dreaminghigh wrote:smartkid222 wrote:koumbare wrote:Will we have to know parallax?
yes
Why do we have to know parallax? Isn't this year's topic galaxies?
Not sure how good my answer is, but I'll try to explain.
Parallax is used in calculating distance. This year's topic is galaxies, but there are a lot of other things you can be tested on, since astronomy is so broad in itself. Variable stars are definitely still on the test, and on my regional test, we had to calculate distances to them (and other things) more than once. Knowing parallax isn't quite enough, either. On my test, all the distance answers had to be in light years, but the equations usually just had parsecs in them. You need to be able to convert to AU and then to light years if necessary.
It's really just a basic tool used in astronomy, and from my experience, you always have to know the basics. For example, one of the tie-breakers on my test was, "What is the equation for the force of gravity?"
crazy77, I haven't taken a NY state test, but a lot of things are fair game in this event. Just try to make sure you touch on everything, especially identifications. If you don't have pictures in your resources, try to reason things out if you get IDs. My brother and I use laptops, and during our test, half of the images wouldn't show up, but we still figured out the answers using reasoning. Make sure you know the Deep Sky Objects, especially Epsilon Aurigae.
Hope that helps!