Most exoplanets are found through indirect methods: measuring the dimming of a star that happens to have a planet pass in front of it, called the transit method, or monitoring the spectrum of a star for the tell-tale signs of a planet pulling on its star and causing its light to subtly Doppler shift. Space telescopes have found thousands of planets by observing “transits,” the slight dimming of light from a star when its tiny planet passes between it and our telescopes. Other detection methods include gravitational lensing, the so-called “wobble method.”---------------------------------------Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

Using the planetarium program Stellarium, you will display the evening sky just after sunset for the date and location of your birthplace.  You will determine the times of the sunrise, sunset, and moon rise on your birthday, note the phase of the moon, and observe planetary positions and visibility.   ---------------------------------------Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

In 1610, Galileo made the first telescopic survey of the Milky Way and discovered that it is composed of a multitude of individual stars. Today, we know that the Milky Way comprises our view inward of the huge cosmic pinwheel that we call the Milky Way Galaxy and that is our home. Moreover, our Galaxy is now recognized as just one galaxy among many billions of other galaxies in the cosmos.---------------------------------------Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

Growing up at a time when the Hubble Space Telescope orbits above our heads and giant telescopes are springing up on the great mountaintops of the world, you may be surprised to learn that we were not sure about the existence of other galaxies for a very long time. The very idea that other galaxies exist used to be controversial. Even into the 1920s, many astronomers thought the Milky Way encompassed all that exists in the universe. The evidence found in 1924 that meant our Galaxy is not alone was one of the great scientific discoveries of the twentieth century.---------------------------------------Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

Welcome to Astronomy 1020 Lab 1! The Introduction to Stellarium Software lab will cover the installation, navigation, and use of Stellarium, the software which will be used to complete ASTR 1020 lab work.Stellarium [Copyright © 2004-2011 Fabien Chereau et al.]

This activity will focus on Kepler's Law which concerns planetary motion.---------------------------------------Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

Edwin Hubble examined the spectra of many galaxies, looking for the red (longer wavelengths) or blue (shorter wavelengths) shifts in the spectra, indicating relative motion. To his surprise, not only did all of the galaxies appear to be moving, but all were moving away from us, no matter the direction of the galaxy. In addition, he found most galaxies exhibited a redshift, and the redshift was larger the further it was from our galaxy.Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

Galileo, in 1612, demonstrated that the Sun rotates on its axis with a rotation period of approximately one month. Our star turns in a west-to-east direction, like the orbital motions of the planets. The Sun, however, is a gas and does not have to rotate rigidly, the way a solid body like Earth does. Modern observations show that the Sun’s rotation speed varies according to latitude; that is, it’s different as you go north or south of the Sun’s equator.  Between 1826 and 1850, Heinrich Schwabe, a German pharmacist and amateur astronomer kept daily records of the number of sunspots. What he was looking for was a planet inside the orbit of Mercury, which he hoped to find by observing its dark silhouette as it passed between the Sun and Earth. Unfortunately, he failed to find the hoped-for planet, but his diligence paid off with an even more important discovery: the sunspot cycle. He found that the number of sunspots varied systematically, in cycles about a decade long. In this laboratory, you will engage in tracking the Sun like Galileo and Schwabe during a six-day cycle and then do a simple calculation of the rotational period of our sun.---------------------------------------Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

Given the spectral classification of a distant giant star, you will use the H-R diagram to estimate its absolute magnitude and luminosity. From the distance modulus formula, you will estimate its distance via spectroscopic parallax. From the spectral type, you will estimate its surface temperature and then use the luminosity formula to estimate the diameter of your giant star.---------------------------------------Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

A plot of luminosity vs. time is a ‘light curve’. In this laboratory, we will use a light curve to determine the diameter of two stars in a binary system.  --------------------------------------- Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

This laboratory measures the parallax shift of the Delta Leonis and uses a Spectral Classification Table to calculate the radius of this star from its temperature.---------------------------------------Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

This laboratory consists of two parts. In part A, we will follow Hubble’s method of measuring distances. Using pulsation time periods, we will obtain the absolute magnitude of a Cepheid variable and convert this absolute magnitude into luminosity which will, in turn, give us the distance. In Part B, we will use spectral shift (the Doppler effect) to determine the Hubble Constant.  --------------------------------------- Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

In this lesson, students are introduced to trees and the many things we commonly use that come from trees. Includes introductory movement activity, guided discussion, a matching game, and fun facts.

NGSS: Partially meets 1-LS1-1, 2-PS1-1, 2-PS1-2

Common Core: W.2.7, W.2.8

Time: 30 minutes

Materials: "Apples to Oregon" book and three paper lunch bags labled: wood, food, cellulose.

In this activity, students will be using some verb conjugation while talking about how the character provided like to spend their vacation and free time. by the end of the activity students will be able to ask and answer questions about vacation/free time and talk about their favorite activity.Can-Do Statements:I can read someone’s profile and identify more than one fact about him/her.I can have a conversation with someone about spending my free time/vacation.I can talk about my favorite activity.

In this Activity, students will practice reading daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks and schedules. as well as reading time. They will also discuss a task or activity they enjoy completing on time.Can-Do Statements:I can identify the Arabic words for daily, weekly,  monthly, and yearly when presented to me.I can describe a character's daily schedule, highlighting the activities and their times.I can discuss a task I enjoy completing on time, along with my preferred timing for doing so.

This studio will investigate the social, programmatic, tectonic and phenomenological performance and character of a student gathering place on the MIT campus. Whether it is simply for socializing or for more specific events, the student gathering place will serve as a refuge from the vigorous educational environment of the Institute, and it will reinforce a critical sense of "place" through the almost logical organization of its program. The place will foster a casual discovery of "being": a reflection upon the student's own existence based upon participation in group events and an intellectual attitude toward acting. To create a space that inspires, rather than imposes: such a discovery is the foremost challenge of this studio.

In this activity, kids will work on two fundamental early math skills – sorting/classifying, and graphing. There will also be some great fine motor skill practice! Includes place-based discussion questions, activity instructions, extension activities, songs, and student graph worksheets.

NGSS: K-LS1-1, 1-LS1-1, partially meets K-ESS3-1 (book and discussion)

Common Core: MP.4

Time: 45 minutes

Matierals: bag of dried beans ("16 bean soup"), paper bowls, glue, chart paper, the book "One Bean" or similar book about growing food plants, especially beans.

In this lesson students will learn about the different types of bees, the bee life cycle, and the importance of bees for our local ecosystems. Includes some background information about bees and instructions for the pollination simulation activity.

Time: 45-50 minutes

Materials: "The Honeybee Man" or other book about bees and pollination, small bag of cheetos, pip cleaners, various colors of construction paper, pompoms (small and medium), small dixie cups for water, straws (15 per group), jewerly bags, and yarn

Students research a biology topic, present their discoveries to each other for peer review, create a short video explaining the topic, and decide how to share their video publicly.

With this assignment, students will have an opportunity to dive into one of the many aspects and concepts of biology in greater depth. They will have an opportunity to choose a topic they are interested in (list of possible topics provided, adaptable for others), and research the how/why/when of the topic. They will then present their findings first in a written format (a preliminary informative essay), to serve as a guide for their video production. After discussion and peer review, they will create short videos that explain the topic to the general public. Teaching this topic in a creative way will solidify their own knowledge. They will also become familiar with many aspects of video editing, and grapple with putting their creations into the world.

This is a great lab to do with students during October while most grocery stores stock dry ice for Halloween! Explore sublimation in action!