Observing the Moon’s of Jupiter

1. Observing the Moon’s of Jupiter A Participatory Example of Contemporary Inquiry Instruction

2. DISCUSSION • Everyone has been talking about INQUIRY in teaching. Let’s generate some ideas about what that means. • Describe three inquiry experiences that you’ve had • Write down you description of what INQUIRY looks like in the ideal classroom • Our collective image of ideal inquiry:

3. 2009 Inquiry Science Mini-ConferenceTodayFirst (and last) Call for Poster Presentations Conference Theme: Heavenly Motions: Studying the Dynamics of Jupiter’s Moons This announcement calls for contributed poster presentations describing an original and never before published inquiry research study. Inquiry research teams of no more than two authors can present a poster as large as 4’ x 4’ OR as a series of no more than 5 PPT slides. Your participation requires prior approval by the chair of the Science Organizing Committee (SOC) by submitting a description of your research question and strategy for collecting data with a maximum length of 50 words one hour before the conference.

4. Ok,,,,, GO! Do your “inquiry”!

5. The Compassionate Teacher gives students a nudge in some direction…. • Imagine I gave you any three nights over the next year to use the Gemini Observatory atop Mauna Kea to observe anything you wanted to look at for a class project. This observing time has a value of about $90,000. • What would you choose to do?

6. Inquiry using the Hubble Space Telescope • Hubble Deep Field Multimedia Journey • http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/hubble_deep_field/ • Hubble Deep Field North • Hubble Deep Field South • Hubble Ultra Deep Field

8. What observations can we make when we look at these images?

9. More Hubble to Investigate

10. Questions that we’ll come back to… • You were prompted to engage in two different astronomy inquiry experiences--- • Of the two lists of questions that we generated, which list was “easier” to create? • What are the implications for the classroom teacher and for the students?

11. Jupiter’s moons are easily seen with Earth-based telescopes

12. Solar System Simulator • Online software that allows the user to observe any solar system object, from any vantage point, at any date and time, with (nearly) any field of view • http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/

13. Solar System Simulator Question: How long does it take for Earth’s Moon to make one trip around the Earth? Process: • Use SSS to look at our moon from the surface of the Sun • Starting today at about 00:00 notice where the Moon is its orbit, and measure the distance between the two with a ruler. • Advance the date and time until the Moon returns to the same location

14. Solar System Simulator Question: How long does it take for Io to make one rotation on its axis? Process: • Use SSS to look at Io from the surface of the Sun • Starting today at 00:00 look at Io and find a landmark. Measure the distance between the landmark and the nearest edge of the moon. • Advance the date and time until the landmark returns to the same location

15. Solar System Simulator Question: How long does it take for Io to make one trip around the Jupiter?

16. Solar System Simulator Question: Jupiter has four large moons. What question would you like to ask about the motion of the Galilean moons? • Make a list of questions. Then choose your favorite and design a procedure to answer your question.

17. 2009 Inquiry Science Mini-ConferenceTodayFirst (and last) Call for Poster Presentations Conference Theme: Heavenly Motions: Studying the Dynamics of Jupiter’s Moons This announcement calls for contributed poster presentations describing an original and never before published inquiry research study. Inquiry research teams of no more than two authors can present a poster as large as 4’ x 4’ OR as a series of no more than 5 PPT slides. Your participation requires prior approval by the chair of the Science Organizing Committee (SOC) by submitting a description of your research question and strategy for collecting data with a maximum length of 50 words one hour before the conference.

19. Inquiry Using a Backwards Faded Scaffolding Approach Traditional Inquiry • Pose researchable questions • Design strategies to pursue evidence • Defend data-based conclusions Backwards Inquiry • Defend data-based conclusions • Evaluate others’ strategies and design your own strategies to pursue evidence • Pose researchable questions based on previously seen models

20. Pictures of Students

25. International Year of Astronomy A YEAR OF SCIENCE CELEBRATION • 400th Anniversary of Galileo’s Observations • 400th anniversary of the publication of Johannes Kepler’s first two Laws of Planetary Motion. • 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th Anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species. • 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln (whose contributions to science include founding the National Academy of Sciences, as well as creating the Land grant system of agricultural colleges • 100th anniversary of the discovery of the Burgess Shale by the paleontologist Charles D. Walcott. • 100th anniversary of the establishment of USDA Forest Service Experimental Forest and Ranges http://www.youtube.com/user/astronomy2009 http://astronomy2009.us/

26. What is he most famous for? Physics? Telescope Observations? Being Excommunicated?

28. The telescope • invented by Dutch lens maker in 1608 • Galileo quickly built a small 30X scope and started astronomical observations • Described his observations in SIDERIUS NUNCIAS - The Starry Messenger

29. There are thousands more stars in the Milky Way than are visible to the naked eye. Universe is bigger than imagined.

31. The Bulge of Saturn • Saturn is not a sphere. • Circles and spheres do not dominate the heavens.

33. The Moon • The moon has craters. • The moon is not a perfect heavenly body.

35. Sunspots • The Sun is not a perfect heavenly body. • The Sun rotates about its own axis.

37. Galileo’s telescope revealed that Jupiter had moons which orbited Jupiter instead of Earth.

38. Galileo’s telescope revealed phases of Venus which could only occur IF Venus orbits the Sun.

39. A Short Video Clip: State of the Union