For Teachers

HOU Five-Day Workshop Outline

Day 1

INTRODUCTION TO HOU

MORNING

{ } Registration, Refreshments, and Take Pre Test

{ } History and philosophy of HOU

{ } Introductory activity, e.g. Draw or construct with art materials your picture of the universe.

{ } Overview of HOU basic resources, e.g. global telescope network (under development), middle school and high school curricula, international HOU collaborations, informal science projects, HOU Image Processing Tools, HOU web site , links with other HOU teachers and staff via the Internet

{ } Student success stories, e.g. asteroid discoveries by students, Kuiper belt object discovery, supernova data/discovery by students, CNN video.

{ } Form Teacher Teams and set up a "community journal" with rotating scribe.

{ } Introduce course syllabus

{ } Activities from HOU Book 1, Introduction to Image Processing

I. Displaying an Image--Moon image
     Tool Bar, Status Bar, Color Palette Bar, Display Controls Bar,
      Zoom, Image Contrast--Min/Max, Log scaling
II. About the Display--Moon image
     Cursor information, Display Region, Brightness, Color Palette Bar
III. Tools for Analyzing Images
     Zoom Box; Clean-up; Slice

AFTERNOON

{ } Activities from HOU Book 2, Finding Features
I. Browser's Guide to the Universe
Here and throughout the workshop, for each object discuss its significance of in astronomical research and how it fits in the structure and scale of the universe (what, where, how far away, how large, how old).
II. Moon Match [optional]

{ } Sky Orientation*--Part I:
Begin Astronomy Overview starting with Tour of the Universe through Images -- Solar System (planets, Moon, comets, asteroids, Sun). Point out notable features, characteristics, relative sizes and distances.

{ } Closing activity, e.g.
"What's your favorite tool?" or
Teachers get objects from the HOU Image Archive and process the images on their own.

Portfolio Products:

Notes on how to call up an image, change its Zoom, min/max, color palette.
Demonstrate the use of the Slice tool.

DAY 2 MEASURING SIZE

MORNING

{ } Discuss questions from previous day

{ } Presentation:
Telescopes and CCD Astronomy
What is a CCD? Pictures of a CCD chip, position of CCD on telescope. Explanation of how CCD works (photons strike CCD, producing electrons which are tallied as counts)

{ } Activities: Use HOU Book 4, Measuring Size
Tracking Jupiter's Moons
Background on Galileo and the discovery of Jupiter's moons with a telescope. Hands-on activities to demonstrate physics content and possible triganometry exercises. Include some of the Galileo images of Io.

Jupiter Crash (limited to use of ratios, not the energy aspects).

{ } Supplementary Activities such as

Using Large and Small Numbers
Explanation of a Light-Year
Using Angles to Measure Sizes -- small angle formula -- What is the angle between 2 meter sticks with a sheet of paper between them at one end?
Measuring Your Computer Screen
String and angles activity to show how small an arcsecond is

{ } Activities from Measuring Size with Images unit
(concepts: Plate scale; Small angle formula; Angle vs. distance/size, including AU and light year; Ratio method of determining size)

Choose from
   I. What is a pixel? (zoom; "pixel" is short for "picture element")
  II. Measuring plate scale of an image (solar eclipse)
   III. Measuring size on a CCD image (Rori ® HOU student)
   IV. Measuring sizes of astronomical objects
     (Moon, Jupiter, Eclipse, Crab nebula, M51)
     Measuring the Size of Moon Features

Mass of Jupiter [optional, for physics teachers]

AFTERNOON

{ } Sky Orientation*--Part II
Continue Tour of the Universe through Images of Deep Sky Objects: stars, open clusters, globular clusters, star formation regions, planetary nebulae, SN remnants, galaxies (spiral, elliptical, irregular, merging, galaxy clusters, deep field. For each object discuss significance and how it fits in the structure and scale of the universe (what, where, how far away, how large, how old). Option: have teachers pick an object, research with good resources in room, like Burnham's Celestial Handbook, astronomy texts, etc, and report to group with a HOU image to support what they research. They can process image and show what they have done, links for it on Internet. etc.

{ } Activity: Use HOU Book 2--Finding Features
Part III Galaxy Features

{ } Sky Orientation --Part III-- Sky Maps and Sky Motions
Use planisphere, Sky Challenger Wheels, Que tal, Abrams Sky Calendar to explore relationship of observer to viewable sky.
Optional: Planetarium session
Activity: Find what's up tonight--prepare to find objects that evening; use HOU database

{ } Implementation. Begin constructing elements of plan for implementation in classroom

{ } Optional: Evening stargazing

Portfolio Products:
Choose three of the following.

Drawing of the composite of six images of Jupiter and its moon taken over six hours of time.
Analysis of the relative speed, direction and brightness of the moons.
Galaxy Features worksheet with sketches and record of image processes applied, noted galaxy features, and results of analysis and identification. Participants will print and frame or make a button out of their favorite galaxy. Print an image and explain how you would calculate the size of one or more features
Begin the development of an observing plan.

