Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.
The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on eclipses, and an preliminary overview of the history of astronomy.
Selected/edited responses are given below.
Describe something you found interesting from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally interesting for you.
"Solar eclipses in general interest me. The idea that is can be as dark as night while the sun is high in the sky is fascinating."
"I found it interesting that to see a total solar eclipse one has to be in the path of totality and that only when the umbra of the moon's shadow goes over the person then they can see the sun totally eclipsed. I found this personally interesting because I was born on an eclipse."
"One thing I found interesting was that where Earth is positioned, it allows us to experience a solar eclipse. I never knew that our positioning in the universe was so unique that it allowed us to see something not normally visible to other planets."
"The fact that the orbit of the moon has to be so particular about the angle at which there can be an eclipse is fascinating."
"How not every full/new moon is a solar/lunar eclipse because of the orbit of the moon."
"The to-scale simulation of the moon revolving around Earth while Earth revolves around the sun from the sun's point of view, due to the fact that you could see how the orbit of the moon slowly changes over time and the way that it changes between right orbit and wrong phase and wrong orbit and right phase."
"It was cool to learn why eclipses don't happen every full or new moon. I knew they didn't occur often, but I never knew the reasoning behind why until now."
"The idea of a geocentric universe was both interesting and funny. It was interesting to see that it was common belief that Earth was the center of everything."
"I find it interesting that people will just believe something they hear and not need any proof/evidence. Ex: first principles."
"I really love history, so I was super interested in the portion of reading about Copernicus and how he questioned the heliocentric universe."
Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.
"Remembering all the phases of the moon, along with the cycle of seasons was confusing at first because there is a lot to remember and put together. However, after dropping one of my classes, I will have more time to study!"
"The different types of eclipses and how often they occur."
"Figuring out when the lunar and solar eclipses happen and how to identify them was difficult for me, I need help understanding how that works. I need to see pictures to help me figure them out."
"The difference between a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse, as I cannot tell the difference very well."
"I was a bit confused about whether you would need to be at a specific location during a lunar eclipse, or if you could observe it from anywhere on the dark side of Earth."
"Why is every full moon not a lunar eclipse? I understand a little bit but would like some more clarification."
"I think trying to figure out if the moon was in the 'right phase' or 'right orbit' to eclipse was a bit difficult. I didn't understand what the right orbit was for awhile--I think it had to do with the moon's path being slanted?"
"When I was going over the presentation previews, i was getting confused on the section about if the full moon was to be or not to be eclipsed. The top picture's moon seems to have a sharper line on the bottom of the moon but I still don't understand how to tell if it will be eclipsed or not."
"I feel that the hardest part is going to be having to learn all of the terminology for this class. So many vocabulary words."
"What was confusing was which of the scientists are mover or disprovers."
"It was fairly straightforward and not confusing."
A friend of yours has a birthday on March 30. According to your starwheel, the sun would have been located in front of which zodiac sign on that date? (Ignore daylight saving time.)
Aries. **** [4] Taurus. * [1] Gemini. [0] Cancer. [0] Leo. [0] Virgo. *** [3] Libra. [0] Scorpio. [0] Sagittarius. [0] Capricorn. [0] Aquarius. [0] Pisces. ************************** [26] (Unsure/guessing/lost/help!) *** [3]
I believe astrology is able to make accurate predictions about my future. (This is a follow-up question.)
Strongly disagree. **************** [16] Disagree. ********* [9] Neutral. ********** [10] Agree. ** [2] Strongly agree. [0]
Briefly discuss what you know now (that you didn't know before) that may (or may not have) affected your earlier opinion regarding your belief/disbelief in astrology. (This is a follow-up question.)
"I know now I'm not an Aries I am a Pisces so I feel as if everything I've been told I'm supposed to be (in astrology) is a lie! I don't believe in it at all anymore."
"I still don't believe that a zodiac sign can predict someone's behavior or future. I still think its just an excuse for people to act how they want to & just have something to blame for their bad behavior."
