UNL Astronomy Education

Flash has been Retired

2021-01-07T10:50:59-06:00

All Flash content has been removed from the site. More information on the necessity for this can be found on the Adobe Flash Player End of Life Page. Adobe states the following: "To help secure users' systems, Adobe will block Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning January 12, 2021."

It should be emphasized that all interactive content from the NAAP, ClassAction, and Interactive Ranking and Sorting Tasks projects is still available through Native Apps. These materials must be downloaded and installed on your local machine. They function in either WIN or MAC environments (but not on Chromebooks). They will continue to function as long as the underlying operating system allows them to function (which is likely to be many years) and they require no external plug-in. Although there are disadvantages to not having the materials available on the internet, there are also advantages to the new format. Advantages include the ease of accessing materials, the responsiveness of the materials, the ability to control simulation sizes, and guaranteed offline access.

The materials may be installed wherever you see benefit in doing so. At the University of Nebraska, all of the packages are installed on the machines of several classrooms, several public computer labs, and on the laptops available for student checkout across campus. They are also made available to students who are encouraged to install them on their personal machines. The native app executables for Win and MAC are available for download at Native Apps page. There are also short video tutorials on the installation process available and a simulation content guide illustrating which simulations are in the NAAP package and which are in the ClassAction package.

Main Sequence Lifetimes and Sparklers

2021-01-04T14:14:59-06:00

A new astronomy demonstration video has been uploaded focusing upon the luminosities and lifetimes of Main Sequence Stars. It is available on our YouTube Channel "UNL Astronomy" and embedded on the AU Demonstration Videos Page. It explores these issues using cars and sparklers as analogies for stars.

Recent Web Site Usage Statistics

2021-01-04T13:55:45-06:00

Statistics on this web site's usage have been tracked since the summer of 2008 using Google Analytics. Here is a posting of the 2020 data (which surprisingly looks a lot like the 2018 and 2019 data).

Fall Workshop Presentations Posted

2021-01-04T13:50:02-06:00

All 6 presentations association with the Fall 2020 joint Astronomy Education Workshop and Fall Meeting of the Nebraska Chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers are now posted. They may be found on the https://astro.unl.edu/video/speakers/ page as embeded YouTube videos and on YouTube directly as part of the UNL Astronomy channel.

New Astronomy Demonstration Video Posted

2020-10-27T09:51:06-06:00

A new video has been uploaded on Eclipsing Binary Stars. It is available on our YouTube Channel "UNL Astronomy" and embedded on the AU Demonstration Videos Page. It simulates stars using special light bulbs and the variation in brightness with time of stars with different and similar sizes and surface temperatues.

Updated Zoom Info for Astronomy Education Events

2020-10-21T11:56:34-06:00

We have simplified the Zoom connection process for the astronomy education events on the flyers below:

Webinar ID: 982 3230 4789
Passcode: 920747
Zoom Webinar Link: https://unl.zoom.us/j/98232304789

Upcoming Fall Zoom Events

2020-08-29T14:25:42-06:00

Several events will be held October 22-24 over Zoom. Promotional flyers are available for each.

Physics/Teacher's College Joint Colloquium (October 22) -- Gay Stewart, West Virginia University -- Teaching: The Best Kept Secret.
Ruckman Presentation (October 23) Gail Zasowski, University of Utah -- Stars, Galaxies, and the History of the Universe:Two Decades (and Counting!) of Exploration with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
Saturday Workshop (October 24) Joint Astronomy Education Workshop and Fall Meeting of the Nebraska Chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers. There are two plenaries and two interactive sessions scheduled (abstracts are available here). The event is open to all high school and college teachers of physics and astronomy, registration information is available on the flyer.

Recent Web Site Usage Statistics

2020-08-29T14:04:38-06:00

Statistics on this web site's usage have been tracked since the summer of 2008 using Google Analytics. Here is a belated posting of the 2019 data.

Eclipse Seasons Video

2020-03-11T12:48:02-06:00

A new video has been uploaded on Eclipse Seasons. It is available on our YouTube Channel "UNL Astronomy" and embedded on the AU Demonstration Vidoes Page. It covers both the infrequency of eclipses and the reasons for this infrequency.

Native Apps Update

2020-01-30T09:57:46-06:00

New versions of executables for Windows and Macintosh OS are now available on the Downloads page. These include packages for NAAP simulations (now with background pages included), ClassAction, and the Interactive Ranking and Sorting Tasks. There will likely be one more update.

Flash Alternatives for ClassAction and NAAP

2019-10-31T09:15:41-06:00

Flash will be removed from the web in 2020. Already web browsers are making it more difficult to use. We are pleased to announce that ClassAction and the NAAP labs are now available as native apps, for both macOS and Windows (they must be installed on your computer). These apps provide an offline alternative that does not require a browser plug-in.

Visit the downloads page at http://astro.unl.edu/downloads to get the ClassAction and NAAP Labs native apps. Download and run the appropriate files for your system and follow the prompts to install the apps. On Windows, the apps will appear under the AstroUNL folder in the Start Menu. On macOS, the ClassAction and NAAP Labs apps will appear in the Applications folder.

The ClassAction app is nearly identical to the online version. The NAAP Labs app is a work in progress. Currently it includes just the simulations and background interactives. We plan to include the background text so that the entire project will be self-contained. Between these two apps all simulations on the Simulations List Page are now available for use offline, without a browser.

Registration Open for Fall Workshop at UNL

2019-08-01T13:24:46-06:00

A large workshop will be held for high school and college instructors of Physics and Astronomy at UNL on October 12, 2019. The workshop will be a joint meeting of the annual Astronomy Education Workshop and the fall biannual meeting of the Nebraska chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Registration and continental breakfast begin at 8:30 am in Jorgensen Hall and the event will run until 4:30 pm.

Guests include:

Robert Hilborn (Associate Executive Officer of the AAPT) — who will be delivering a plenary on the nature of gravitational waves and teaching a longer session on implementing computation in physics classes. He will lead a breakout session on the Living Physics Portal -- a vast repository of teaching materials for IPLS (Introductory Physics for Life Science) students debuting soon.
Kathryn Williamson (Teaching Assistant Professor at West Virginia University) — who wil be delivering a plenary on incorporating networks of robotic telescopes in instruction and delivering a longer session on the Pulsar Search Collaboratory.

