Warmup 8/20/14 Psalms 19:1-4 (TNIV) 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. To see and pick what we're going to learn this year none Objective Tonight’s Homework Spend a few minutes meditating on these verses. Write down what they mean and why you think they’re important

A Note Before we Start A lot of Christians have a lot of different beliefs about the age of the Universe. - Young-Earth Creationists believe that the entire Universe is only about 6,000 to 10,000 years old. - Old-Earth Creationists believe that we live in a much older Universe and that the story of Genesis is more figurative in parts. - Apparent Age Creationists believe that the Universe is only a few thousand years old, but that God created it to look very old. Scientific data in astronomy suggests a Universe that either IS or LOOKS 13.4 billion years old. So what does this mean? Your belief is your own, but we’ll go through this class presenting information from the standpoint of the apparent age creationist so as to avoid contradiction between faith and science.

Major Units Astronomy is a complex science with a number of different topics. We’re going to do a quick survey of those topics right now so you know what to expect over the coming year. Essentially, though, we’re going to start right here on good ol’ Earth and move farther outwards with each unit we cover. The whole year will have 7 mandatory units and one final project (which will take about the same amount of time as a unit).

Major Units Navigating the Night Sky Our first unit will cover what we see in the night sky. We’ll discuss a number of major constellations and talk about how we describe something’s motion and position within the sky. We’ll also discuss the seasons and the motion of the sun.

Major Units Light and Telescopes In this unit, we’ll cover how astronomers learn so much using nothing but light. We’ll discuss about half the things we can do with light. Additionally, we’ll talk about the basic types of telescopes and how they’re used.

Major Units The Moon and Solar System In this unit, we’ll talk about the moon – how it formed, how craters are made, what it’s like – and the major planets and moons of the solar system. This will include weather patterns, geology, and points of interest for each planet or moon.

Major Units The Sun We’ll also spend a few weeks talking about the sun. We’ll discuss its weather patterns, its internal structure, and the history of how we discovered how it works. We’ll also talk about its cycles of activity and rest, relating them to “solar storms” that affect us here on Earth.

Major Units Stars and Stellar Evolution Our (likely) first unit in the spring will be on the different kinds of stars. We’ll discuss how stars form, live, and die. We’ll also discuss an important graph that cleanly shows the relationships between the different kinds of stars.

Major Units The Milky Way and Other Galaxies Our second-to-last unit will cover the different kinds of galaxies we find in the Universe. We’ll discuss how they’re born, how they age, how they die, and how they interact with each other.

Major Units Cosmology Our final unit will cover the scientific investigations into the beginning, evolution, and future of the Universe itself. We’ll discuss the geometry and shape of the Universe as well.

Optional Units Since astronomy is an elective, we have time to branch things out and have a bit of fun as well. There are 7 choices for optional units. We’ll have enough time throughout the year to cover about 4. The next handful of slides will give brief descriptions of each optional topic. Keep in mind which ones you like. Afterwards, the topics will all be shown on one side. Rank them from most wanted to least wanted. (Give the one you want most 10 points, the next 9 points, and so on until the last one gets 3 points.) Mr. C. will collect and count the votes after class, letting you know which units we’ll be doing as our extras!

Optional Units Constellations If chosen, we’ll spend some more time going into depth into the different constellations in the sky. We’ll cover their history, and alternate constellations from different parts of the world. We’ll also discuss the names of many stars as well as where their names come from. We’ll also discuss navigation using the stars.

Optional Units Archaeoastronomy If chosen, we’ll spend time covering how ancient cultures used astronomy in ritual and daily life. We’ll investigate the uses and alignment of such famous landmarks as Stonehenge and the pyramids of Egypt.

Optional Units Terraforming If chosen, we’ll cover a topic that falls closer to science fiction than science. We’ll discuss how you could alter Mars over thousands of years to be able to support life. Additionally, we’ll cover colonization from a slightly more realistic angle. What locations in the solar system are most appealing, and how we could create bases on the Moon, Mars, and the asteroid belt.

Optional Units Exploration and Spacecraft If chosen, we’ll cover manned and unmanned exploration of the solar system. We’ll start with the history of the Apollo program and how we reached the moon. Then, we’ll discuss more current (and future) missions, to the planets. We’ll wrap this unit up with an investigation into the ISS (International Space Station) and the future of manned missions.

Optional Units Searching for Life in the Solar System If chosen, we’ll investigate the most likely places scientists are searching for life within the solar system. We’ll go over why these locations are so promising and what the implications for society could be if we find life (even if it is only bacterial, as is likely). We’ll also discuss how we define life.

Optional Units Exoplanets and Habitable Zones If chosen, we’ll investigate the rapidly growing list of planets beyond our solar system. Even though we have no direct images of any of these planets, there’s still a lot we’ve learned. We’ll discuss the techniques being used to find them, as well as some of the more interesting locations we’ve found.

Optional Units Borderline Science Fiction If chosen, we’ll spend this unit talking about subjects that are technically science fiction, but are becoming closer to reality every day. This includes things like alternate forms of propulsion, faster-than-light travel, wormholes, time- travel, and objects called “Dyson Spheres”.

Optional Units Constellations Archaeoastronomy Terraforming Exploration and Spacecraft Searching for Life in the Solar System Exoplanets and Habitable Zones Borderline Science Fiction