"I've learned the concept of how our solar system has its own set schedule and will have events that have and will repeat itself over millennia such as the eclipses. It will continue to do so after our time, and it will always be the same if the cycle isn't disturbed. How can we predict what happens in the future from the stars which has a set schedule that doesn't change?"
"I've learned that depending on the suns position, it can effect your sign depending on when you’re born. I understand this but I don't believe that because I'm a Sagittarius that the stars can predict what will happen in my future. I've also learned from a third party that the moon could affect your mood similar to how it affects the tides because humans contain water."
"That astrology is the best known pseudoscience a set of beliefs that appear to include scientific ideas but fails to obey the most basic rules of science. I never really believed in how your personality is affected by what zodiac sign you are, but I definitely understand that zodiac signs don't affect a persons personality."
"I didn't know there could be a shift that would change a person's sun-sign. This kind of lands me more on the side of astrology not being that accurate when coming to predicting my future or traits. "
"I am neutral because I had known the basic concept of astrology and how it affects the future but now knowing more I remain neutral still because I don't believe that it truly predicts the future correctly."
"A solar eclipse occurs when the moon gets between Earth and the sun, and the moon casts a shadow over Earth."
"Learning about the position of the stars during the time people came up with zodiac signs, compared to how the stars are positioned now made me doubt astrology more than I did so before learning this."
"While I observe that several factors from space affect life on earth, nothing in this course has given me any reason to change my beliefs regarding astrology."
"I now know my actual zodiac sign according to my starwheel. I am a Virgo which supposedly has attributes that are nothing like my own."
"I have not read something that has made me question nor doubt what I believe at the moment."
"I did not know about precession and all that has to do with Earth but even though I now know that, it still does not change the fact that astrology can predict my future."
"The fact that astrology is still based off of where the signs previously showed up. This furthered my belief that it has no impact on my life."
"As before stated, I don't believe inanimate objects can predict our future, as they have no consciousness."
"I am still unsure what astrology is."
"The signs in starwheel time read one month earlier than horoscope readings, meaning everybody is debatably a different zodiac sign then they believed."
"The solar system is constantly changing with the rotation and tilt of Earth."
"I think the fact that my 'sign' on the starwheel and my 'horoscope' sign are not the same is weird and wouldn't make any sense in the case of predicting my future."
"I know now that my life has been a lie since my star sign is actually Virgo (almost directly touching both Virgo and Leo) than Libra (closer to Virgo). All it did was surprise me and my thoughts/beliefs on astrology remain neutral, I just found it interesting."
"I now know that our zodiac signs may be off because of how the stars or universe shifts. Everything is like a month off from what is generally accepted today. I still don't think astrology can accurately predict much."
"If people doubted the geocentric universe, they'd be disputing the belief in the locations altogether, which seems just silly, making me still think it's silly."
"The positions of the signs are fixed on early studies of astrology. I need to do more research in how astrological charts are read."
"The textbook strongly criticized astronomy as a pseudoscience."
"The precession argument. If astrology was created thousands of years ago, and people believe what those teachings, how could it possibly still be true of the stars aren't even in the right place? Also - twins. If two people born on the exact same day and nearly exact same time are completely different from each other, how can you rely on astrology to predict their future?"
"I still don't think it can predict me and also we found out that those signs aren't even the right ones so how can they be real."
"The horoscope shows these little summaries of what your day should be like but, I'm not too sure how accurate they are."
"I didn't find any new information that would sway me to either side. I believe it is able to tell use things about our future but not everything."
"Zodiac signs with astrology are inaccurate because they change over time because the north star changes. Because it isn't constant I disagree in the fact of it having be real even if it is occasionally accurate."
"I still feel that astrology has merit. Though this is true, it's a fact that astrology does not actually line up with their astrological constellations. This, I did not know."
"I am less sure about traditional astrology because they don't take current events into account. I do still have an open mind about more accurate assessments of the stars could mean."