Attendees can choose between a large number of breakout sessions and three longer sessions. Continental Breakfast, Lunch, and parking are provided.

Registration is available at http://go.unl.edu/astro2019. A flyer describing the event is available at https://astro.unl.edu/graphics/UNLworkshop2019.pdf.

Attendees who are interested in leading one of the half-hour (interactive) breakout sessions should e-mail Kevin Lee at klee6@unl.edu.

New Demonstration Video

2019-05-14T14:57:26-06:00

A new video entitled Eclipses 1: Shadows & Scale has been posted. It has both an embedded peer instruction question and an accompanying worksheet. The video is available on the Astronomy Demonstration Videos Home Page and on YouTube.

Sun Glare at Audi Field

2019-04-30T10:36:18-06:00

Earlier this year physics undergraduate Brandon Harper began working with ESPN to solve a sun glare problem occurring at the new Audi Field in Washington D.C. During the broadcast of a soccer game last fall, a distracting glare due to the October sunset greatly interfered with the viewing of the game. The goal of the project was to determine when and if the sun could cause more problems like this during future games for the cameras located on the east side of the stadium. From photo and video evidence, the glare last October 13 lasted from about 5:00pm to 6:10pm when the sun finally set below the stadium walls with respect to the cameras. The glare was at its worse at around 5:50pm. The azimuthal and altitudinal coordinates of the sun were determined for that time using Stellarium (Az: 252°16' and Alt: 8°48'), allowing reference to the problematic position when checking dates for the 2019 season. It soon became clear that the azimuthal coordinate may not have an effect on the likeliness of a glare, as the sun will set year-round behind the uniform wall of the stadium, and the camera must be allowed to pan across the entire field. This left an emphasis on investigating the altitudinal coordinate of the sun during its setting. A video of the sunset as viewed from the camera stand was recorded in early March this year, allowing conclusions to be drawn by comparing it to the glare event and using Stellarium to check the coordinates. The problematic altitude of the sun was found to occur consistently about one hour before sunset each day, where the glare could be an issue 1.5 to 0.5 hours before sunset, drawn from the duration of the glare. The conclusion reported to ESPN was that they should be concerned about glare in their broadcast when filming on a clear day anywhere between 90 to 30 minutes before sunset on a given day. The ESPN crew in Washington D.C. was able to take this general rule away from the project and they are applying it to the future of sports broadcast at Audi Field.

New Ranking Task Editor

2019-01-16T16:14:32-06:00

As part of our transition from Flash to HTML we have made an online editor to create interactive ranking tasks. These HTML-based ranking tasks work on both PCs and mobile devices. Ranking tasks are created in the browser simply by importing images and filling out a few text fields.

The new editor is found on the Interactives page. This page also has links to example ranking tasks, as well as a video demonstrating how they were made.

Recent Web Site Usage Statistics

2019-01-10T12:48:06-06:00

Statistics on this web site's usage have been tracked since the summer of 2008 using Google Analytics. Site usage has grown to over 1.7 million visitors during 2017.

Usage has fallen for the first time in the last ten years during 2018.

Registration Opens for October 6th Workshop

2018-08-09T15:20:29-06:00

All high school and college instructors of physics and astronomy are encouraged to attend the fall 2018 Astronomy Education Workshop (held jointly with the biannual meeting of the Nebraska Chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers). Attendees can attend two large group presentations and choose four 30-minute breakout sessions (from among 16 choices) and a 90-minute hands-on session (from among 3 choices). The event is free and includes continental breakfast, lunch, a chance in a door-prize raffle, and UNL parking is covered.

A flyer describing the event is available here
Online registration is available at go.unl.edu/astro2018

Breakout Sessions are being scheduled for October 6th Workshop

2018-07-09T13:31:23-06:00

Finalizing the schedule and promotion of the October 6th Workshop continues. This will be a joint Astronomy Education Workshop (the 17th) and biannual meeting of the Nebraska Chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Educators who are interested in leading a breakout session for the meeting are encouraged to contact Kevin Lee at klee6@unl.edu.

Breakout sessions are 28 minutes in length. They can be about a particular content item, an issue surrounding our community, or a teaching technique, pedagogy, or instructional technology in either Astronomy or Physics (or related fields chemistry, geology, etc.). They must be interactive -- this is not a talk! Ideas may be gleaned from looking at the schedule from the last workshop.

New Videos Posted

2018-02-16T19:28:50-06:00

Two new astronomy demonstration videos were posted recently:

Optics 1: Reflection -- which explores the applications and underlyig physics of corner-cube-reflectors.
The Tidal Heating of Io -- which explores how differential gravity and the elliptical orbit of Io give rise to volcanism

Details on the Astronomy Education Workshop

2018-01-12T09:06:48-06:00

The link below consists of a news release on plans for the next Astronomy Education Workshop. It will be a joint meeting with the Nebraska Chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers.

http://newsroom.unl.edu/announce/nebraska-science/7359/42057

Recent Web Site Usage Statistics

2018-01-02T11:05:19-06:00

Statistics on this web site's usage have been tracked since the summer of 2008 using Google Analytics. Site usage has grown to over 1.7 million visitors during 2017.

Usage has grown to over 1.8 million visitors during 2017.

The Future of Flash

2017-08-16T15:28:08-06:00

Here is a recent post on the future of flash. The end is still a ways off -- but it is now definitely scheduled.

Adobe News Update

AU Astronomy Demonstration Videos -- YouTube Playlist

2017-03-11T19:09:01-06:00

This series is still very much in a developmental stage. Current versions of 27 videos can be found on this site on the Video | AU Demonstration Videos page and on the YouTube AU Astronomy Videos Playlist.

New Video Posted

2016-04-23T19:33:48-06:00

A new astronomy demonstration video entitled Temperature 1 has been posted on YouTube and on the UNL Astronomy Demonstration Video Site. It is the first in a planned series of three videos exploring temperature. The video has an embedded peer instruction question and a follow-up worksheet.

