Astronomy Data, NVO, and LSST: Using Data in the Classroom

1
Astronomy Data, NVO, and LSST Using Data in the
Classroom

• Dr. Kirk D. Borne 1

1 Associate Professor of Astrophysics and
Computational Science School of Computational
Sciences, George Mason University Fairfax,
Virginia and NASA-GSFC National Space Science
Data Center kborne_at_gmu.edu or
kirk.borne_at_gsfc.nasa.gov http//classweb.gmu.ed
u/kborne/ http//rings.gsfc.nasa.gov/borne/ast
rodata/
2
Outline

• The Information Age
• The Nature of Scientific Data
• Quick Review of Astronomy Data
• Hubble Space Telescope
• The National Virtual Observatory (NVO)
• NVO Its all about the Science
• Technology-enabled, Science-enabling
• LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) Project
• Some Examples of Data-Driven Scientific Discovery
• Using Data in the Classroom Examples

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How do we learn about our Universe and the World
around us?
WE GATHER INFORMATION, FROM WHICH WE DERIVE
KNOWLEDGE, FROM WHICH WE LEARN WHAT IT ALL MEANS
4
The Information Age is Here!

• "Data doubles about every year, but useful
  information seems to be decreasing."
• Margaret Dunham, "Data Mining Techniques
  Algorithms", 2002
• "There is a growing gap between the generation of
  data and our understanding of it."
• Witten Frank, "Data Mining Practical Machine
  Learning Tools", 1999
• "The trouble with facts is that there are so many
  of them"
• Samuel McChord Crothers, "The Gentle Reader",
  1973
• "Get your facts first, and then you can distort
  them as much as you please."
• Mark Twain

5
The Data Flood is Everywhere!

• Huge quantities of data are being generated in
  all business, government, and research domains
• Banking, retail, marketing, telecommunications,
  homeland security, computer networks, other
  business transactions ...
• Scientific data genomics, astronomy, physics,
  etc.
• Web, text, and e-commerce
• HOW MUCH DATA ARE THERE IN THE WORLD?

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Measuring Data Quantities
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How much data are there??
5 billion gigabytes created in 2002

• UC Berkeley 2003 estimate
• 5 exabytes (5 million terabytes) of new data were
  created in 2002.
• http//www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how
  -much-info-2003/

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Astronomy data volumes are also growing and
growing and

• a few terabytes "yesterday (10,000 CDROMs)
• tens of terabytes "today (100,000 CDROMs)
• 100s of petabytes "tomorrow"
  (within 10-20 years) (1,000,000,000 CDROMs)

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The New Face of Science 1

• Big Data
• High-Energy Particle Physics
• Astronomy
• Earth Observing System (Remote Sensing)
• Human Genome and Bioinformatics
• Numerical Simulations of any kind
• Digital Libraries (electronic publication
  repositories)
• e-Science
• Built on Web Services (e-Gov, e-Biz) paradigm
• Distributed heterogeneous data are the norm
• Data integration across projects institutions
• One-stop shopping The right data, right now.

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The New Face of Science 2

• Databases enable scientific discovery
• Data Handling and Archiving (management of
  massive data resources)
• Data Discovery (finding data wherever they exist)
• Data Access (WWW-Database interfaces)
• Data/Metadata Browsing (serendipity)
• Data Sharing and Reuse (within project teams and
  by other scientists scientific validation)
• Data Integration (from multiple sources)
• Data Fusion (across multiple modalities
  domains)
• Data Mining (Knowledge Discovery in Databases)

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The Promise of e-Science

• The best of Google and Amazon.com
• Go to one place to shop for your data needs
• Use scientific indexing (through scientific
  metadata)
• Find the data that you need
• Ignore data that are not relevant
• Recommend also relevant data sets
• Access distributed data seamlessly
  (transparently)
• Integrate multiple data sets
• Integrate data sets into analysis/visualization
  software packages
• Provide value-added services
• Provide intelligence within the archive
• Provide intelligence at the point of service

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Some Features of Scientific Data

• Scientific data typically have associated
  measurement errors (error bars)
• Scientific data depend on experimental conditions
  and equipment
• Most scientific data require calibration
• Scientific data have different levels of
  abstraction (raw, calibrated, extracted
  information, knowledge, published)
• Metadata are critical components of the
  scientific database

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Astronomy data volumes are also growing and
growing and

• a few terabytes "yesterday (10,000 CDROMs)
• tens of terabytes "today (100,000 CDROMs)
• 100s of petabytes "tomorrow"
  (within 10-20 years) (1,000,000,000 CDROMs)

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Is the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) responsible
for this?

