Astronomy C

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doge
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Re: Astronomy C

Post by doge »

Does anyone have a good way of identifying what wavelength/part of the spectrum a picture was taken in, besides recording this information for every image of each DSO?
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Re: Astronomy C

Post by syo_astro »

doge wrote:Does anyone have a good way of identifying what wavelength/part of the spectrum a picture was taken in, besides recording this information for every image of each DSO?
If you're given an image of something random, like the Sun, it's a bit trickier. The essential advice that transcends even the DSOs themselves is simple: know what wavelengths translate to what features on an image. Why do we use gamma ray, x-ray, UV, etc? They actually correlate very well to certain specific features for various objects, which is helped by the context of the year (for example, the jets of objects, which come in many varieties/wavelengths depending on the theme of the year practically). Think about this, would we probably be using gamma ray imaging? No, but if we did why would we for this year? I think visual or IR are very clear, and in general use. Very recently tons of images are coming out in the IR to sub-mm range. So essentially look for what features of images emit at wavelengths we view in.

DSOs make this process even easier because normally they're related and have tons of similar practice. Also, if you see "weird stuff" normally that can hint you to "not optical". Conceptual studying of how dust works in space or blackbody radiation (related to mass -> luminosity -> energy emitted) from objects also could be of use. Hope that helps!
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Re: Astronomy C

Post by JCicc »

The Southeast Regional and PA state astronomy exams should appear on the test exchange; they have been submitted. Questions? Let me know.

The high score on the Regional exam was 76/80. I don't recall any other scores, all the answer sheets were submitted to the tournament administrators.

The high score on the State exam was 70/100. Then 66/100, 61/100, 53/100, 40/100, and down quickly from there. It did not escape my attention that the astronomy exam was booed at the award ceremony. Perhaps an explanation is in order.

I have supervised this event at the Regional and State level since 2005 (I have also written exams for circuit lab, geomapping, experimental design, it's about time, and fossils). My philosophy regarding Science Olympiad events is straightforward. I am not interested in boosting anyone's self-esteem and giving myself a tie-breaking headache by administering an easy exam. My exams are too long and too hard for two people to finish in 50 minutes. However, when it is over there is NO DOUBT as to the best team, the second best team, the third best team, and so on. The format of my astronomy exam should be, after a decade, well-known to prepared and motivated competitors. Many people from other states have noticed the level of rigor that goes into preparing these exams; I do not take it lightly.

The first third (roughly) of the state exam consists of information concerning the objects. This is effectively an unlimited-resource event; do your research. What is it, where is it, how big is it, how bright is it, what is it called, how is it classified, does it appear in research literature, does it have a lightcurve or a spectrum; these are questions that I research and that I expect competitors to research.

There is always something to do with the types of objects we are dealing with; their distinguishing characteristics, the history of their discovery, their importance, their chemical makeup, etc. This year, we looked at exoplanets and brown dwarfs to a large extent. Since this is the first appearance of such objects, I focused strongly on them.

Another section (or sections) deal with the astrophysics of the objects. Could be the mechanism that drives variable stars, binary stars, galaxies (back a few years), or (this year) planets. Planetary mechanics and transits featured prominently this year.

In short, the astronomy event in the SE region and the state of PA favors the prepared. If you'll be coming back in the next year or two, check out my old exams (many of them are available on the test exchange, just look for PA in the title). They're not going to get any easier. I love this event and I look forward to supervising it every year until I drop dead.
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Re: Astronomy C

Post by aditi »

JCicc wrote:The Southeast Regional and PA state astronomy exams should appear on the test exchange; they have been submitted. Questions? Let me know.

The high score on the Regional exam was 76/80. I don't recall any other scores, all the answer sheets were submitted to the tournament administrators.

The high score on the State exam was 70/100. Then 66/100, 61/100, 53/100, 40/100, and down quickly from there. It did not escape my attention that the astronomy exam was booed at the award ceremony. Perhaps an explanation is in order.

I have supervised this event at the Regional and State level since 2005 (I have also written exams for circuit lab, geomapping, experimental design, it's about time, and fossils). My philosophy regarding Science Olympiad events is straightforward. I am not interested in boosting anyone's self-esteem and giving myself a tie-breaking headache by administering an easy exam. My exams are too long and too hard for two people to finish in 50 minutes. However, when it is over there is NO DOUBT as to the best team, the second best team, the third best team, and so on. The format of my astronomy exam should be, after a decade, well-known to prepared and motivated competitors. Many people from other states have noticed the level of rigor that goes into preparing these exams; I do not take it lightly.

The first third (roughly) of the state exam consists of information concerning the objects. This is effectively an unlimited-resource event; do your research. What is it, where is it, how big is it, how bright is it, what is it called, how is it classified, does it appear in research literature, does it have a lightcurve or a spectrum; these are questions that I research and that I expect competitors to research.

There is always something to do with the types of objects we are dealing with; their distinguishing characteristics, the history of their discovery, their importance, their chemical makeup, etc. This year, we looked at exoplanets and brown dwarfs to a large extent. Since this is the first appearance of such objects, I focused strongly on them.