Summer Solstice Coverage in the Washington Post

2015-06-21T18:41:29-06:00

Note that the simulation in 1. What makes the days so long? looks familiar.

Link to Washington Post

New Video Available

2015-05-16T11:31:44-06:00

A demonstration video on retrograde motion is now available on the AU Astronomy Demonstration Videos page.

Videos Posted Recently

2015-03-31T21:40:51-06:00

A series of new Astronomy Demonstration Videos on phase changes in astronomy were recently posted.

All 4 are available on the AU Demonstration Video Page

Videos Posted Recently

2015-01-09T20:16:42-06:00

Two new Astronomy Demonstration Videos were posted during the Fall 2014 term:

Blackbody Radiation - where metal blocks with holes drilled in them are looked at with visible and infrared cameras.
Solar Tube - where a giant balloon is used to explore Archimedes' Principle and the Ideal Gas Law.

Both are available on the AU Demonstration Video Page.

Leave of Absence

2014-08-08T09:11:25-06:00

Kevin Lee has taken a leave of absence from UNL to serve as a rotator in the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education. Thus, responses to e-mail questions regarding the content of this site are likely to be even slower than usual. The availability of all content should continue as before unchanged.

Code Release

2014-06-21T10:54:17-06:00

A first effort has been made at a code release. It is likely that the clarity of the organization of the code release will increase (slowly) over time. Policies related to general downloads of materials and code can be found under Downloads/Usage Guidelines. Restrictions are minimal for non-profit educational uses. The actual .fla code can be found under the subsections of Downloads/Codebase.

Local Coverage of Pappalardo Visit

2014-04-15T10:35:52-06:00

Flyers Available for Pappalardo Presentations

2014-04-04T16:48:34-06:00

Details on the Upcoming Visit by Robert Pappalardo

2014-03-22T13:29:41-06:00

Planetary Scientist Robert Pappalardo of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be visiting UNL on April 14 and 15. Bob is working on NASA's proposed Europa Clipper mission.

More details will be posted regarding the presentations scheduled below as they become available.

Icy Bodies in our Solar System – A free Public Presentation appropriate for general audiences

7:30 pm, Monday, April 14, Union Auditorium
The Hidden Ocean of Europa: Exploring a Potentially Habitable World – A joint technical colloquium for the Physics, Biology, and Geology Departments

4:00 pm, Tuesday, April 15, Jorgensen 136

Videos from Fall Workshop Posted

2013-12-07T15:07:02-06:00

Videos of the presentation by Wendy Adams and both presentations by Beth Willman are now available on the Video/Guest Speakers at UNL page.

October 25-26 Events

2013-10-23T16:37:33-06:00

There are two guests in town this week (Beth Willman, Wendy Adams) and multiple events surrounding them. Events include:

Friday (1-4 pm) Workshop for Middle School Teachers on Sound and Music (flyer)
Friday Night Public Talk (7:30 pm) in the Union Auditorium (flyer)
Saturday Astronomy and Physics Workshop (8:30 am - 4:30 pm) for High School and College Teachers (event schedule, breakout session descriptions)

Physics Department Fall Picnic

2013-09-30T14:54:04-06:00

Astronomy option students provided viewing opportunities at the Fall Physics Department Picnic.


Tina Riley staffs the Coronado solar telescope while Professor Herman Batelaan takes a look.	Marina Bradaric steers a search for Venus in the twilight for those impatient for sunlight to leave.

Fall Workshop (October 26) Plenary Abstracts

2013-09-22T13:21:57-06:00

Beth Willman's Presentation: "Invisible Galaxies "

Abstract: In the past five years, more than a dozen dwarf galaxies have been discovered around the Milky Way that are 100 times less luminous than any galaxy previously known, and a million times less luminous than the Milky Way itself. These objects are effectively invisible in images of the sky. Such ultra-faint galaxies provide a unique tracer of dark matter, and might also be the most numerous type of galaxy in the universe. This talk will focus on i. how astronomers can see invisible galaxies, ii. what invisible galaxies may teach us about dark matter, and iii. the roles that current and future sky surveys will play in the accessibility of this research to scientists and students at any type of institution. I will also highlight the contributions of undergraduates to invisible galaxy research at Haverford College.

Wendy Adam's Presentation: "What do successful problem solvers do when solving complex problems?"

Abstract: As part of our work to create a physics problem solving evaluation tool, we have undergone extensive studies to determine the scope and detail of what it is that experts do when solving problems. We have identified 44 separate skills within three major divisions - 1. knowledge, 2. beliefs, expectations and motivation and 3. processes - that are used when solving complex problems. We have also shown that a person's strengths' and weaknesses' when solving problems in everyday life are the same as in the physics classroom. Here we will describe the process of identifying these skills, categorization of these skills, studies validating their use in physics, and discuss implications for teaching.

Registration Open for Joint Fall Astronomy Education - NAAPT Workshop

2013-09-10T10:11:06-06:00

The 16th annual UNL Astronomy Education Workshop will be held on Saturday, October 26, 2013. We will meet in Jorgensen Hall from 8:30 am until approximately 4:30 pm. Activities will include:

A presentation on Dark Matter & Galaxies by Beth Willman of Haverford College
A presentation on Problem Solving by Wendy Adams of Northern Colorado University
Touring the Mobile Observatory of the Strategic Air and Space Museum
Breakout Sessions on Astronomy Software, Physics Demonstrations, Teaching Techniques and much more ...

Longer hands-on sessions on "PheT Simulations", "Fruity Batteries & Squishy Circuits", and "Sound & Music" will be held simultaneously in the afternoon. All three have attendance limitations and you will be asked upon registration to specify your attendance choice.

All high school and college instructors of either astronomy or physics are invited to participate free of charge. Continental breakfast, lunch, and a variety of teaching materials will be provided. Please register by contacting:

Stephani Vendetti
stephanie.vendetti@unl.edu
402-472-9312

Wendy Adams to Visit

2013-08-05T15:04:47-06:00

A second presenter for the October 26th joint annual UNL Astronomy Education Workshop and fall meeting of the Nebraska Chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers has accepted an invitation. Wendy Adams is an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Northern Colorado. She is the former co-director of the University of Colorado's PhET Interactive Simulations Project and from 2010 to 2013 she served as the Education Coordinator of the Acoustical Society of America. Her present interests focus upon problem solving evaluation, low stakes assessment and evaluation, student perceptions of science, and integration of education research results into courses and curricula. Wendy will be making a presentation on problem solving evaluation, teaching a workshop on PhET materials, and helping to coordinate another workshop on acoustics.