• Simple answer .
• NO

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Where has HST looked?
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HSTs cameras have a very small field-of-view
3o
HST
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NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey http//www.noao.edu/n
oao/noaodeep/
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NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey http//www.noao.edu/n
oao/noaodeep/
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NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey http//www.noao.edu/n
oao/noaodeep/
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The Electromagnetic Spectrum

• Radiation is the Astronomers only source of
  information about the Universe!
• And it is a remarkably rich diverse source!

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Need Multi-Wavelength Science Instruments to
Observe a Multi-Wavelength Universe
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So what wavelengths does HST observe?
Range of 101 in ?
Range of gt1016 in ?
Full Electromagnetic Spectrum
HST
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The Nature of Astronomical Data

• Imaging
• 2D map of the sky at multiple wavelengths
• Derived catalogs
• subsequent processing of images
• extracting object parameters (400 per object)
• Spectroscopic follow-up
• spectra more detailed object properties
• clues to physical state and formation history
• lead to distances 3D maps
• Numerical simulations
• All inter-related!

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Scientific data have a purpose
Data ? Information ? Knowledge ? Understanding /
Wisdom!

• EXAMPLE
• Data 00100100111010100111100 (stored in
  database)
• Information ages and heights of children
  (metadata)
• Knowledge the older children tend to be taller
• Understanding childrens bones grow as they get
  older

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Astronomy Example
Data
(a) Imaging data (ones zeroes)
(b) Spectral data (ones zeroes)

• Information (catalogs / databases)
• Measure brightness of galaxies from image (e.g.,
  14.2 or 21.7)
• Measure redshift of galaxies from spectrum (e.g.,
  0.0167 or 0.346)

Knowledge Hubble Diagram ? Redshift-Brightness
Correlation ? Redshift Distance
Understanding the Universe is expanding!!
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Edwin Hubble measured distances to galaxies, and
thereby discovered the expansion of the
Universe.And so we named a certain famous space
telescope after him.
(1889-1952)
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)built for a purpose
The 1 goal of HST to measure the expansion
rate of the Universe to within 10 uncertainty.
Previously, it was not known to within a factor
of 2 typical astronomical accuracy,
but definitely not good enough.
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Henrietta Leavitt measured brightness variations
of 1000s of stars the basis for the distance
scale of the Universe
The Cephus Constellation The King
(1868-1921)
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Examples of Variable Time Series Data

• Aperiodic events
• Single spiked events
• Single long-duration events

• Periodic -- sinusoidal
• Periodic -- smooth non-sine
• Periodic -- spiked events

(Chirp)
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Real Cepheid variable star data.Note the
characteristic light curve shape a rapid rise,
and then slow decline
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Henrietta Leavitts Cepheid Variables Cosmic
Yardsticks
Period-Luminosity Relation shows 2 types of
Cepheid Variables notice the 2 bands in
this correlation plot. We need to know which
Cepheid type to assign to a given star in order
to get the stars distance right! The most
famous example is Polaris The North Star.
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Doing Science (with HST or in any experiment)It
is all about the Data!
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HST reaches its goal!Determines expansion rate
to within 10, and age of Universe 14 billion
yrs
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But, HST almost didnt get it right at all !Why?
well something about a mirror problem.Bad
news early in 1990.
This is HSTs first-light image -- not too
impressive. This should have told us that
things were less than expected. Note that the
left and right images are not particularly
different in image resolution quality.
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HST should have much better image
resolution.Resolution is measured in
arcseconds.1 degree 60 arcminutes 3600
arcsecondsNote that the moon is ½ degree (30
arcmin) on the sky
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HST image is better, but not dramatically and
not even particularly scientifically new.
HST image
Ground Telescope image
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Optical Repair was installed in December 1993.So
let us compare before and after images.
PLUTO and its moon
BEFORE REPAIR (1990)
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AFTER Optical Repair (1994)
Can you notice any difference from previous slide?
Plutos moon Charon
Pluto
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Here is the real comparison test Before and
After images of a single star!
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Before Repair images of a Globular
Cluster.(note how the smeared images of single
stars overlapand therefore ruin any chance of
studying individual stars in this massive pile of
100,000 stars)
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TheAFTER IMAGE of a globular cluster Need I
say more??
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Okay, I will say more Individual White Dwarf
Stars were identified and discoveredfor the
first time ever in Globular Clusters, as
predicted by stellar evolution theories since the
1930s.
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Therefore, the mirror flaw is what could have
prevented HST from fulfilling its 1 goal.
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But there is so much more Here are a few of the
big impact HST science results!