DAY 3 MEASURING BRIGHTNESS

MORNING

{ } Discuss questions from previous day

{ } Activity: Model how a CCD works using rice & egg cartons (or foam peanuts & box w/ dividers) to. Use birdseed if doing it outside. Consider using a clear plastic multi-binned box (e.g. fishing box) and place on overhead projector. Watch grains falling into bins from below. See and count them after they're in the boxes.

{ } Activities: Use HOU Book 5 Measuring Brightness
Photometry Techniques --
Discuss/define Counts, Apparent Brightness, Luminosity, Reference Star, Standard Star, Apparent Magnitude, Absolute Magnitude, Counts Ratio, Calibration to find Apparent Brightness, Observing Conditions
I: Measuring the Counts of a Star
II: Comparing Two Images of the Same Region
III: Calibrating Stars on an Image
Science of a supernova (Type I & II)

AFTERNOON

{ } Supernova Light Curve Unit

{ } Sky Orientation ® Part IV:
Celestial Sphere, Celestial Coordinates (RA, DEC) Sky Views From An Orbiting & Rotating Earth

{ } Continue with the observing plan.
Review interesting celestial objects for observation: along the ecliptic (Solar System); within the Milky Way (open clusters, globular clusters, nebulae--star formation regions, planetary nebulae, SN remnants); beyond our galaxy.

{ } Activity: Download images from HOU Image Archive; look at image request page, without making request.

{ } Optional: Guest science speaker/ observatory tour/using telescopes

{ } Implementation. Work on plan for implementation in classroom.

Portfolio Products:

Teachers use photometry tools to identify & record the twenty brightest stars in a star cluster.
Downloaded image file
Supernova light curve unit
Addition of RA and Dec. to observing plan
Print out an image of a cluster of stars and explain how to find the brightness of a star using a standard star

Day 4 SEARCH FOR SUPERNOVA

MORNING

{ } Discuss questions from previous day

{ } Activity: Use HOU Book 3 Searching for Supernovae
Introduce the significance of supernova and the concept of techniques for finding supernova -- Shifting Files -- Subtracting Files
Techniques for Finding a Supernova
   I. Comparing Images by Subtracting
  II: Aligning The Images Before Subtracting
   III: Adjusting for Brightness Differences
Optional : The Image Manipulation Challenge

{ } Discover a Supernova
   I. What Can You Tell By Looking At A Single image?
  II: What Can You Tell By Looking At Four Images?
   III: Subtracting Images To Find a Supernova

Get Initial Data
Remove the Skylight
Align the Images
Normalize the Images
Subtract Images
Look for a Supernova

AFTERNOON

{ } Activity: Use HOU Book 5 Measuring Brightness
Supernova Light Curves
I: Look What We Found!
II: Plotting the Light Curve of SN1994i
Magnitude Scale
Penny Magnitudes (Adler Explorations web page)

{ } Explore image archive

{ } Continue implementation plan for classroom.

Portfolio Products:

Record of steps and results performed on images in order to search for supernovae.
Printed image of the Whirlpool Galaxy containing this supernova.

Day 5 BRINGING HOU TO THE CLASSROOM

MORNING

{ } Discuss questions from previous days

{ } TRA favorite, e.g. Mass of Jupiter (physics), Asteroid Search (research), Parallax Activity. It's not the intention to introduce new HOU curriculum units.

{ } Review basics needed to bring HOU to the classroom: How to install and set-up HOU-IP software; Browser helper applications; Tips on setting up a classroom computer lab--networks and file sharing

{ } HOU support features: Communications (houteach, tra's personal email)

{ } Future plans for student Research Project Opportunities

Supernova search project
Asteroid serach project
Others (variable stars, double stars, spectroscopy)

AFTERNOON

{ } How to request and retrieve images from database and archives

{ } Optional: Guest science speaker/ observatory tour/using telescopes

{ } Activity: Small groups discuss implementation and each teacher finalizes a plan for implementation in his or her school/classroom.

Time for Evaluation.

{ } Take Post test

Observing night--weather permitting.

Portfolio Products:

Outlined ideas for implementing HOU into units of instruction which integrate the teaching of math, science and technology.
HOU Teacher Team Reports--Visions of the Future: Sharing Plans for Curriculum Application Teacher Team Communication
Evaluation of Entire HOU Teacher Training Course

* Definition of Sky Orientation
- Contents of the universe
- Basic stellar evolution just to the point where they understand what is out there to be looked at and some idea of what they are and the relationship to one another.
- Structure and scale ® light year and AU
- Solar system
- Coordinate system
- Sky maps
Note to Alan: Make summary of Agenda by theme/book
---TRA workshop 2000