Considering the Void
"When I behold the charm
of evening skies, their lulling endurance;
the patterns of stars with names
of bears and dogs, a swan, a virgin;
other planets that the Voyager showed
were like and so unlike our own,
with all their diverse moons,
bright discs, weird rings, and cratered faces;
comets with their streaming tails
bent by pressure from our sun;
the skyscape of our Milky Way
holding in its shimmering disc
an infinity of suns
(or say a thousand billion);
knowing there are holes of darkness
gulping mass and even light,
knowing that this galaxy of ours
is one of multitudes
in what we call the heavens,
it troubles me. It troubles me."
--President Jimmy Carter, Always A Reckoning, And Other Poems,
Crown Archetype (1994), p. 121.
EQUIPMENT
Cuesta ThinkPad laptops (wireless networking, internet browser)
(appropriate, responsible in-class use of personal laptops allowed)
CURRENT EVENTS QUIZ
(First 10 minutes of laboratory.)
BRIEFING
Exploring GalaxyZoo (*.blog)
Hanny's Voorwerp (*.html)
(wikipedia.org)
BIG IDEA
The countless galaxies of stars spread throughout the universe have characteristics that can be observed and classified.
GOAL
Students will conduct a structured series of scaffolded scientific inquiries about the nature of observed galaxies using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey via the original Galaxy Zoo.
1. Exploration
(Record your lab partners' names on your worksheet.)
- From your textbook, your class notes, or from the internet, find a reasonably good definition of a galaxy and write it in the space below (also cite your source of information). Include one rough sketch of what one looks like.
Definition/sketch of galaxy; source of information: __________.
- Access an archived tutorial from the original GalaxyZoo (retired in 2009):
"How to Take Part - Tutorial" (archived from zoo1.galaxyzoo.org/Tutorial.aspx)
Create a detailed list of the characteristics of each that allow you to distinguish a spiral galaxy from an elliptical galaxy.
Distinguishing spiral galaxy characteristics:
Distinguishing elliptical galaxy characteristics:
- From the "Tutorial, Part 1A...Spiral or Elliptical Galaxies" section, record your answers in the spiral/elliptical answers in the spaces below. Then check your answers and in the event your answer does not agree, mark a single line through your response. There is no penalty for having an incorrect answer.
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
- From the "Tutorial, Part 1B...More Tricky Spiral or Elliptical Galaxies" section, record your spiral/elliptical answers in the spaces below. Then check your answers and in the event your answer does not agree, mark a single line through your response. There is no penalty for having an incorrect answer.
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
- From the "Tutorial, Part 1C...Merging Galaxies" section, record your merging/not merging answers in the spaces below. Then check your answers and in the event your answer does not agree, mark a single line through your response. There is no penalty for having an incorrect answer.
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
- From the "Tutorial, Part 1D...Very Faint Spiral or Elliptical Galaxies" section, record your spiral/elliptical answers in the spaces below. Then check your answers and in the event your answer does not agree, mark a single line through your response. There is no penalty for having an incorrect answer.
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
- Read the "Part 2A...Clockwise and Anti-Clockwise Spiral Galaxies" section. From the "Part 2B" section, record your clockwise/anti-clockwise answers in the spaces below. Then check your answers and in the event your answer does not agree, mark a single line through your response. There is no penalty for having an incorrect answer.
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
- Read the "Part 3...Star/Don't Know" section. From the "Try your hands at some!" section, record your galaxy/star-don't know answers in the spaces below. Then check your answers and in the event your answer does not agree, mark a single line through your response. There is no penalty for having an incorrect answer.
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
- Rate the difficulty you have in distinguishing the following, by checking one difficulty choice per classification.
Classification: |
Nearly
impossible: |
Challenging: |
Some easy,
some not: |
Fairly
easy: |
| Spiral Galaxy (clock/anti) | __ | __ | __ | __ |
| Edge-on Spiral Galaxy | __ | __ | __ | __ |
| Elliptical Galaxy | __ | __ | __ | __ |
| Stars | __ | __ | __ | __ |
| Merging Galaxy | __ | __ | __ | __ |
| Satellite Streaks | __ | __ | __ | __ |
2. Does Evidence Match a Given Conclusion?
- Access zooniverse.org/projects/zookeeper/galaxy-zoo/ and select "Register." Write down the following information before entering it; you will also be using this account for the next lab.