• Hubble expansion rate age of Universe
• Super star clusters in merging galaxies
• Massive black holes in every(?) galaxy
• Quasar host galaxies revealed
• Protoplanetary disks found and studied
• Starbirth unveiled and mapped in exquisite detail
• Supernovae and novae shells resolved
• Hierarchical evolution of galaxies proven
• Most distant galaxies ever seen
• Storms on planets
• Kuiper belt comets found
• Outflows from young stars
• Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) sources solved, at last!
• Supernovae in distant galaxies Dark Energy
  discovered!

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HST 1990-2005, and beyond?Already a rich legacy
of spectacular images discoveries.
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HST images are not in color. Pixel values are
grey 0 to 216-1 (65535).
(16 bits per pixel)
Multiple images through different filters are
combined to reconstruct a color image.
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Multiwavelength view of a Spiral Galaxy
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NASA Astronomy Mission Datathe tip of the data
mountain
NSSDCs astrophysics data holdings
One of many science data collections for
astronomy across the US and the world!
NSSDC National Space Science Data Center _at_
NASA/GSFC
http//nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/astro/astrolist.html
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Why so many Telescopes?
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Why so many Telescopes?
Because

• Many great astronomical
• discoveries have come
• from inter-comparisons
• of various wavelengths
• Quasars
• Gamma-ray bursts
• Ultraluminous IR galaxies
• X-ray black-hole binaries
• Radio galaxies
• . . .

Overlay
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How does one integrate and use these distributed
data archives?
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The National Virtual Observatory (NVO)

• National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey
  recommended NVO as highest priority small
  (lt100M) project
• Several small initiatives recommended by the
  committee span both ground and space. The first
  among themthe National Virtual Observatory
  (NVO)is the committees top priority among the
  small initiatives. The NVO will provide a
  virtual sky based on the enormous data sets
  being created now and the even larger ones
  proposed for the future. It will enable a new
  mode of research for professional astronomers and
  will provide to the public an unparalleled
  opportunity for education and discovery. (p.14)
  
  

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Why is it Virtual?

• A Virtual Data System
• has multiple components
• is (geographically) distributed
• is interoperable
• provides seamless user access to distributed data
  system components
• provides one-stop shopping for data end-user

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National Virtual Observatoryhttp//www.us-vo.org/

• NVO is currently being developed. It was
  recommended by the Astronomy Decadal Survey
  Committee to the National Academy of Sciences.
  Currently funded by NSF (10M Information
  Technology Research grant) and NASA next
  year(?).
• NVO is not just National. It is actually
  Global http//www.ivoa.net/
• Will link geographically distributed astronomical
  data archives and information resources
• provides one-stop shopping for data end-user

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Size of a Typical Archived Astronomical Data
Repository

• Size of the archived data for an all-sky survey
  -- 40,000 square degrees is two Trillion pixels
  --
• One band 4 Terabytes
• Multi-wavelength 10-100 Terabytes
• Time dimension 10 Petabytes
• LSST project (10 yrs) 100 Petabytes _at_
  http//www.lsst.org/

All-sky distribution of 526,280,881 stars
from the MACHO survey.
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Ongoing Surveys of the Sky
Pan-STARRS LSST MACHO 2MASS DENIS SDSS GALEX FIRST
DPOSS GSC-II COBE MAP NVSS FIRST ROSAT OGLE ...

• Large number of new surveys
• multi-TB in size, 100 million objects or more
• individual archives planned, or under way
• Multi-wavelength view of the sky
• more than 13 wavelength coverage in 5 years
• Impressive early discoveries
• finding exotic objects by unusual colors
• L,T dwarfs, high-z quasars
• finding objects by time variability
• gravitational microlensing

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Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Productshttp//www.
sdss.org/
Pi in the Sky!