"Nothing I now know will affect my opinion on belief of astrology. I suppose I see there is some legit science to annual movement of the sun through the various zodiac signs but that doesn't change my disbelief in the larger more widely understood aspects of astrology."
"I didn't know how to tell which sign you were based on your date of birth until now. It's pretty cool."
"I learned that typical astrology online as well as commonly believed dates and signs, using the star wheel gives you a different results."
"I still believe that astrology can predict some things, but not everyone's life. There is a lot going on in the world and don't think it has been all predicted if astrologists really know about the future, then there can be suggestions for changing our path."
"I didn't know that based off the stars I'm a different sign. This makes me not trust astrologers."
"I didn't know that basically were all a month off from our 'zodiac signs.' So I mean technically were supposed to be following advice from the previous sign. It's kind of trippy."
Match the phase of the moon during these eclipse types. (Only correct responses shown.)
Total solar eclipse: new moon [84%]
Partial solar eclipse: new moon [51%]
Annular solar eclipse: new moon [41%]
Total lunar eclipse: full moon [95%]
Partial lunar eclipse: full moon [68%]
Place these astronomers in chronological order of their historical contribution to astronomy. (Only correct responses shown.)
Aristotle [81%]
Ptolemy [67%]
Copernicus [76%]
Tycho [68%]
Kepler [62%]
Galileo [59%]
Newton [81%]
Match these terms with their descriptions. (Only correct responses shown.)
Ideas accepted as truth without further examination: first principles [86%]
Predictions that could be tested by observations: hypotheses [57%]
Universal statements of cause and effect: rational laws [97%]
Describe phenomena without explaining why it occurs: empirical laws [68%]
Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"Thank you for helping me understand the phases of the moon through a diagram."
"I find eclipses really interesting, I'm excited to learn more about them!"
"Have you ever been in the path of totality of a solar eclipse?" (Yes, in Hawaii.)
"How does the moon receive sunlight refracted through Earth's atmosphere during a total lunar eclipse?"
(Light from the setting (or rising) sun just straight through the atmosphere and continues on behind Earth. Also not just around the edges near the equator, but all the way around Earth at every edge; this light then (slightly) illuminates the moon during a total lunar eclipse.)
"Not gonna lie, I just guessed about the order of astronomers." (That's a start--by next week hopefully you won't just be guessing.)
"What are some examples of empirical laws?" (Moore's law: the number of transistors on a computer chip will double every two years. It's a law that describes what is observed without explianing why it occurs--nobody knows exactly why that should happen, or if it should continue to happen, but it's been happening for a long time.)
"A first principle was something that seemed obviously true so no one questioned it. My question is who would come up with these 'first principles?'" (People that were regarded by others as so important that no one would bother questioning their ideas. #questioneverything)
"Can we go over what to study for the exams in class and review this assignment in class, too?" (We'll have review sessions for the midterms; and part of the next online reading assignment is for you to go over the correct answers for the previous online reading assignment.)
"When it's not as cold outside, will our class ever go outside during class time to look at the stars?" (Yes, although we would be more concerned about the cloud cover rather than how cold it is.)
"I don't know if you plan to lecture more, but I learn easier in a lecture setting and it would be cool if you might consider doing more of that. Thanks!" (I'll lecture in class on whatever topics you identify as being difficult on the online reading assignments; sometimes there will only a short lecture or sometimes a longer lecture, depending on what you need, which will change week by week. So keep giving me that feedback so I know how to adjust how we use time in class.)
"Sorry!! I have no excuse for not owning/renting the book by now, I'll get on it. Enjoying the course so far though!"
"I enjoy this learning style. I like the lack of pressure felt."
"I am really enjoying this class so far! Thanks for keeping the late night session fun and engaging."
"The more I take this class the less I like astronomy."
"I wish college textbooks were as cheap as Top Ramen®."
"What should my question be?" (That. What you just wrote. That should be your question.)
"Your beard is amazing!" (Yes, but what about my mustache? The mustache is amazing, too, right? Right?)
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