Another section (or sections) deal with the astrophysics of the objects. Could be the mechanism that drives variable stars, binary stars, galaxies (back a few years), or (this year) planets. Planetary mechanics and transits featured prominently this year.

In short, the astronomy event in the SE region and the state of PA favors the prepared. If you'll be coming back in the next year or two, check out my old exams (many of them are available on the test exchange, just look for PA in the title). They're not going to get any easier. I love this event and I look forward to supervising it every year until I drop dead.
Wow. You're the type of supervisor EVERY event needs -- a dedicated one who makes an equally qualifying exam.
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Re: Astronomy C

Post by boomvroomshroom »

JCicc wrote:The Southeast Regional and PA state astronomy exams should appear on the test exchange; they have been submitted. Questions? Let me know.

The high score on the Regional exam was 76/80. I don't recall any other scores, all the answer sheets were submitted to the tournament administrators.

The high score on the State exam was 70/100. Then 66/100, 61/100, 53/100, 40/100, and down quickly from there. It did not escape my attention that the astronomy exam was booed at the award ceremony. Perhaps an explanation is in order.

I have supervised this event at the Regional and State level since 2005 (I have also written exams for circuit lab, geomapping, experimental design, it's about time, and fossils). My philosophy regarding Science Olympiad events is straightforward. I am not interested in boosting anyone's self-esteem and giving myself a tie-breaking headache by administering an easy exam. My exams are too long and too hard for two people to finish in 50 minutes. However, when it is over there is NO DOUBT as to the best team, the second best team, the third best team, and so on. The format of my astronomy exam should be, after a decade, well-known to prepared and motivated competitors. Many people from other states have noticed the level of rigor that goes into preparing these exams; I do not take it lightly.

The first third (roughly) of the state exam consists of information concerning the objects. This is effectively an unlimited-resource event; do your research. What is it, where is it, how big is it, how bright is it, what is it called, how is it classified, does it appear in research literature, does it have a lightcurve or a spectrum; these are questions that I research and that I expect competitors to research.

There is always something to do with the types of objects we are dealing with; their distinguishing characteristics, the history of their discovery, their importance, their chemical makeup, etc. This year, we looked at exoplanets and brown dwarfs to a large extent. Since this is the first appearance of such objects, I focused strongly on them.

Another section (or sections) deal with the astrophysics of the objects. Could be the mechanism that drives variable stars, binary stars, galaxies (back a few years), or (this year) planets. Planetary mechanics and transits featured prominently this year.

In short, the astronomy event in the SE region and the state of PA favors the prepared. If you'll be coming back in the next year or two, check out my old exams (many of them are available on the test exchange, just look for PA in the title). They're not going to get any easier. I love this event and I look forward to supervising it every year until I drop dead.
Wow. They seriously booed you? That's kind of rude. Hard tests are good tests, as long as they're on-topic.
Question: do you have the 2015 tests? I'm very grateful that you posted 2014, but of course the DSOs and math aren't the same as this year's focus.
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Re: Astronomy C

Post by JCicc »

Well - maybe just a few boos. More like a collective groan. The 2015 exams should be up soon.
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Re: Astronomy C

Post by syo_astro »

I saw they were uploaded, they just need to be transferred to the test exchange. Regardless of what the groans say, I know people on this forum (or just people that browse for useful resources) find it useful! In case you have not seen me say it before , your tests being put up online alone have really done a deal to influence my test writing style and studying, which I thank you very much for. I hope to supervise until I drop dead too ;).
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Re: Astronomy C

Post by EastStroudsburg13 »

I always found it simultaneously disappointing and incredibly satisfying to hear that sort of sigh (we would hear it at regionals as well, even though that test was definitely at an easier level than the states ones. If I recall, for three years it was Athens and me, and then a huge dropoff for everyone else :roll: ). Disappointing because I knew it was a fantastic test, and if the other teams had legitimately prepared (and seen some of the really cool stuff happening in the event), the could have done significantly better, but also incredibly satisfying because I instantly knew I had placed higher than the majority of teams. :D
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Re: Astronomy C

Post by Techsam »

I was looking over the test from the PA states tournament and I cant seem to get the same answer as the key for #59 on section three of the Astronomy test.

Basically you are given the orbit of a planet around a star and you are asked to calculate the total mechanical energy of the system. I got the first two questions which asked me to find the Semi-major axis using the periastron and the apastron (you average them). I also found the eccentricity which is found using:

Now based on what I knew I said:

And then I simplified that by saying

Now based on balanced forces we know that which simplifies to

You can put that all together to get that where R = semi-major axis

Now I plug in all the masses and the semi-major axis and I get the answer to be -3.697 * 10^36 J
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Re: Astronomy C

Post by JCicc »

Not sure why your answer does not match. I just did it again and got the reported answer. Maybe your masses are different? I used 1.99E30 kg for the sun, 1.898E27 kg for MJ. My semimajor axis is 7.39E10 m.
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