• Full Data Collection 20 TB
• Object catalog 400 GB parameters of gt108
  objects
• Redshift Catalog 1 GB parameters of 106
  objects
• Atlas Images 1.5 TB 5 color cutouts of
  gt108 objects
• Spectra 60 GB in a one-dimensional form
• Derived Catalogs 20 GB - clusters -
  QSO absorption lines
• 4x4 Pixel All-Sky Map 60 GB heavily
  compressed

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Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
Highly ranked in Decadal Review Optimized for
surveys 201 individual CCDs 3-Gigapixel camera 10
square degree field 8.4 meter aperture 24th mag
in 15 sec 30nd mag in 10 yrs 30
Tbytes/night Real-time analysis Celestial
Cinematography Simultaneous multiple science
goals 10 years of operation 2012-2022
http//www.lsst.org/
100 Petabytes in 10 years!!!
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LSST 4-year Design and Development Phasenow
funded by the NSF (start 9/1/05)http//www.lsst.o
rg/
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Large Mirror Fabrication(for large telescopes,
such as LSST)
(Univ. of Arizona Mirror Laboratory)
Thats big!
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NVO will provide access to all of these surveys
(and more)
LSST is just one of many sky surveys
NVO Its all about the Science
NVO Linking together all of the astronomical
data pieces to understand the puzzle of the
Universe
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The NVO in 5 words or less
The archive is the sky!
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NVO Enables New Science
http//www.us-vo.org/

• Rare and exotic objects
• Very high redshift quasars
• Dark matter in the galactic halo
• Time-variable objects, transient events distant
  supernovae and microlensing
• Brown dwarfs
• Variable stars
• Asteroids...
• ...incoming!!
• Serendipity!

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NVO Science Cases Drivers(from Aspen 2001 NVO
Workshop)

• Solar System NEOs, Long-Period Comets, TNOs,
  Killer Asteroids!!!
• The Digital Galaxy Find star streams and
  populations -- relics of past/present assembly
  phase. Identify components of disk, thick disk,
  bulge, halo, arms, ??
• The Low-Surface Brightness Universe spatial
  filtering, multi-wavelength searches,
  intersection of the image and catalog domains
• Panchromatic Census of AGN (Active Galactic
  Nuclei) Complete sample of the AGN zoo, their
  emission mechanisms, and their environments
• Precision Cosmology Large-Scale Structure
  Hierarchical Assembly History of Galaxies and
  Structure, Cosmological Parameters, Dark Matter
  and Galaxy Biasing as f(z)
• Precision science of any kind that depends on
  very large sample sizes
• "Survey Science Deluxe"
• Search for rare and exotic objects (e.g., high-z
  QSOs, high-z Sne, L/T dwarfs)
• Serendipity Explore new domains of parameter
  space (e.g., time domain, or "color-color space"
  of all kinds)

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NVO Astronomy Data in Action
Exploration of new domains of the observable
parameter space The Time Domain - Part 1
Moving object appears as little rainbow in
multiple-color image overlays ? In-coming
Killer Asteroid?
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NVO Astronomy Data in Action
The Time Domain - Part 2
Mega-Flares on normal Sun-like stars a star
like our Sun increased in brightness 300X one
night! say what??
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Data Mining through Data ProcesssingSimple
Multiple-Frame Subtraction
SUPERNOVA discovered !!
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NVO Astronomy Data in Action
The Time Domain - Part 3
SETI_at_home searches for E.T. -- An equivalent data
mining tool VO_at_home on anyones desktop can find
new comets, asteroids, exploding stars, quasars
-- Chunks of data are sent to users screensaver,
which begins to mine data for special or
one-of-kind astronomical events.
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VO_at_home brings science discovery to the desktop
of everyone! a great tool for space science and
computational science education.Requires access
to distributed science databases and data mining
analysis tools.
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How do we learn about our Universe and the World
around us?
Data ? Information ? Knowledge ? Understanding /
Wisdom!
WE GATHER INFORMATION, FROM WHICH WE DERIVE
KNOWLEDGE, FROM WHICH WE LEARN WHAT IT ALL MEANS
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Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom

• T.S. Eliot (1934)
• Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
• Where is the knowledge we have lost in
  information?

