Writing prompts – chapter 3. Write 200 words on one of the following five writing prompts (just select 1)
1. Describe the history of star classification (Section 3-4). History.
Annie Jump Cannon and hydrogen absorption lines
Max Plank and color-temperature relationships of stars
Cecelia Payne Gaposchkin's classification system
The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
2. Describe the life cycle of the sun (Sections 3-5 and 3-7): Natural Science.
3. Describe the struggle of natural scientists to describe the determine the birth environment of the sun. Anna Onehag's research on chemical tagging that indicated the sun was born in M67. Suzanne Pfalzner's work that showed that the solar system could not have formed in M67 due to radiation and gravitational effects from large stars. Barbara Pichardo's research on cluster dynamics that showed that the sun could not have exited M67 and entered its current orbit in the galaxy. Characterize the scientific process in which different scientists provide contradictory conclusions as they work toward an understanding of natural history (Section 3-6): Perspective of a Natural Scientist.
4. Describe how the sun maintains a constant temperature (Section 3-5): Science
5. Discuss the possible causes of the contradictory evidence of the sun's birth in M67 (Sections 3-6 and 3E (optional)): Metaphysics.