Wendy joins Galaxy and Dark Matter Researcher Beth Willman of Haverford College who had committed previously to presenting.

ClassAction Jovian Planets Module Update

2013-07-23T16:20:58-06:00

The ClassAction Jovian Planets module is undergoing a complete overhaul. Things will likely be in a state of flux for a while.

ClassAction Debris Module Update

2013-05-29T12:46:03-06:00

The ClassAction debris module is undergoing a complete overhaul. Things will likely be in a state of flux for a while.

Update on Benecchi Presentations

2013-04-18T15:04:40-06:00

Susan Benecchi had difficulty in reaching Nebraska due to the weather. Her colloquium in the Department of Physics & Astronomy was postponed a day and will occur Friday, April 19 at 4:00 pm in Jorgensen 110. Her public talk will go on as originally scheduled in the Student Union Auditorium at 7:00 pm.

Video Update

2013-04-11T09:31:58-06:00

Note that there is now a pull-down menu in our main navigation bar entitled Video reflecting a number of improvements. Although almost all videos are still available for download as .mp4 files, the main thrust of our offerings are now on YouTube. There is a YouTube Channel entitled UNL Astronomy with 3 playlists: AU Astronomy Videos, UNL Guest Lectures, and UATP Presentations. All videos are presented as embedded YouTube videos (our demonstration video on convection is shown as an example of this below).

Unfortunately, this reorganization has caused the URLs of most videos to change. The present organizational structure is unlikely to need any further restructuring in the foreseeable future.

Presentations by Susan Benecchi in April

2013-03-25T12:44:57-06:00

Susan is a postdoctoral Fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington and the Planetary Science Institute. Her research focuses on the outer solar system.

Solar System Archaeology: What we Learn from Small Bodies in our Solar System

Department of Physics & Astronomy Colloquium -- Thursday, April 18, 4:00 pm, Jorgensen 136

Abstract: Since the discovery of the first Kuiper Belt object (KBO) in 1992 these objects have become key components to understanding the outer regions of our Solar System. Observations of both the dynamical and surface properties of these objects provide insight to the migration history of the giant planets. I will discuss various observational strategies for discovering and dynamically classifying KBOs and summarize our current understanding of the overall structure of the belt. Additionally, I will present the results from a compilation of studies on the colors (photometric properties), lightcurves and binary properties of sizable samples of KBOs in a variety of locations within the belt. Links between the dynamical and photometric properties of these objects may help to distinguish between various source populations and the range of conditions present in the protoplanetary disk. (flyer)

The New Horizons Mission: Pluto and Beyond

Free Public Talk -- Friday, April 19, 7:00 pm, Union Auditorium

Abstract: The outermost region of the Solar System has yet to be explored by spacecraft. Pluto sits inside of the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy objects in the outer solar system that we believe is a relic of the Solar System's formation and evolution. The New Horizons (NH) spacecraft launched in January 2006, and will fly through the Pluto system in July 2015. We hope to visit a Kuiper Belt Object (yet to be identified) afterward, in the 2018-2020 timeframe. Since launch an additional four moons have been discovered orbiting Pluto. Instruments on the spacecraft will study the surfaces of Pluto and Charon with optical broadband and multicolor images to resolutions of a few hundred meters, as well as near-infrared spectral maps with a few kilometer resolution sensitive to volatiles such as water ice, methane ice and ammonia. We will also collect UV spectra and particle data sensitive to active volatile loss. I will present an overview of what we know about the Pluto system currently, the goals of the NH mission and our efforts to find a Kuiper Belt Object to visit after the Pluto system encounter. (flyer)

Upcoming Astronomy Presentations

2013-02-22T09:45:37-06:00

Astronomy visitors to UNL and the dates of their anticipated presentations are provided below. Please check back for more information as the dates approach.

Susan Benecchi – Carnegie Institution of Washington

April 18 4:00 pm Physics Department Colloquium
April 19 Evening Public Talk

Beth Willman – Haverford College

October 25 Evening Ruckman Public Talk
October 26 Keynote Address, 2013 Astronomy Education Workshop/N-AAPT Fall Meeting

Astronomy Students Participate in Women in Science

2013-02-22T09:26:22-06:00

Every February around 100 juniors from high schools around Nebraska visit UNL to be exposed to potential careers in science. The Friday/Saturday event consists of a science fair of demonstration booths followed by a dinner and speaker Friday evening. The astronomy booth presented demoes centered on our infrared camera, the physics of music (singing aluminum rods and boomwhackers), and laptops with astronomy simulations. From right to left, Astronomy Major Samantha Cajka, Astronomy Major Marina Bradaric, and (most of) Education Major and Astronomy TA Sasha Shomshor are visible in the picture below from the dinner.

Astronomy Education group participation in the event also included a planned student observatory open house Friday evening (it was quite cloudy) and a Saturday morning presentation on http://astro.unl.edu project pedagogy to teachers and parents accompanying the students.

Blog Up and Running

2013-02-21T14:26:27-06:00

The blog has been down for a while. This has happened on a couple of past occasions due to problems with updates to python — the underlying scripting language. (It appears that problems this time were due to "user error" ;-)

Astronomy Majors lead Workshop for Middle School Teachers

2013-02-15T14:16:04-06:00

Making science exciting and important to middle school students can be an endeavor but Lincoln educators are aiming for the stars. On October 5th, a group of 8th grade science teachers from five local middle schools participated in a curriculum enhancement workshop.

Dr. Kevin Lee presented with the help of five undergraduate students -- Marina Bradaric, Samantha Cajka, Lauren Wolterman, Ethan Van Winkle, and Tina Riley. Jeff Wilkerson, Professor of Physics at Luther College, also presented.

The students showed the teachers where to find free sky maps, virtual planetarium software, calculators that note things like the best time to see Jupiter's famous red spot, and places where science is crowd sourced like the Galaxy Zoo on Zooniverse. The group also made altitude markers, tested a simple, homemade spectrometer, and learned that even paper towel tubes can give kids a better focus on astronomy.