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Reports USING DATA IN THE CLASSROOM

• http//serc.carleton.edu/usingdata/
• http//www.google.com/search?hlenqUsingDatain
  theClassroom

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Prototype Project Project AstroData

• http//rings.gsfc.nasa.gov/borne/astrodata/

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Some Sources of Astronomy Data, Teacher
Resources, Lesson Plans

• U.S. NVO (National Virtual Observatory)
  http//www.us-vo.org/
• Registry http//nvo.stsci.edu/VORegistry/index.a
  spx
• SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey)
  http//www.sdss.org/
• SkyServer http//cas.sdss.org/dr4/en/proj/teach.
  asp
• HOU (Hands-On Universe)
• http//www.handsonuniverse.org/
• TLRBSE (Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science
  Education)
• http//www.noao.edu/outreach/tlrbse/
• TIE (Telescopes in Education)
• http//www.telescopesineducation.com/
• VTIE (Virtual Telescopes in Education)
• http//vtie.umbc.edu/
• SEGway (Science Education Gateway)
• http//cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/segway/
• Windows to the Universe
• http//www.windows.ucar.edu/

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Windows to the Universe
http//www.windows.ucar.edu

• Over 6.7 million visitors in 2004 (5.8 million
  unique IPs, 46 million annual page views)
• 3 levels of content
• 65 K-12 students
• 46 once per week or more
• gt3000 visits to Teacher Resources per day during
  work week
• Spanish translation in progress, 4500 pages
  translated to date, 8000 users per day
• New tools for remote collaborative development
  with scientists

National Science Foundation

• Spans the Earth and space sciences, with arts and
  humanities connections
• Integrated classroom activities, interactives,
  and models for users
• 70 Web Awards to date
• 7000 web pages/visuals on site
• 800 teachers trained annually

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3-D Fly-through Tour of the Cosmos
Browser and access to all Educational material
will be free to the public Leads collaboration be
tween experts and the public to create
the largest, highest quality, free online encyclop
edia
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More Teacher Resources, Lesson Plans

• Project AstroData (old) http//rings.gsfc.nasa.g
  ov/borne/astrodata/
• Includes links to Lesson Plans and National/State
  Standards
• http//rings.gsfc.nasa.gov/borne/astrodata/index-
  lessons.html
• NASA Student Observation Network (SON)
• http//son.nasa.gov/
• Project CLEA (Contemporary Laboratory Experiences
  In Astronomy)
• http//www.gettysburg.edu/academics/physics/clea/C
  LEAhome.html
• Project LITE (Light Inquiry Through Experiments)
• http//lite.bu.edu/
• INSPIRE (Interactive NASA Space Physics
  Ionosphere Radio Experiment)
• http//image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/inspire/
• NASA SECEF (Sun-Earth Connection Education
  Forum)
• http//sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/
• NASA Education Homepage
• http//education.nasa.gov/
• NASA Space Science Education Resource Directory
• http//teachspacescience.stsci.edu/

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Fun Stuff for the Science Classroom

• Ask the Astronomer (The Astronomy Café)
• http//www.astronomycafe.net/
• http//image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/ask/askmag.html
  
• APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day)
• http//antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
• Amazing Space
• http//antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
• For educators http//amazing-space.stsci.edu/eds
  /
• GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to
  Benefit the Environment)
• http//www.globe.gov/
• Teachers Corner http//www.globe.gov/fsl/html/t
  empl.cgi?educorn
• The Jason Foundation for Education (by Robert
  Ballard found Titanic)
• http//www.jason.org/
• Ocean Explorer http//www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov
  /
• Lost City http//lostcity.jason.org/home.aspx

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Example Using Hubble Space Telescope Images in
the Classroom
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Standards-based ApproachGeography as an Example

• For your course subject area ask yourself
• What can Hubble images do to help me teach it
  (standards)?
• How can I incorporate the images into the lesson?
• For example (from the National Geography
  Standards)
• Where is it located?
• What is significant about its location?
• How is its location related to locations of other
  things?
• Locate and gather information from a variety of
  sources
• Record observations about its physical
  characteristics
• Prepare maps
• Use maps to interpret spatial relationships
  between objects
• Use tables and graphs to interpret trends and
  relationships
• Use text and photos to interpret trends and
  relationships
• Interpret information obtained from
  satellite-produced images
• Make inferences draw conclusions from maps
• These standards could apply both to Geography and
  Astronomy.

