Astronomy 10: Introduction to General AstronomyInstructor: Tony Piro, [email protected] Papers (Due June 22nd)An important lesson I want you to take away from this class is the ability to read and enjoy po pularastronomy articles. You aren’t expected to understand every little detail of the article, but you should beable to relate it to what we’ve learned in class this summer.With this goal in mind, you will be writing a research paper on a popular astronomy topic, chosen fromthe list below. To complete your resear ch you can use the internet, the class textbook, and popular astron-omy magazines such as Science, Sky & Telescope, Astronomy, and Scientific American. Many of these havedatabases online, which should make researching easier. Also note that some of these websites requir e asubscription, but they should be accessible if you’re on the UC Berkeley network. News stories from CNNand online newspaper sites may also be helpful.Your paper should be THREE, double spaced pages, typed with 11 point font, and you should have atleast THREE CITATIONS. If the resource is a webpage, please include the webpage title and URL. Youmay use Wikipedia to get star ted and find other resourc e s, but Wikipedia should NOT be one of your 3citations.The paper will be mainly graded on how well you present the opposing viewpoints of your topic, andwhether you argue your opinion convincingly. There is no correct answer, but you definitely need to thinkcritically about your subject. The paper will also be graded on the appropriateness of your citations andthe writing quality. It doesn’t have to be perfectly polished, but it should be readable, have well-arguedopinions, and be spell-checked. No plagiarizing will be to lerated, either from your peers or from the internet.Everything should be written in your own words.Please choose ONE of the following six topics:Topic 1: The Incredible Gamma-ray BurstsGamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are amazing flashes of gamma-rays that are seen in astronomy. They werefirst detected in 1967 by the Vela satellites, which were actually put in space to monitor whether the SovietUnion was performing nuclear weap ons testing. When it was realized that these bursts came from outer space(and not the Earth), astronomers were very excited, but confused–what could be creating such energeticflashes of light? New GRB detectors in the 1990s and 2000s gave us a better understanding of what theseevents are. This is now one of the most exciting fields in astronomy. There are now thought to be multipleclasses of GRBs. Choose TWO of these classes and discuss their properties. What a re their origins? Whereare they located in the Universe? Are they fro m the Sun, from other planets, from our Milky Way Galaxy,or from other galaxies? What are the progenitor objects tha t give rise to each c lass, and what evidence isthere for these progenitors? How often are GRBs now seen? Describe how energetic GRBs are in terms ofother things we have discussed in class. GRBs are so energetic in fact that if one occurred close to the Earthit could have dire consequences. How close would a GRB have to be to impact the Earth? What would bethe result? How often may this occur? In your opinion, is this something society should be worrying about?Please provide support for your conclusion.Topic 2: Astronomy and Its Influence on CivilizationsAstronomy has had an important influence on many aspects of past civilizations. For example, it in-fluenced the development of the modern calendar, was important fo r ocean navigation, and the Greeksincorporated the planets into their mythology. Summarize THREE different ways in which astronomy has1affected civilizations (using examples different from the ones I used above). Was the influence of astronomypositive or negative in each case, and how long lasting was it? How important were scientific advances forallowing astronomy to be influential, or did the influence of astrono my in fact lead to scientific advances?Topic 3: The Ye ar of AstronomyThis year, 2009, has b e e n named the International Year of Astronomy. In honor of this, a number ofevents are being held all over the world to celebrate the advances made in astronomy, as well as to help s preadinformation about astronomy to the ge neral public. Pretend that you’re on the committee that is decidinghow to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy. What are THREE important rece nt discoveries inastronomy that would be ex c iting to the general public? Give a short summary of each one, as well as anargument for why this discovery is of general interest. The other important aspect of this celebration isoutreach and education. Explain one way in which astronomers can do a better job of educating the generalpublic about their field.Topic 4: Is Pluto a Planet?On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) changed the definition for a planet.This new definition now excludes Pluto, which was considered a planet for almost 80 years (Pluto is now a“dwarf planet”). Research and summarize the IAU’s definitions for a planet and dwarf planet. Do you agre ewith the IAU’s decision? Explain why or why not. Next, pretend you are a member of the IAU, and suggesta new definition for a planet that WOULD include Pluto. Your definition can include criteria based on anumber of factors, including (but not limited to) shape, mass, radius, distance from the sun, c omposition, ornumber of satellites (moons). How many planets would our solar system have using your definition? Look upthe properties of some of the major asteroids, comets, and “trans-Neptunian” (Kuiper belt) objects. Wouldany of these objects be consider e d planets ac c ording to your definition?Topic 5: The Mysterious Dark MatterBy studying cosmology, galaxy rotation curves, and gravitational lensing by clusters of galaxies, we knowthat approximately 90% of the mass in the Universe is “dark matter.” In other words, it is material that doesnot emit or reflect light, and it is only observable indirectly via its gravitational influence on other thingsthat we can see. This is an outstanding problem in astronomy (and all of physics), since we really do n’tknow what this dark matter is. Some proposed dar k matter candidates include WIMPs (weakly interactingmassive particles), neutrinos, MACHOs (massive compac t halo objects), primordial black holes, and axions(a hypothetical elementary particle). Research THREE possible
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