Dr. Lee demonstrated several online resources to benefit both students and teachers seeking to grasp a better understanding of physics and astronomy, including UNL's Daylight Hours Explorer, which has received over a million hits in the past two years.

One participant noted that, "[the workshop] sparked my sense of wonder -- I want to learn more!" Another appreciated having their questions about astronomy answered and nearly everyone found a resource they were looking forward to using.

This workshop is the second of its kind, coming on the heels of a successful 15-year-long program for high school science educators. Two of last year's participants returned this year and several of the teachers said they expect the workshop will help them bring astronomy to their students on a level they can understand and get excited about.

Registration Open for Fall Astronomy Education Workshop

2012-08-14T14:50:11-06:00

The 15th annual UNL Astronomy Education Workshop will be held on Saturday, October 6, 2012. We will meet in Jorgensen Hall from 8:30 am until approximately 3:30 pm. Activities will include:

Keynote address "Ten Years of Watching the Sky with Students" by astronomer Jeff Wilkerson of Luther College
Brian Thomas of Washburn University will expose us to his research on simulating nearby supernovae and gamma-ray bursters
Breakout Sessions on Clickers, Astronomy Software, Physics Demonstrations, and much more ...

Heather Hulinsky
hhulinsky2@unl.edu
402-472-6348

Astronomy Majors Host Transit Observing

2012-06-16T10:49:16-06:00

An observing session was organized by astronomy major Marina Bradaric for the Tuesday, June 5 transit of Venus. A Coronado solar telescope which allows through only Hα light and two sunspotters which project an image onto a screen were available to the public for viewing near the Union fountain. The thumbnail images posted here link to larger images of a) an Hα image of the sun and Venus, b) the sunspotter screen showing Venus and sunspots, c) astronomy major Lauren Wolterman helping younger observers, and d) an adult observer using the Coronado. All images were taken by astronomy major Christina Riley.

Fall Workshop Guests Confirmed

2012-05-02T16:20:15-06:00

Two guest speakers for the fall Astronomy Education Workshop on Saturday, October 6th have been confirmed. Brian Thomas, an astrobiophysicist from Washburn University will be here to talk about dangers to life on Earth from space. His research specifically looks at how radiation events like supernovae and gamma-ray bursts will affect ocean Phytoplankton. Jeff Wilkerson from Luther College has extensive experience supervising undergraduate students on projects with small telescopes making photometric observations. Jeff will summarize his extensive program including a current major interest (development of rapid photometric techniques for the study of stellar signal variations) and describe how undergraduates benefit from these types of experiences.

ClassAction Updates

2012-04-22T14:01:54-06:00

Substantial updates have occurred to the Coordinates and Motions and Binary and Variable Star modules.

In the coordinates and motions module this involved the addition of a handful of new questions, grouping questions of a similar topic near each other, and the addition of the daylight simulator (screenshot below). This simulator shows the illumination on Earth as seen from the sun in either a yearly or daily format. We had several questions which involved the yearly format – constructing an animation using the pattern of sunlight every day at noon from a given longitude (usually the prime meridian). We found that students really needed to see the daily format before they could begin to reason with the yearly format.

A number of new questions have been added to the variable and binary star module. Previously most of the questions had focused on concepts related to photometric observations of variable stars. The new questions focus much more strongly on concepts taught in the lecture hall such as center of mass, locations and motions of the stars in a binary system, and light curves.

AAPT Announces Winner of Halliday and Resnick Teaching Award

2012-04-19T15:03:01-06:00

A press release on the AAPT's 2012 Halliday and Resnick Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award can be found here.

Fall Workshop Date Set

2012-03-31T10:51:29-06:00

The 15th Astronomy Education Workshop will be held on Saturday, October 6th. This date was selected by avoiding NATS (September 27-29), UNL Fall Break (October 15-16), WoPhy (October 18-20), N-AAPT Fall Meeting (November 3), and all home football games. Please check back for further details -- programming information will be posted as it is determined.

Astronomy Demonstration Videos

2011-11-20T12:24:47-06:00

Check out our new series of Astronomy Demonstration Videos entitled AU available under the Resources tab here. The videos are 2 to 3 minutes long and consist of a demonstration commonly appropriate for the introductory astronomy classroom prefaced with enough explanation to provide the proper context. We created these videos with distance education courses in mind where typical students go the entire semester without seeing a demonstration, but they are also useful for instructors with limited equipment or limited time to set equipment up. The videos can be run online or downloaded to a local computer. They are freely available for any non-profit educational use.

Public Talk on Instructional Technology on November 9th

2011-10-27T14:56:15-06:00

Perry Samson of the University of Michigan will be giving a public talk at UNL on Wednesday, November 9th at 4:00 pm in the city campus student union auditorium. The presentation is entitled Deliberate Engagement of Laptops in Large Lecture and will focus on a new classroom technique using instructional technology. The presentation is free and open to the public. A flyer promoting the event is available here.

ExoPlanets Abound! -- Public Talk on October 21st

2011-10-17T16:20:08-06:00

Jason Wright of Penn State University will be giving a public talk at UNL on Friday, October 21st at 7:30 pm. The presentation is entitled Exoplanets Abound! and will be given in the city campus student union auditorium. The presentation is free and open to the public. A flyer promoting the event is available here.

Registration Open for Fall Astronomy Education Workshop

2011-08-12T14:15:09-06:00

The 14th annual UNL Astronomy Education Workshop will be held on Saturday, October 22, 2011. We will meet in Jorgensen Hall from 8:30 am until 4:00 pm. This will be a joint meeting with the Nebraska chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers and the chapter's business meeting will take place at 4:00 pm. Activities will include:

Keynote address by extrasolar planet astronomer Jason Wright of Penn State
Physics of the Junk Drawer session led by the Science House's Scott Ragan
Breakout Sessions on Clickers, Video Analysis, Astronomy Software, Spectra Demonstrations, Pearson's Mastering Physics, and much more ...

