Understanding Astronomy

Chapter 1. Discovering the Night Sky

Chapter 2. Gravitation and the Waltz of the Planets
Chapter 3. Light and Telescopes
Chapter 4. Visible Light and Other Electromagnetic Radiation

The first four chapters of Discovering the Universe introduce students to what it means to be an
astronomer. The emphasis in Chapter 1 is on what can be seen in the night sky, and the material on
telescopes in Chapter 3 sets the stage for astronomy as an observational science. The theme of
Chapter 2 is the change from perspective from the center of a geocentric universe to a heliocentric
solar system. There is more to astronomy than meets the eye so both visual and non-visual radiation
are discussed in Chapter 4.
One of the pedagogical challenges of teaching introductory astronomy to typical non-science
students is the underdevelopment of their abstract reasoning skills. Many students have been
conditioned by their prior schooling to memorize facts with little or no motivation. When confronted
with the volume of detailed observations presented in most astronomy texts, they are in constant
danger of losing sight of the forest because of the trees.
To address this common student difficulty include a brief introduction to the categorical
structure of modern science (hypothesis, model, theory, law) and present a preview of the major
classes of objects to be discussed in subsequent chapters. Remind students that a primary theme of the
course is the intellectual adventure of cosmic discovery that astronomers pursue almost entirely by
inference rather than by direct experiment.
These four chapters of the textbook will introduce the student to the basic mathematical tools
used by astronomers to describe and investigate astronomical objects and it should be emphasized
that the mathematics is not an end in itself.
Many instructors begin an introductory course with a PowerPoint show or video travelogue
that capitalizes on the spectacular character of astronomical images to whet students appetites and to
lay out a conceptual map for the class. The videos From Here to Infinity (1995, Paramount, 43 min.)
and the shorter Universe (1976, NASA, 28 min.) are excellent, although older, brief surveys of
astronomical objects.
It is useful to identify and confront the memorization response in this preliminary visual
survey. Students can be prompted to ask themselves, How do astronomers know this? when reading
or hearing the facts and descriptions in the topical preview. They should be encouraged to look ahead
in the text to gain a sense of the discussion to come. By focusing on the question How do
astronomers know? a student may be led to ask, What can astronomers measure anyway? thereby
motivating the mathematical topics later in the chapter.
Most students are able to develop an understanding of the meaning and role of hypotheses,
models, and theories only by repeated exposure to concrete examples. Thus, a discussion may
usefully include a reminder that every astronomical fact has an ongoing history as a part of various
hypotheses, models, and theories. Among many possible examples, one might mention that neutron
stars were hypothesized long before the discovery of pulsars provided any firm evidence of their
existence. Current models of many exotic astronomical objects depend on the properties of neutron
stars inferred from the observations of pulsars. Such a discussion of hypotheses, models, and theories
can provide needed preparation for introduction of the Ptolemaic and Copernican cosmological
models in Chapter 2.
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The foundation of modern astronomy is based on our understanding of the laws of physics.
Because astronomers generally cannot experiment with the objects themselves, we must assume that
physical laws derived from experimental results in our vicinity are also valid elsewhere in the
universe. If we did not assume that the same laws of nature apply in the far reaches of the universe,
we could not hope to make any progress in our investigations. Our assumption about the universal
applicability of these basic laws has been carefully examined and shown to be consistent with our
observations.
The planetary exploration program of NASA has received extensive media coverage and
should be familiar to many students. It is useful to note that investigations of the solar system
constituted the bulk of scientific investigation until about 150 years ago. From the middle of the
nineteenth century until the middle of the twentieth century, the focus was on stars and our stellar
system (the Milky Way). Since 1950, increasingly more effort has been expended in the study of
extragalactic objects and high energy astrophysics. An understanding of the formation of the solar
system is important to many planetary and stellar astronomers and to anyone seriously interested in
the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. But it may have little immediate appeal for the most
practically oriented students. The changes currently taking place in our atmosphere, however, such as
the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases and resulting climatic temperature changes will
certainly have a direct effect on all inhabitants of our planet during our lifetime. It is worth
emphasizing that our attempt to understand the current nature and evolution of planetary atmospheres
is a logical step in learning to manage our own environment.
Many students tend to associate (often to confuse) astronomy with astrology or with learning
the names of constellations. Few students understand that modern astronomy is a branch of physics. It
is important to emphasize from the outset that modern astronomers are trying to determine the
physical nature of celestial objects and the relationships among those various objects. Such
generalizations are best conveyed with concrete examples; one of the most convenient in an
introductory survey is the study of stellar structure and evolution. Because our Sun is a star, it is in
our direct interest to know how it operates, how it will change with time, and when it will change.
The fact that it must change is very difficult for some students to accept. It is useful to point out that
the necessity of stellar aging did not become obvious until the mid-nineteenth century, when the
law of energy conservation attained widespread acceptance.
The investigation of stellar systems and the universe is difficult to present in a practical
context. It does, however, provide an opportunity to discuss the cultural impact of astronomy and the
differences between applied and basic science. The contemporary forms of philosophy, religion, art,
and music differ from their ancient and medieval counterparts in no small measure because of the
seventeenth-century replacement of a geocentric cosmology by a heliocentric one. Additionally, much
of the modern technology we enjoy can be traced to advances in our understanding of the basic laws
of nature, which would likely develop less rapidly if all scientists were engaged in applied science.
Although the subjects of creationism and intelligent design may not surface until later in your
course, some students may inquire about their professors thoughts on these topics. A valuable
resource is An Ancient Universe: How Astronomers Know the Vast Scale of Cosmic Time. Published
by the American Astronomical Society, this booklet is a guide for teachers, students and the public.
The booklet was written by a subcommittee of the American Astronomical Society's Astronomy
Education Board, and was published in 2004 by the American Astronomical Society with the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The document may be downloaded in PDF format free of
charge: www.aas.org/education/ancientuniverse.html.
Another helpful resource is Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences,
second edition, Steering Committee on Science and Creationism, National Academy of Sciences,
ISBN: 0-309-53224-8, 48 pages, (1999). Ordering information at:

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www.nap.edu/catalog/6024.html. This booklet considers the science that supports the Theory of
Evolution, focusing on three categories of scientific evidence:
Evidence for the origins of the universe, Earth, and life
Evidence for biological evolution, including findings from paleontology, comparative
anatomy, biogeography, embryology, and molecular biology
Evidence for human evolution
At the end of each of these sections, the positions held by advocates of creation science are briefly
presented and analyzed as well.

Class Discussion and Projects

1. Discuss the nature of scientific fields. Why are physics, chemistry, and astronomy classified as
sciences, whereas art, music, philosophy, and literature are generally not? Is mathematics a science or
an art? What about the social sciences or health sciences? It is helpful here to ask students to classify
certain academic subject areas or college majors and to justify their classifications. One scheme is to
distinguish among natural sciences (perhaps subdivided into physical and biological sciences),
social sciences, and humanities. Another scheme is to distinguish among hard sciences, soft
sciences, and non-sciences. A claim to scientific status should, of course, include some attention
to questions such as the reproducibility of experiment or observation in contrast with the private
inspiration of an artist. Key criteria for the second classification scheme are the degree to which the
subject matter can be measured accurately and the ability to predict the outcomes of specific cases in
the hard sciences. The soft sciences must approach almost all data statistically. Are there hard
and soft natural or social sciences or are these classification schemes identical? Are there elements
of nonscientific subjects that can be usefully addressed in a scientific way?
2. Discuss the meanings of physical laws and theories in modern science. Are there fundamental
differences between Einsteins theories of relativity and John Q. Publics theory on why ducks cannot
fly backward? Most students consider a theory to be merely a proposed explanation rather than a
well-tested and widely accepted scientific proposition. They do not understand that theories are
composed of data, observations, and laws.

Audiovisual Materials
Cosmos (14 hour episodes now available in DVD format, Turner Home Media or the Astronomical
Society of the Pacific) Popular introduction to astronomy by Carl Sagan.
The Astronomers (6 hour episodes, Pacific Arts Video or the Astronomical Society of the Pacific)
PBS TV program written by Donald Goldsmith and introducing selected fields of modern
astronomical research.
From Here to Infinity (1995, Paramount, 43 min.) Up to date and comprehensive overview narrated
by Patrick Stewart, better remembered as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
Powers of Ten (famous 9-min. film about the cosmic and microscopic realms, available in VHS and
DVD formats; Pyramid Films or the Astronomical Society of the Pacific)
Universe (Videotape, 1976, NASA or Astronomical Society of the Pacific) An older, general
introduction to the cosmos, narrated by William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk.

You cant go wrong showing your class a video program from the PBS NOVA series. NOVA is
produced by WGBH, Boston. NOVA releases several new programs every year. Consult these Web

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sites: WGBH at shop.wgbh.org/ or PBS at www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/archive/int_spac.html. Some

currently (Winter, 2008) available NOVA programs include:

Apollo 13: To the Edge and Back (1994) Hunt for Alien Worlds (1997)
Countdown to the Invisible Universe (1987) Magnetic Storm (2003)
Death of a Star (1987) Monster of the Milky Way (2006)
Death Star (2002) Origins (2004)
The Doomsday Asteroid (1995) Runaway Universe (2000)
The Elegant Universe (2003) Saturn's Titan (2006)
Galileo's Battle for the Heavens (2002) Welcome to Mars (2005)

Organizations and Publishers

The American Astronomical Society is an organization of professional astronomers. The AAS
education office provides information and resources for teachers of astronomy. Their Web site,
www.aas.org/education/, includes links to classroom resources such as images and applets.

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, founded in 1889 by a group of northern California
professional and amateur astronomers, has become the largest general astronomy society in the world,
with members from over 70 nations. The Societys Web site is at www.astrosociety.org/. The ASPs
Web Site for College Astronomy Instructors, maintained by our colleague Andrew Fraknoi, is an
excellent annotated resource list of web sites useful in the teaching of college-level introductory
astronomy.

NASAs general information Web site is the gateway to all of NASAs work:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html. NASA maintains a Web site especially for college faculty:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/postsecondary/features/index.html

Sky Publishing provides many resources for teachers in addition to publishing Sky &
Telescope magazine. http://skytonight.com/. Their sky chart section is very useful.

The Astronomy Education Review is an online journal supported with the generous assistance
of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and NASA and endorsed by the Astronomical
Society of the Pacific and the American Astronomical Society. aer.noao.edu/.

Books about Teaching Astronomy

Green, Paul J. Peer Instruction for Astronomy, Prentice Hall/Pearson Education, 2003. ISBN 0-13-
026310-9.

Pompea, Stephen. Great Ideas for Teaching Astronomy, 3rd ed., Brooks Cole, 2000. ISBN
0534373011

Slater, Timothy F., and Jeffrey P. Adams, Learner-Centered Astronomy Teaching: Strategies for
Astro 101, Prentice Hall/Pearson Education, 2003. ISBN 0-13-046630-1.

Zeilik, Michael. Interactive Lesson GuideTM for Astronomy: Cooperative Learning Activities, The
Learning Zone, 2000. ISBN 0-9664068-0-X.

Understanding Astronomy