Labs from Laura Sparks
ACEAP Ambassador
Astronomy Instructor
Earth & Space Sciences
Santa Rosa Junior College
(707) 778 - 3602
"Hello Astronomy Colleagues,
I would like to share a draft lab on RR Lyrae stars utilizing real data.
Students are guided through several tutorial spreadsheets to measure the
period and magnitude of RR Lyraes in the direction of the Hydra II Ultra
Faint Dwarf Galaxy. Then they calculate the distance to each star and
try to figure out if any of them are part of Hydra II. It is aimed at
community college non-science majors taking introductory astronomy, but
could also work with high school students. This lab was made possible
by participation in the NSF-funded Astronomy in Chile Educational
Ambassadors Program (ACEAP). A BIG thank you is owed to Dr. Kathy Vivas
generously made her data available to me.
The lab assumes that students have already worked with the stellar
magnitude system, and it would also help if they are already familiar
with Cepheid variables."