Heather Hulinsky
hhulinsky2@unl.edu
402-472-6348

UATP Public Talk

2011-06-28T13:23:04-06:00

A talk will be given by Dr. Duncan Brown of Syracuse University to kick off the Using Astronomy to Teach Physics Workshop. The talk is entitled "The New Astronomy of LIGO" and will be given in UNL's City Campus Student Union Auditorium on Wednesday, July 27 at 7:30 pm. LIGO is an instrument that is expected to make the first detection of gravitational waves — waves produced in the collision of black holes. The talk is appropriate for general audiences and is open to the public free of charge. A flyer promoting the event is available here.

UATP Plenary Speakers

2011-06-27T16:01:06-06:00

The Using Astronomy to Teach Physics Workshop will be held on the UNL campus July 27-30. An impressive list of plenary speakers has recently been announced. The speakers, their institutions, and their topics include:

Joseph Amato, Colgate (Teaching Physics with Astronomy)
Roger Blandford, Stanford (Keynote Address)
Duncan Brown, Syracuse (LIGO)
Doug Caldwell, NASA (Kepler ExtraSolar Planets)
David Helfand, Columbia (Chandra)
Kara Hoffman, Maryland (IceCube)
Ed Prather, Arizona (Pedagogical Strategies)
Barbara Ryden, Ohio State (Observational Cosmology)
Greg Snow, UNL (Pierre Auger Observatory)

More information can be found here.

Kepler ExtraSolar Planet Visualization

2011-03-01T13:09:36-06:00

The UNL Astronomy Education Group was commissioned by the Kepler Space Probe EPO Group to develop an extrasolar planet visualization tool. The visualization is now used on the Kepler web site to display the physical characteristics of all newly discovered extrasolar planets. As an example, look at the page for Kepler-5b.

Using Astronomy to Teach Physics Workshop

2011-02-26T13:31:15-06:00

UNL will be hosting a workshop entitled UATP (Using Astronomy to Teach Physics) July 27 - 30 to precede the AAPT National Meeting held in Omaha. A complete description can be found here. This workshop is endorsed by both the APS and the AAPT.

Fall Astronomy Education Workshop Scheduled

2011-02-26T13:24:41-06:00

The next UNL Astronomy Education Workshop will be held Saturday, October 22, 2011. This will be a joint meeting with the N-AAPT. Guests will include Scott Ragan, Assistant Director of North Carolina State University's The Science House and Jason Wright (home page), extrasolar planet astronomer from Penn State. Please check back for more details.

Hawk at Student Observatory

2011-02-26T13:12:49-06:00

Last week brought a new first time visitor to the UNL Student Observatory (a first-year red-tailed hawk according to UNL biologists). The visitor's size, proximity to the observatory door, and total disinterest in humans no matter how close they got were all quite surprising.

Click the image to see a larger version.

New Sidereal and Solar Time Simulator

2010-10-18T15:41:46-06:00

A Sidereal and Solar Time Simulator has been added to the site. It illustrates a solar clock, a sidereal clock, the Sun, and an observer on Earth. One can advance time by a variety of different increments and see the effects on both clocks and the observer. Concepts that can be demonstrated include:

the 4 minute difference between solar and sidereal days
the ~366 sidereal days and ~365 solar days in a year
alignment with the sun for solar time, alignment with the stars for sidereal time
that sidereal time is equal to the RA of an object on the meridian -- "if it is noon on the summer solstice, what is the sidereal time?"

Agenda for Astronomy Education Workshop

2010-09-10T19:23:27-06:00

The 13th Astronomy Education Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, October 9, 2010. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Travis Rector of the University of Alaska. He will tell us about his curriculum development on labs where students learn science by actually doing science and have participants experience this first hand with a lab on searching for novae in the Andromeda Galaxy. We will also learn about some of the new planets discovered by the Kepler mission and how these are being communicated to the public. The workshop agenda is available here.

Numerous educational materials, continental breakfast and lunch are provided free of charge. High school instructors, college instructors and undergraduates interested in careers in science education should register with Shannon Parry by phone at 402-472-9312 or by email at sparry3@unl.edu.

Upcoming Workshops

2010-07-08T17:01:00.000-05:00

Workshops will be held at two conferences during the next month:

1. Kevin Lee and Ed Prather will be teaching a day long workshop at the AAPT National Meeting in Portland, Oregon on July 18. The workshop is entitled "Teaching Astronomy Effectively with Technology". Abstract:

Educational research has clearly defined the characteristics of the optimal introductory astronomy classroom – one where students are actively engaged in the learning process and frequently receiving timely feedback on their learning progress. This CAE/CATS Tier 2 workshop will explore a variety of technologies that enable instructors to engage students and efficiently provide feedback. Instructors will be trained and provided with curriculum materials from multiple NSF grants on computer simulations, computerized databases of Think-Pair-Share questions, and a library of both animated and pencil-paper ranking and sorting tasks. All materials will be disseminated through the web (http://astro.unl.edu) before the workshop and attendees will bring their own laptops with the software already installed.

See the AAPT web site for more information.

2. The CATS team will be presenting a series of 7 workshops at the Cosmos 2010 Conference in Boulder. Those that include local presenters are:

Engaging Students with Simulations in the Classroom – Kevin Lee (U. of Nebraska) and Rica French (Mira Costa Coll.)
Engaging Students with ClassAction – Rica French (Mira Costa Coll.) and Kevin Lee (U. of Nebraska)
Engaging Students with Pencil-and-Paper and Computer-Delivered Ranking Tasks: Quantitative Reasoning Activities that Increase Learning – Ed Prather (U. of Arizona) and Kevin Lee (U. of Nebraska)

See the Cosmos web site for more information.

Astronomy Education Workshop

2010-07-08T17:00:00.000-05:00

The 13th Astronomy Education Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, October 9, 2010. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Travis Rector of the University of Alaska. Please check back for more information as the date approaches.

