Astronomy, the Theory of Our Solar System and Beyond
This is a three session course over theoretical astronomy. We are going to start with our little old solar system and end in the Laniakea Supercluster.
Rick Hughes
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(25)
What's included
3 live meetings
2 hrs 45 mins in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. I will be giving a small reading assignment and ask them to do some small internet searches. It is designed for them to get more out of out meetings.Class Experience
US Grade 8 - 11
Beginner Level
Have you ever…. (we will try to answer all these questions) - seen a moving star in the sky that was not a plane but moving against the backdrop of stars? - look up and only seen only gray and no stars? - did you know every night the rest of the milky way is spread from edge to edge in the sky? The reason you can not see it is due to smoke, and light pollution. - if you go out in the morning to see frost, fog, or dew, you missed a clear night of sky watching. - the best time to see shooting stars is between midnight and the dawns first light. - in old book, people use to navigate by stars, how is this possible? - you might have heard that nuclear bombs are bad. You can see a bomb blast every day by looking up. - using the best technology man made nuclear blasts last a few seconds to almost a minute. Our sun has been blowing up for a long, long, long time. - pick up a piece of anything (rock, metal, plastic, paper) it either came from the sun (old sun parts) or it came from energy from the sun (sunlight). - did you know that currently your traveling at 67,000 mph or 30 km per second.
Learning Goals
Students will learn a little bit about what is out in space and how to access it. More importantly it will help them identify what is up there and how they can locate things that interest them.
Syllabus
Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum3 Lessons
over 3 WeeksLesson 1:
Introduction D0
I will introduce me self, we will talk about celestial experiences, have you seen..., getting ready for our first observation, clouds and light pollution 55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Astronomy Topics D1
Scale of the Universe, Tools - you will need (under $20), you might need (a few hundred), you can borrow (billions), Our first observation of a night sky, Light Pollution – Where, When, and how much it sucks!. Equipment – See tools you might need, Buying binoculars – How to buy your first tool that you could use for other things, Space Telescopes – How to access these billion dollar pieces of equipment 55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Astronomy Topics D2
The Nature of Science and Astronomy, The Models, Idea to Hypothesis to Science Law, Numbers in science (its just a bit of 3rd grade math), Consequences of light travel and time (theoretical and mathless), A Brief Tour of our Solar System where you might have to do some easy research, Our closest neighbors in a celestial sense (they are not that close) 55 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Supply List
Nothing but a computer and internet access. If you want to get fancy you could get a lawn chair, sweater and a warm blanket. To get crazy spend the three to six billion dollars to get your own space telescope. Of course pictures from the Hubbel and the James Webb will do just fine.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
Astronomi Text by Fraknoi, General Astronomy Text from Wikibooks that you can download for free, Astronomy for Dummies – it actually is good for beginners, Additional information cobbled together from my experiences and other sources by me, Rick Hughes
Joined April, 2020
4.9
25reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Indiana Teaching Certificate in Secondary Education
2 Degrees
Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from Indiana University
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Indiana University
I am a certified teacher, certified in earth and space science, plus
I have spent a lot of time with my eye to an eyepiece of a telescope and I have spent even more time reading about what is really up there and the science behind it.
I think one important memory from years ago, I was using some very expensive software (now available for free on your phone) and using a view finder on a telescope to locate the Magellanic Cloud (not really possible in the Northern hemisphere) but I was distracted by a satellite glinting and spent the rest of the evening chasing that and trying to figure out what that was. Now this is a small task for app Starlink that can be downloaded on your phone.Reviews
Live Group Class
$20
for 3 classes1x per week, 3 weeks
55 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 12-17
2-6 learners per class
