Extra Credit Assignment       ( SOLUTION )

Several students have asked for the opportunity to get extra credit. The BEST way to do well in the course is to do a solid job on the homeworks and to learn the course material for the midterm and final. Over 60% of the course grade has yet to be determined! Because the class is graded on a curve, extra credit automatically amounts either to extra work for everyone, or a penalty for those who have already learned the material and do not choose to do the extra credit work. Nevertheless, we will offer the chance to make a MINOR improvement in their grades for those who wish. This assignment will replace the lowest three homeworks that have been turned in. Homeworks which have not been turned in (and thus received a zero) are not eligible to be replaced. The effect should be roughly to allow for an increase of up to half a letter grade, if the project is done well. It will not be enough to make up for a very bad performance on the midterm and final examination, nor will it make up for not turning in homework at all.

As many people got the question on the midterm wrong about the Moon setting in the west, or chose not to answer the problem, we offer the chance to make some actual astronomical observations. We know that Baltimore is cloudy and that there is a lot of light pollution, so we only expect you to see bright objects: the Sun and Moon. There should be six entries, made every Tuesday (or on the first clear day after Tuesday) in the evening. Observations of each object should be made from the same place, every time. Note the direction in which you're looking. A campus map is fine for getting an orientation with respect to north, south, east and west. There should be six observations, from Nov. 2 to Dec. 7. Observing logs should be turned in at class on Dec. 9, and will not be accepted late.

**You must tell us by Thursday Nov. 4 either in class or by e-mail (better) whether you want to do this project.**


Objects to be observed are the following:

Sun: Sunrise or sunset series of observations to be undertaken in a consistant manner. For example, define sunset to occur when the top limb (edge) of the sun drops below the horizon. For every observation, note the time of setting, sketch the position on the horizon, describe ambient conditions. Some previous students have used a single master sketch for the horizon, while others made new sketches for each observation. Obviously all these observations must be taken from the same vantage point.

Moon: Data gathered from these observations should include phase, sketch of visible features, location in the sky, time of observation, conditions of observation. This can be done either at sunset or a few hours after sunset, just as long as it's done at the same time of day for each observation (+- 1 hour). Sketch the position of the Moon against nearby bright stars, identifying them using the star charts if possible.

Other objects/phenomena: In general, data must include time of observation, conditions of observation, sketch and or description of obervation (in whatever detail is possible). These other phenomena may include rainbows, sundogs, meteors, comets, etc. The Leonid meteor shower will be on Nov. 17.


Notes must be arranged neatly, with papers stapled or otherwise attached together, and clearly legible. Use of a computer for word processing and for creating figures is encouraged, though we expect most observations to consist of hand-drawn figures.

Websites with starcharts:

http://ntserver.ct.astro.it/cgiplan/

http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/

http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/

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