ClassAction v2

2010-04-06T14:29:00.004-05:00

A major focus of our efforts recently has been improving ClassAction. Not only have we made many new questions (there are nearly 450), we have also created a completely new ‘browser’ for ClassAction: ClassAction v2. Although this new browser is still considered beta it is sufficiently well developed that we want to encourage people to try it. Here are some of the things it lets you do:

You can now create custom modules with questions and resources that you select. Instructions are on the v2 page.
You can download your custom modules in a zip file and run them from your laptop or flash drive during class (no internet dependence).
You can resize the browser window and the question will get bigger or smaller as needed.
You can use search to find the questions you want. (In the v2 browser, click the logo in the upper right and select ‘Search’ from the menu.)
You now have access to all questions and resources in a single package.
You can navigate between modules and questions in much the same way as you would in a web browser. You can navigate to the next or previous question in a module with a single click.
Large modules are handled more efficiently (reduced CPU load).

Shawn Langan will be presenting this new version of ClassAction at the Mid-American Regional Astrophysics Conference on April 9, 2010.

Recent Changes

2010-04-06T14:21:00.002-05:00

(Here's a little list of some of the things we have been working on since last fall. We're saving the biggest development for the next post.)

Several times a year we invite guest speakers to UNL to discuss topics relevant to astronomy educators. These talks are now available online. If you aren't using ClassAction (or other active engagement techniques) in your classroom then start by watching Dr. Ed Prather's talk.

We have begun creating training videos to show instructors how to use our materials in their classrooms.

The Astronomy Interactives project has released several new ranking tasks.

The Lunar Phases Simulator has been translated into Dutch and Greek. This is our first internationalized simulator.

In addition to many new ClassAction questions, we've also introduced several new simulators. Three of our favorites are the Gravity Calculator, the Lunar Phase Quizzer, and the Galactic Redshift Simulator (thanks to Dr. Travis Rector at the University of Alaska Anchorage for the idea for this simulator).

Ranking Tasks Workshop at February AAPT/APS Meeting

2009-12-31T16:31:00.002-06:00

On February 14th Kevin Lee and Ed Prather will give a half day workshop on ranking tasks at the AAPT/APS (American Association of Physics Teachers / American Physical Society) joint meeting in Washington DC. For more details visit the AAPT Workshops page.

Teaching Astronomy with Technology Workshop at AAS

2009-12-31T16:30:00.001-06:00

On January 3rd Kevin Lee, Ed Prather and Rica French will be giving a day long workshop on teaching astronomy with technology at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington DC.

Ruckman Lecture and the Astronomy Education Workshop

2009-09-28T17:59:00.003-05:00

Two events are coming up this week at UNL:

Ruckman Lecture:
Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in the National Parks
by Dr. Tyler Nordgren (University of Redlands)
Friday, October 2, 7:30pm
City Union Auditorium
promotional flyer (pdf)

Astronomy Education Workshop
Saturday, October 3, 9:00am to 3:30pm
Avery 19, UNL City Campus
workshop agenda (pdf)

We are pleased to welcome Tyler Nordgren (University of Redlands) to present this year's Ruckman Lecture on the subject of astronomy and the national parks. The dark skies of the national parks provide an opportunity to truly appreciate the night sky, and the geological formations at the parks demonstrate processes that occur on other planets. The student observatory will be open to visitors after the talk.

Dr. Nordgren will also take part in the next day's Astronomy Education Workshop – workshop agenda (pdf). If you would like to attend this workshop, please RSVP by emailing sparry3@unl.edu or calling 472-9312.

Colloquium on Learner-Centered Teaching

2009-09-22T17:47:00.002-05:00

When: Friday, September 25, 4-5pm
Where: Nebraska Union Auditorium

Ed Prather (University of Arizona) will be talking this Friday about active engagement strategies and how they can improve students' understanding beyond what is achieved by traditional instructional methods. From questioning in the classroom to small group collaborative activities, many forms of interactive teaching will be modeled and discussed.

Dr Prather is the executive director of the Center for Astronomy Education, which develops and conducts research on the effectiveness of learner-centered instructional materials and methods. Complete details can be found on the promotional flyer (pdf).

Astronomy Education Workshop at UNL

2009-08-21T17:07:00.000-05:00

The 12th Astronomy Education Workshop will be held Saturday, October 3, 2009, 9:00am through 3:30pm. This is a joint meeting with the Nebraska chapter of the AAPT (the N-AAPT business meeting will occur at 3:30).

This workshop will feature Tyler Nordgren (University of Redlands), who will speak about everyday applications of astronomy, and Dale Stille (University of Iowa), who will give a presentation of astronomy related physics demos. Additional information can be found on the workshop homepage.

If you would like to attend this workshop, please RSVP by emailing sparry3@unl.edu or calling 472-9312.

Fall 2009 Observatory Public Nights Schedule

2009-08-21T16:52:00.001-05:00

There will be three public nights at Behlen Observatory and four at the Student Observatory during the Fall 2009 semester.

Date	Time	Location
Friday, September 18	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory
Friday, September 25	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Behlen Observatory
Friday, October 2	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory*
Friday, October 23	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Behlen Observatory
Friday, October 30	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory
Friday, November 13	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory
Friday, November 20	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Behlen Observatory

*There will also be a public lecture before the October 2 observatory open house.

Directions to Behlen Observatory
UNL Observatories Home

Planetary Orbit Simulator Featured in Project Tuva

2009-07-15T21:11:00.000-05:00

(First time visitors to our site may wish to start by browsing our list of animations.)

Microsoft Research has just released a series of filmed lectures by Richard Feynman on the nature of physical laws. The Silverlight based player allows one to follow the lectures with a transcript, and also presents links to resources at relevant times. The first lecture ("Law of Gravitation") features NAAP's Planetary Orbit Simulator after Feynman discusses Kepler's laws and Newton's interpretation of them.

Microsoft Research is the same group that created WorldWide Telescope, a desktop planetarium program that allows one to navigate and take tours of a multitude of astronomical images.

Center for Astronomy Education Workshop

2009-07-09T08:43:00.002-05:00

Kevin Lee will be presenting ClassAction and NAAP materials at the Center for Astronomy Education's Maui Workshop July 11-12. Other special presenters at this workshop will be Larry Marschall (Gettysburg College) and Travis Rector (Univ. of Alaska). More information can be found on the CAE's workshop homepage.

Earth Sized Planet Discovered

2009-04-22T15:19:00.001-05:00

Astronomers have just announced (New York Times article) the discovery of a fourth planet orbiting the nearby star Gliese 581. This planet is also the most earth-like, in terms of mass, of the more than 300 extrasolar planets yet discovered.

