Astronomy

[moonwatcher211]

hey guys, a question about how the competition works. Do they typically ask questions that are very data based, such as "what is the absolute magnitude of T Tauri?" or will the research type questions typically be more qualitative? or, it is a combination of both?

[eak227]

Some examples of very good tests are here. Your particular test all depends on the writer and how knowledgeable he/she is with the rules and astronomy itself. For instance, the Indiana IUN regional test has been the exact same test, word for word, 3 years in a row, where they completely ignore DSOs and ask general astronomy questions that don't necessarily pertain to the rules at all.

Take a look at the past 2 years' national exams though for what to expect for a good test. Usually each question will have varying levels of difficulty within itself, so you can get partial points as you go along. For instance, they'll start with simple chart reading and ask the period of a star given its chart, and then ask what kind of star it is, and then maybe ask a difficult math question, so that even if you don't know how to do the math, you can get some points.

Most questions will not be straightforward however. It won't just be copying numbers directly from your binder onto the test page. Usually you have to know the reasons behind it or use the information in a different way or something.

[piqua_stephen]

I do Astronomy, and yes, unfortunately it is Variable Stars yet again. I hate them. Not going to lie. I miss the days of Division B Reach for the Stars and the constellations it needed.

I'm not a fan of the resources this event allows. Not only do I disagree with the use of any resources for any event, I absolutely hate the fact that you can use a laptop in this event. It makes it completely unfair for those teams that can't afford them.

[eak227]

Nah, a laptop really only gives an unfair advantage if you (illegally) use it to connect to the Internet. Otherwise it is just a better way to organize information.

It would be nice to mix up the topics though, as variable stars is certainly not the only important aspect of astronomy and 3 straight years seems a bit excessive.

[Sheogorath]

yeah, I've medaled without a laptop, and the first year I did Astronomy we could have brought two, our school has some we could use, but it all depends on whether or not you know your stuff. If you spend all your time looking up stuff in a laptop or even a binder for that matter, you will get the questions right more often, if you even saved the right information, then if you already knew it and could skim through the entire test. And resources help cover a required information that people just would rather not memorize. Who wants to memorize the position, apparent, and absolute magnitudes of each and every DSO among everything else you need to know. Resources also help students learn to research the required information, sifting through the stuff that is unnecessary as well as being able to organize it in a sufficient way. Resources are a good thing. It helps broaden the mind.

And having a topic 3 years in a row is stupid, plain and simple. If they were going to keep variable stars they should have kept Mars, that would have been much better.

[eak227]

So, guys? How many of you were aware the Google Earth is now Google Universe as well??

You hit the Saturn button on Google Earth and it flips and shows you the sky, constellations, all the important locations of the universe. It's clearly still in it's early stages, but still, I'm very impressed.

[Sheogorath]

I didn't know that it was now called Google Universe, however I have used Google Earth and just switched it to sky mode to see all the constellations and stuff. It's been there for awhile now.

[eak227]

It's technically not called that... I made it up, but it sure sounds cooler that way. Google Earth just doesn't really seem to apply anymore.

[Pleiades]

I just checked it out and I love it!! I'll be using it a lot and i'll show it to my partner because he doesnt know any constellations or DSOs yet. Thanks for letting us know!

[Fireheart347]

I think a binder is alot better than a labtop. It might take for ever to load pages and you never know with computers.