ASTR220
Collisions in
Space
Class Information
Computer Programs for use in ASTR220
Extra Credit Assignments
- Extra Credit is above and beyond classwork--grading depends on
quality of essays. To receive the maximum amount of points, thoughtful
effort must be apparent. No extra credit will be accepted after the
last day of class.
- Earn up to 6 extra credit points by attending an Astronomy Open
House. Write a 2 page essay which summarizes the speaker's
presentation (include speaker's name and title of the talk) and
describe what you saw using the telescopes. If it is clear, describe
and sketch the objects you saw. If it is cloudy, describe the
telescopes that were shown to you.
(Due during the week following the Open House.)
- Earn up to 8 extra credit points by reading the Terrapin Reading
Society's 1997-98 book
War of the
Worlds. (I heard that copies are available in the bookstore for
$1). Join in the campus wide email discussion (see above link) and
write a 2 page essay. One page of your essay should summarizes the book,
and the second page should compare
the way that Mars is envisioned in the story to what we
have learned from Mars
Pathfinder and Global Surveyor.
(Due by the last day of class.)
- On Homework #2, earn 2 extra credit points by following another
of the links in the SOLAR SYSTEM section below (and some of its links)
and summarizing what you find. Tell me what you learned, and any
questions that you have that the site did not answer. Remember to
cite your sources!
(Attach to Homework #2.)
- On Homework #3, earn 2 extra credit points by following one of
the links in the STARS & OUR GALAXY section below (and some of its
links) and summarizing what you find. Tell me what you learned, and
any questions that you have that the site did not answer.
(Attach to Homework #3.)
- On Homework #4, earn 2 extra credit points by following one of
the links in the OTHER GALAXIES section below (and some of its links)
and summarizing what you find. Tell me what you learned, and any
questions that you have that the site did not answer.
(Attach to Homework #4.)
Material to Help You Out
SCIENCE
-
Philosophy and the Scientific Method What is science? Is
science worthwhile? How do we know what we claim to know? Can we ever
"prove" a scientific theory? Is science really an unbiased process?
SOLAR SYSTEM
- A Tour of the Solar
System This page contains information about the planets,
satellites, asteroids, comets, and Solar System related topics.
- Comet Information This
page contains information about recently discovered comets.
- Spacewatch
This page contains information about this program which searches for
near Earth objects.
- Dinosaur
Extinction This page contains very elementary information
regarding the asteroid impact theory explaining dinosaur extinctions.
-
More Information on Dinosaurs This page contains general
information on dinosaurs.
-
More Information on Mass Extinctions This page contains
information on the Impact Hypothesis for the extinction of the
dinosaurs.
-
Chixulub Crater This page contains general information on the
Chixulub Crater and a color image constructed from gravity anomolies.
-
New Studies on Chixulub This page contains information on new
research studies at the Chixulub site.
- Impact
Hazard This page contains information on the hazard posed by the
impact of an asteroid or comet.
-
Catastrophism This page contains information on all kinds of
catastrophes, especially impacts. Most of these links are sources of
reliable information; however, there are some sites that should be
looked at with a skeptical eye.
STARS & OUR GALAXY
OTHER GALAXIES
- Hubble Space Telescope
This page contains the latest pictures and scientific results from
HST, the Hubble Space Telescope.
-
Relativity Everything that you want to know about General
Relativity, curved spacetime, and gravitational radiation!
-
Cosmology How did the Universe begin? How will it end?
-
Large Scale Structure Clusters & Superclusters of Galaxies. What
do they look like?
Go
to Doug Hamilton's Home Page
Last modified: Thu Apr 30 16:27:58 1998