This newly discovered planet is much too close to its parent star to be conducive to life. However, the outermost planet in the Gliese 581 system is just outside (or possibly just within) the boundary of the habitable zone, which is defined as the region around a star where liquid water might exist on the surface.

The recently developed Stellar Habitability Zone simulator can be used to model this system as well as several others. This simulator is part of an extrasolar biology NAAP module currently under development.

Astronomy Camp 2009

2009-04-13T15:43:00.001-05:00

UNL will be hosting an astronomy camp for high school students July 12-18. The cost is $100 for in-state students and $150 for out-of-state students (need-based scholarships are available). Interested students should submit applications by May 15. The application form is available in pdf or doc format.

Extrasolar Planets Talk at Nebraska Academy of Sciences

2009-04-13T15:19:00.002-05:00

Kevin Lee will be giving the keynote address to the physics section at the Nebraska Academy of Sciences meeting on Friday, April 17 at 1 pm in the Nebraska Wesleyan Planetarium. The talk, entitled Peer Instruction, Computer Simulations, & ExtraSolar Planets will summarize current knowledge of extrasolar planets and will feature educational tools available to introduce the subject to students.

Dr. Terry Oswalt to Visit UNL

2009-01-29T17:44:00.001-06:00

Dr. Terry Oswalt, a well-known expert on white dwarf stars, will be visiting UNL next week. While here he will give three talks (click on the titles for more details):

Digging in the Stellar Graveyard: How Astronomers Measure the Age of the Universe
Physics Department Colloquium, Thursday, February 5, 4:00 pm, Brace 211
Chicken Little Was Right, the Sky IS Falling!
General Public Talk, Thursday, February 5, 7:30 pm, Union Auditorium, UNL City Campus
Searching for Life in the Universe: Where is Everyone?

Behlen Open House, Friday, February 6, 8:00 pm, Behlen Observatory, Mead, NE — directions to Behlen Observatory

Workshop at Chicago AAPT Meeting

2009-01-29T17:42:00.001-06:00

Kevin Lee and Chris Siedell will be teaching a daylong workshop entitled "Teaching Astronomy with Technology" at the upcoming AAPT Winter National Meeting in Chicago. This workshop will focus on using simulations, think-pair-share questions, and technology in the classroom. The workshop will be held Friday, February 13, 8 to 5. Visit the AAPT site for more details.

Winter/Spring 2009 Observatory Public Nights

2009-01-22T08:48:00.001-06:00

There will be three public nights at Behlen Observatory and four at the Student Observatory during the coming semester.

Date	Time	Location
Friday, January 23	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory
Friday, February 6	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Behlen Observatory
Friday, February 13	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory
Friday, March 6	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Behlen Observatory
Friday, March 27	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory
Friday, April 3	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Behlen Observatory
Friday, April 24	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory

Directions to Behlen Observatory
UNL Observatories Home

Site Redesign

2009-01-10T16:54:00.001-06:00

With the new year comes a new website design. If you experience any problems please let us know (email: astro@unl.edu) and we will try to fix things as quickly as possible.

Workshop at AAS Long Beach Meeting

2008-12-31T15:26:00.005-06:00

Kevin Lee and Doug Duncan (University of Colorado) will be teaching a workshop at the American Astronomical Society meeting on Sunday, January 4th, 2-5pm. The workshop, Active Questioning in the Classroom, will focus on increasing student engagement through the use of in-class questions and other resources. Follow the link to the AAS site above for more information.

Please note: workshop attendees are strongly encouraged to bring their laptops, as ClassAction questions and resources will be used extensively.

Fall 2008 Public Nights Schedule

2008-08-15T12:23:00.003-05:00

There will be three public nights at Behlen Observatory and four at the Student Observatory during the Fall 2008 semester.

Date	Time	Location
Friday, September 5	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Behlen Observatory
Friday, September 12	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory
Friday, October 3	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory
Friday, October 10	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Behlen Observatory
Friday, November 7	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Behlen Observatory
Friday, November 14	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory
Friday, December 5	7:30 pm to 10:00 pm	Student Observatory

Directions to Behlen Observatory
UNL Observatories Home

Updated Planetary Orbit Simulator

2008-08-15T12:19:00.002-05:00

After showing the Planetary Orbit Simulator at the AAPT workshop in Edmonton we realized that the orbit scaling method could be made more intuitive. Here is the new version with improved scaling:

Updated Planetary Orbit Simulator

Notice that instead of staying at a fixed size on the screen the orbit temporarily expands or contracts as the semimajor axis length changes. Check out the old version for comparison.

Other changes to note: there's now a scale bar in the Visualization panel, grid lines are now optional, and there are more options in the Newtonian Features panel.

Fall Astronomy Education Workshop

2008-06-30T15:30:00.001-05:00

The 11^th UNL Astronomy Education Workshop will be held on Saturday, October 11, 2008. Our featured speaker will be Dr. Pamela Gay of Southern Illinois University. Pamela is a well-known variable star astronomer and is very active in the American Association of Variable Star Observers. She also has a long history of communicating astronomy to the public through podcasts (see http://www.astronomycast.com). Registration will commence in late August.

Workshop at AAPT Summer Meeting

2008-06-30T15:22:00.001-05:00

Kevin Lee with Todd Young (WSC) and Dave Kreigler (UNO) will once again be offering a day-long workshop at the national AAPT meeting in Edmonton. The workshop is entitled ?Teaching Astronomy with Technology? and is held on Sunday, July 20. It will strongly focus on computer simulation and peer instruction usage in the classroom and touch lightly on computerized ranking tasks and how technology can aid preclass preparedness.

Peer Instruction Materials for Stellar Evolution

2008-06-30T15:00:00.005-05:00

The latest module to debut on the ClassAction web site focuses on stellar evolution. There are presently 16 questions and this module is likely to grow over time. It does a particularly thorough job of exploring student understanding of the different stages of the sun?s future evolutionary track and the source of fusion energy at each stage. A poster paper on the Stellar Evolution module will be presented at the AAPT meeting in Edmonton on July 22. Visit the Stellar Evolution Module page.