- User name: CUESTA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(where the eight blanks are numbers or letters of your choosing; no spaces)
- Password: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(just enter the same eight numbers/letters used above without the "CUESTA")
- E-mail address: __________
- Real name: (you can leave this blank)
- Click the "You agree to our privacy policy" box
- Unclick the "Send me email" boxes
- Select "Register"
- Click on the "Classify" link near the top of the page, and classify ten images using the categories below. (Note that you can reload this webpage in your browser to get to another galaxy to observe, without having to go through all the online questions to go to the next galaxy.) Keep a record of your results in the tally sheet below using tick marks. Then add together the results from the rest of your group below.
| Spiral galaxy--clockwise: _____ | Group total: _____ |
| Spiral galaxy--anti-clockwise: _____ | Group total: _____ |
| Spiral galaxy--edge on/unclear: _____ | Group total: _____ |
| Elliptical galaxy: _____ | Group total: _____ |
| Star/don't know: _____ | Group total: _____ |
| Mergers: _____ | Group total: _____ |
Consider the research question, "What type of galaxy is most common?" If a student proposed a generalization that "most galaxies are elliptical," would you agree, disagree with the generalization based on the evidence you have collected so far? Analyze the evidence of how many of each type of galaxy show up in your data tables to pursue this question. Explain your reasoning and provide specific evidence either from the above questions or from evidence you yourself generate using GalaxyZoo(*).
3. What Conclusions Can You Draw From This Evidence?
Galaxies are observed to have numerous different shapes. Consider the research question, "What is the distribution of spin directions for spiral galaxies?" What conclusions and generalizations can you make from the following data collected by a student in terms of "Do spirals generally spin clockwise or anti-clockwise?"
Spiral galaxy--clockwise: 36
Spiral galaxy--anti-clockwise: 21
Spiral galaxy--edge on/unclear: 16
Explain your reasoning and provide specific evidence, with sketches if necessary, to support your reasoning(*).
4. What Evidence Do You Need to Pursue?
Imagine your team has been assigned the task of designing a scientific observation plan for your favorite news blog about galaxies that collide and merge into a single, larger galaxy. Describe precisely what evidence you would need to collect in order to answer the research question of, "What fraction of galaxies observed appear to be in the process of merging with other galaxies?"
Create a detailed, step-by-step description of evidence that needs to be collected and a complete explanation of how this could be done--not just "look and see how many are merging," but exactly what would someone need to do, step-by-step, to accomplish this. You might include a table and sketches--the goal is to be precise and detailed enough that someone else could follow your procedure(*).
5. Formulate a Question, Pursue Evidence, and Justify Your Conclusion
Design an answerable research question (*.html), propose a plan to pursue evidence, collect data, and create an evidence-based conclusion about an aspect that you have not completed before. (Have your instructor approve your whiteboard research question before proceeding further.)
Remember that you can reload the "Classify" webpage in your browser to get to another galaxy to observe, without having to go through all the online questions to go to the next galaxy. Also you can click on the "Field Guide" tab on the right edge for ideas on other types of galaxy features and characteristics for your research question.
Research report summary on whiteboards(*), to be worked on and presented as a group, should include:- Specific research question.
- Step-by-step procedure to collect evidence.
- Data table and/or results.
- Evidence-based conclusion statement.
At the end, check over your research by answering the assessment questions about your own project.
Assessment of Your Research Report
- Step-By-Step Procedure to Collect Evidence:
Was the plan you used going to yield the necessary evidence needed to fully answer the listed research question? If "yes," then merely state so. If "maybe" or "no," give a detailed explanation.
- Data Table and/or Results:
Has enough evidence been collected for this specific research question? If "yes," then merely state so. If "maybe" or "no," give a detailed explanation.
- Evidence-Based Conclusion Statement:
- In your conclusion, have you claimed more than the evidence supports? If "no," then merely state so. If "yes" or "maybe," give a detailed explanation.
- Have assumptions impacted your results? If "no," then merely state so. If "yes" or "maybe," give a detailed explanation.
- Does your conclusion directly answer the original research question? If "yes," then merely state so. If "maybe" or "no," give a detailed explanation.
Preparation/Reflection Points
1.0 = Pre-lab reading assignment
1.0 = Current events quiz
1.0 = Post-lab reflection assignment
Group Work Points(*)
Documentation (Tasks 1-4, graded from randomly selected group member)
2.0 = exploration complete and reasoning correct
1.5 = minor problem with exploration or reasoning
1.0 = minor problems with both exploration and reasoning
0.5 = problematic exploration and reasoning
Poster/presentation (task 5)
2.0 = research report complete and competent presentation
1.5 = minor problem with research report or presentation
1.0 = minor problems with both research report and presentation
0.5 = problematic research report and presentation
(Backwards Folded Scaffolding laboratory adapted from: Tim Slater, Stephanie Slater, Daniel J. Lyons, Engaging in Astronomical Inquiry, W.H. Freeman & Company, New York (2010), pp. 99-114.)
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