

Lab #7 - Sketching Lunar Phases.doc

[Ad Astra]

Holy cow, 70 downloads and no comments!

I hope some of you will let me know how it goes when you get a chance to try the activities out. One of the ways I improve my work is by getting feedback from folks here. Students in class don't always feel so free to comment on the professor's work!

Dan

[Essex Stargazer]

Hello

I must say it is very kind of you to offer this free to all out forum members

Well done

[Crunchard]

Thanks for this. I've downloaded and will take a look through when the kids aren't hassling me to go outside in the wet ...

[Cjg]

Thanks very much for these Dan - just what I could do with, any chance we could share our (cloudy, rainy) skies with you please, in return for a few of yours? Must be superb viewing from Southern California? Btw, your earlier posts about starting off your students on a 6" dob were a great help!

Thanks,

Chris

[ChrisEdu]

Cool! As a teacher, I shall have a look. Thanks.

[Slim]

Thank you very much. I will be downloading these and working through them.

[jasdav]

Thanks very much Dan. I've just downloaded and will sit and read them during the cloudy weather forecast for me all week:(

Jason

[JohnnyD333]

Hey Dan,

Thanks for posting more Astronomy lessons, the few you sent me were great and these will surely be as good. To keep my teaching certification, I have to log in 175 hours of professional development and I am hoping I can take an astronomy class sometime this year. I appreciate all the info you posted, its great stuff!

[GJBC]

cheers Dan

I do a bot of outreach for my local society so these will come in handy. I do note that they will have to be updated for current time etc and reference the to planets in the sky at your time of writing, removed as they have changed. but the majority of the hard work has been done for us. absolutely superb.

can i say what a noble gesture to allow these to be downloaded and used by our selves.

Much appreciated

[Ad Astra]

Hello Friends,

Sorry about all your wet weather! We are actually having a bit of rare summer wet here today, too. I think it's my fault -- I washed the car this weekend!

ChrisEdu and JohnnyD333, guys, as fellow teachers - please do let me know if I can be of help to you. Johnny, if you need to log hours, consider listing time "consulting with Prof. Barth from Mt. San Jacinto College regarding astronomy activities and hands-on-project development." I'll be happy to provide documentation for you if you need it.

I am actually planning an Astronomy Educators Conference here in SoCal early next month. I too, have to log my professional development hours, and planning and hosting this conference is my Prof-Dep project for the year. I will be having teachers in, taking then through some good in-class astro projects such as making a lunar landscape (fun with plaster of paris and thrown pebbles to make craters), plotting lunar orbit and phases (a neat activity where students draw an ellipse, then use ping-pong balls held fast with a bit of clay to model Earth and Luna - they get to draw phases from these).

Finally, we will take them out in the dark to our football pitch, turn out the parking lot lights, and show them how to have fun with 30 kids and only one or two telescopes. I learned a long time ago, that you have to keep everyone busy, sketching, calculating, whatever while waiting for their turn at the EP - or else everything becomes chaotic. I've gotten rather good at it, acually. We are averaging 60 students per lab night this year and running it with usually no more than 10 pairs of bins and usually 4-6 scopes in service at once.

Really glad to see some other educational types and outreach folks here - keep up the good work, folks!!!

Cheers,

Dan

[JohnnyD333]

Thanks Dan, if I need documentation or help I'll get in touch with you. Honestly, your course sounds very interesting and it gives me a new excuse to go back west again. I miss it already.

[Scoot]

Many thanks. I've downloaded and will be having a look.

[mikinio]

thanks

[Ad Astra]

I find it interesting that there are 50% more downloads for the Stellarium exercises than the live sky stuff.

Is this just a reflection of the bad weather you lot are having over in the UK, or are Stellarium exercises really that popular? If enough people like them, I could make some more of them, or dig out some others I have done in the past and post them.

Comments would be helpful here....

Dan

[garethmob]

thanks dan i might give these a go as a hopefull to get on a distant learning course these will hopefully provide practice your a gentleman posting these thank you!

[Angelika]

Thank you for the lessons Dan. I never like this stuff in school but I sure enjoy it now, maybe cause there's no tests ?? :-)

[redneon]

Excellent, thanks!

For someone who's still learning their way around the night sky these will help greatly.

[Phenakist]

Just downloaded. When I get the chance to do them I will let you know how I get on. I'm 20 and brand new to astronomy, so much so I used to get it mixed up and call it astrology by mistake so as I have said....I'll be your ultimate test of rigor!

[Ad Astra]

Be careful what you wish for...

Dan

Thank you for the lessons Dan. I never like this stuff in school but I sure enjoy it now, maybe cause there's no tests ?? :-)

Just did a nice couple of labs that I will be posting this weekend.

One live sky for learning to sketch Luna using the Clock Method, the other is another Stellarium exercise.

Cheers,

Dan

[Jiggy 67]

These are really good exercises for learning your way around the sky

[CincySkies]

Thank you for the lessons. The more Stellarium exercises the better I get. Send them on.