Astronomy (Period 7/8)
Course Description
Astronomy is the branch of science that deals with celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole.
Astronomy is the study of the universe, namely the objects we observe, like the Moon, Sun, and planets in our Solar System; stars; our Milky Way Galaxy, and other galaxies; and, a host of other celestial objects and phenomena, like nebulae, and black holes.
Astronomy is a multidisciplinary science. It is intertwined with the study of physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, geology and biology.
Unlike most other fields of science, astronomers are unable to observe a system entirely from birth to death; the lifetime of worlds, stars, and galaxies span millions to billions of years. Instead, astronomers must rely on snapshots of bodies in various stages of evolution to determine how they formed, evolved and died. Thus, theoretical and observational astronomy tend to blend together, as theoretical scientists use the information actually collected to create simulations, while the observations serve to confirm the models — or to indicate the need for tweaking them.
Astronomy is broken down into a number of sub fields, allowing scientists to specialize in particular objects and phenomena.
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Chapter 4 Interactive Links
Astronomers use the Doppler Effect to determine the motion and speed of galaxies and other distant objects. This Interactive shows you what the Doppler Effect is: how the frequency and wavelength of light or sound waves change as the source or the observer (or both) move relative to each other. Click on the buttons to make the Observer, the Source or Both approach, and observe the waves on the graph. Or take matters into your own hands by clicking and dragging on the spaceship to change its velocity.
In the Blackbody Radiation Interactive, students can manipulate the scroll bar in the upper right corner and see how temperature influences the size and luminosity of stars. In the scroll bar in the bottom portion of the Interactive, users can see how temperature of stars affects its wavelength.
The Bohr Atom Interactive illustrates the concept of emission and absorption spectra as well as Kirchoffs Laws by having students "Build an Atom." Students can construct an atom with energy levels corresponding to different colors of light. By heating a gas of these atoms or shining a continuum light through them, students will construct different spectra.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum