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The Shapley-Curtis Debates

The Shapley-Curtis Debates. The Size and Shape of the Universe . Questions for the Day. What is a scientific debate? How does it differ from other types of debates? Who were Harlow Shapley and Herber Curtis? What in their respective lives led to this debate?

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The Shapley-Curtis Debates

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  1. The Shapley-Curtis Debates The Size and Shape of the Universe

  2. Questions for the Day • What is a scientific debate? How does it differ from other types of debates? • Who were Harlow Shapley and Herber Curtis? What in their respective lives led to this debate? • What were the main ideas in the Shapley-Curtis debate? How did the evidence support or deny their respective positions on the size and shape of the Universe?

  3. What is a Scientific Debate? • A debate on a hypothesis/theory and the experimental testing on these hypothesis/theories. • Uses the data collected for multiple experiments to provide evidence for the different claims claimed by each side. • Outcome is usually an altered paradigm (world view) of the hypothesis/theory debated.

  4. Climate Change Debate

  5. Differing from other Debates • Scientific data/observations are the main form of evidence as opposed to quotes/polls • Outside spin/propaganda is usually not included, but does inform the proceedings. • Usually no winner, both sides have opinions and ideas that do inform further hypothesis/theories.

  6. Harlow Shapley • 1885 – 1972 • Born in Nashville, Missouri • School dropout at fifth grade, but returned to graduate high school. • Studied astronomy in lieu of journalism at the University of Missouri University of Arizona: http://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/NatSci102/images/shapley.jpg

  7. Shapley’s Work at Princeton • Studied the luminosity-period relationship for Cepheid variables developed by Henrietta Leavitt. • Showed that Cepheid variables were not spectroscopic binaries, rather a form of pulsating stars. • Believed that clusters were much brighter than the Sun from studies, therefore much further than previously thought; thousands of light years rather than hundreds of light years.

  8. What led Shapley to Debate? • Shapley initially wanted to be a journalist, so he felt publicizing his results was important to informing the public. • He thought educating science in public schools was important due to his struggles in education. • He wanted to present his ideas in forum that would advance them into the public.

  9. Herber D. Curtis • 1872 – 1942 • Born in Muskegon, Michigan • Studied Latin at University of Michigan; then received his PhD at the University of Virgina University of Virgina: http://www.astro.virginia.edu/research/observatories/26inch/history/curtis.php

  10. Work at Lick/Allegheny • Started to study the distances in nebulae using spectra and Cepheid Variables at Lick. • Studied various nebulae, including spiral nebulae. • Offered the position of Observatory Director of the Allegheny and continued study of nebulae and asteroids. • Built a compact plate comparator to compare photo-plates more quickly and accurately.

  11. What led Curtis to Debate? • He was steadfastly attached to his opinion on Spiral Nebulae and wanted to communicate his hypotheses to a wider audience. • He had recently taken the observatory director position and wanted to represent the observatory in a public forum.

  12. A Persuasion Flow Chart Supporting Claims Supporting Evidence Main Idea

  13. An Example Chart Supporting Claims Supporting Evidence Temperature Readings Main Idea Higher Temperatures The Earth is experiencing Global Warming More CO2 CO2 Readings

  14. Main Ideas

  15. Supporting Claims

  16. Supporting Observations/Data

  17. Who won your vote? Explain your evaluation of their relative positions on the Universe.

  18. Homework 5 • Persuasion Sheet • Respond to “Debating the Road” on the blog and comment on who won the debate in a seven sentence paragraph. Also respond to another comment with a three sentence paragraph. • Now make a group 5 minute video telling a future scientist about a scientific topic that should be debated. The video should include an expression of the main hypotheses/theories needed to be covered and possible experiments that could support or deny these ideas. Your video will be uploaded to YouTube for future scientists to explore.

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