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Example 1

• Pick a constellation (e.g., Orion) and have
  students
• Examine the spatial distribution of the brightest
  stars
• Find stars distances and have students construct
  a model
• Study the mythology and folklore (traditional
  stories)
• Investigate the astrophysical phenomena in that
  part of the sky as revealed through HST images
• Examine the spatial relationships between the
  different phenomena (e.g., lots of young stars in
  Orion plus lots of gaseous nebula suggests that
  the two are related they are!)
• Find new information about that constellation
  (e.g., the Orionid meteor shower that occurs
  October 21-22 each year, resulting from the
  debris of Halleys Comet). So, whats a comet?
• Perhaps have the students work in small groups,
  assigning one of the above activities to each
  group
• Prepare a report or Powerpoint presentation on
  their findings

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Example 2

• Pick a specific astronomical object (e.g.,
  Horsehead Nebula)
• Have the students
• Locate the object in the sky (which Constellation
  is it in?)
• Locate other objects that are near it. Make a
  map.
• Investigate the astrophysical phenomena that are
  revealed through HST images of the object
• Examine the spatial relationships between the
  different phenomena (e.g., young blue stars are
  born in dark dust clouds)
• Find new information about that object
• Make up a story about that object (e.g., how did
  the horse end up in the constellation of the
  Great Hunter Orion?)

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Example 3

• Pick a specific class of astronomical object
  (e.g., colliding galaxies)
• Have the students
• Determine which objects in this class were
  observed by HST
• Locate the objects in the sky (which
  Constellations are they in?)
• Investigate the astrophysical phenomena of this
  class of objects as revealed through HST images
• Examine the spatial relationships between the
  different phenomena (e.g., what physical shapes
  do these galaxies have?)
• Find new information and other images for these
  objects
• Make up a story about that class (e.g., how would
  people living on a planet in one of those
  galaxies experience the collision?)

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Example 4

• Pick a specific astrophysical phenomenon (e.g.,
  Supernovae)
• Have the students
• Determine which objects are related (e.g.,
  pulsars, BRIGHT star in the sky the supernova,
  supernova remnants Crab Nebula)
• Locate the objects in the sky (which
  Constellations are they in?)
• What astrophysical phenomena are revealed in the
  HST images?
• Examine the spatial relationships between the
  different phenomena (e.g., How is the image of
  SN1987A different from the Crab Nebula SN1054?
  What things in the images relate to the
  phenomenon and which things are unrelated? e.g.,
  new stars are formed in the wake of the advancing
  expanding shock wave)
• Make up a story about it (e.g., if you were the
  first human being ever to see a Supernova, how
  would you explain it to a friend?)

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Example 5

• Pick a specific astronomical term (e.g.,
  electromagnetic spectrum)
• Have the students
• Find a definition for the word. (Provide
  students with a printed glossary or book, or
  point them to an online glossary there are
  several glossaries provided at the Project
  AstroData website)
• Explain the astronomical term in their own words
• Determine if the word is represented in HST
  images. How? (e.g., creating color HST pictures
  from raw greyscale images)
• Determine if the word describes a spatial
  relationship, or is it a description of an action
  or a noun, or something else. Explain.
• Draw a picture to explain or represent the word
• Make up a story that uses the word (e.g., a story
  about a Native American tribe that uses tribal
  colors and patterns drawn from the rainbow seen
  after a storm)

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Example 6

• For advanced students
• Have the students
• Choose among a list of challenging concepts
  (e.g., merger trees)
• Explore its meaning and explain its meaning in
  their own words
• Find examples of HST images that relate to the
  concept
• Find numerical (e.g., tables) of astronomical
  data that were derived from those images (e.g.,
  http//cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cats/Cats.htx/ )
• Create graphs from the numerical tabular data
• Examine trends and relationships as revealed in
  the graphs
• Find a human or other analogy that helps to
  understand and explain the concept (e.g., family
  tree versus merger tree)

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General Suggestions

• Pick any topic
• Have the students
• Draw a map
• Find HST images
• Analyze and interpret HST images
• Find other examples
• Make inferences
• Use text, photos, tables, and graphs
• Draw a picture
• Make up a story
• Give a presentation

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From 1996 National Academy of Sciences
ReportNational Science Education Standards
http//www.nap.edu/catalog/4962.html

• Science Content Standards Unifying Concepts
• Systems, order, and organization.
• Evidence, models, and explanation.
• Change, constancy, and measurement.
• Evolution and equilibrium.
• Form and function.

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• Science as Inquiry Standards
• Understanding of scientific concepts.
• An appreciation of "how we know" what we know in
  science.
• Understanding of the nature of science.
• Skills necessary to become independent inquirers
  about the natural world.
• The dispositions to use the skills, abilities,
  and attitudes associated with science.

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From 1996 National Academy of Sciences
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From 1996 National Academy of Sciences
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In the end, we hope that all of our studentsare
excited, engaged, and exploring
THANK YOU!