Astronomy 1001 Research Paper. Scientific Implications of exploring Mars

Astronomy 1001 Research Paper

Dates and Format: 1. November 5: Submit a proposed topic for your research paper, 1-2 short paragraphs (maximum) in length. I will either approve your topic or ask you for another one within 2-3 days.  ” Please write your GWU email address in the summary so that I can promptly reach you if necessary.2. December 3: Research paper due in class. Answer a question: 1.What is the question that your paper addresses, and why is it interesting to you? 2.Answer the question as best you can, making use of books on popular astronomy or other areas of science, popular (but authoritative) articles on the web (e.g., in Wikipedia), or even perhaps review articles in journals. 3. You don’t necessarily have to answer the question. For some questions the astronomical community might not even have a generally accepted answer. In such cases, explain why there are differences of opinions and, if any, which one(s) you prefer.Subject (Standard Option): Answer a specific,focusedquestion that you have had regarding something that you have read in your text, heard in lecture, or encountered outside our course (but relevant to our subject matter). There has to be a “why” question identified at the beginning of your paper. It is important that your question not be too general, such as “why are there planets?” You only have up to 10 pages, and such broad questions would yield only superficial essays. Some examples of reasonable questions are: a.Why is it scientifically important (or not!) for humans to go back to the Moon? b.Why is the measurement of exoplanetary atmospheres so important? c.Why do some parts of the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum reach Earth’s surface and others not? [What (and why) would the consequences be for life if all UV radiation were to penetrate our atmosphere?]d. Why and how does the atmosphere degrade the quality of images from telescopes located on Earth and how is the image improved? [Hard!]e. Why do (most of) the planets rotate in the same direction as the planets orbit the Sun? (Really hard! Beware of superficial—and incorrect--answers on the web!).f. Why can “neutrino telescopes” increase our understanding of nature? g. Why is it scientifically important (or not!) for humans to visit Mars?Do not fret if these questions seem daunting!Come up with any question that you find interesting and are able to address and learn about, and that meets the criteria below. Again, showing that you have seriously addressed a question (“hard” or“simple”), have done research in answering the question, and have improved your understanding of any of our course subjects is what I am looking for. Subject (Cross-Disciplinary Option): It may be that some of you who are majors in other fields (the arts, humanities, other scientific fields, etc.) have seen a possible connection between what you have learned here and what you are studying in your major or in primary fields of interest. If that is the case, then another option for your paper is to describe this connection in detail and explain how what you have learned could impact your (or others’) work in your field. It’s hard to supply many examples, but one that comes to mind is the play “Copenhagen,” which is about two of the founding fathers of quantum mechanics. It is clear that quantum physics, along with the nature of space and time, plays a role in the dialogue and choreography (at least from my perspective). Another example might involve Walt Whitman—but I won’t say how. If this is the option you’d prefer, it’s important that you don’t forget to submit a summary of your concept by Nov. 5, as your paper will still need to demonstrate your understanding of course material. I expect that the large majority of students will choose the Standard Option.Grading: 1.All research papers will be given integral scores between 0 to 5. For truly outstanding papers I may add extra credit, but the bar for this will be high.2. Your paper should evince that you have gone deeper into the question than is done in your text or lectures. By far the most important criterion is to demonstrate that you have learned somethingthrough your research into the subject. 3. The quality of the question. Is it sufficiently focused so that you need to consult additional sources of information to answer it, or is it so broad—or simple--that the answer simply repeats what is described in the text?4. Pertinence to the subjects of our class work. The role of angular momentum in Olympic skating, for example, is too far outside the general area of astronomy. 5. Papers that address creative or innovative questions are very welcome, but these attributes are not required. Paper format: 5-10 pages (not more), single-sided, double-spaced, with no smaller than 11-font type. Up to 3 figures may be appended to your paper. Please submit a hardcopy to me after class or during office hours.References: If you use statements that are taken verbatim from another source (say a Wikipedia page or a popular astronomy book), then it is essential that you use quotes to identify those statements and give credit to the source by referencingit. A couple of examples of referencing are: 1.J.J. Lissauer, “Fundamental Planetary Science,” (2019) p. 102. 2.“Mercury (planet),” Wikipedia (October 2019). It’s OK to quote; sometimes one or two sentences from another source say exactly what you want to communicate.