Astronomy midterm question: "sliced" moon rising with coming darkness

Astronomy 210 Midterm 1, spring semester 2020
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

The following excerpt describes the rising of a crescent ("sliced") moon around sunset:

Darkness was coming slowly down, a cool cloak draped over them. Soon, a sliced moon began to rise as a wind rose.

Discuss whether or not this description is plausible for an observer in San Luis Obispo, CA, and how you know this. Support your answer using a diagram showing the positions of the sun, moon, Earth, and an observer on Earth.

[*] Mitchell Smith, Moonrise: Book Three of the Snowfall Trilogy, Tom Dougherty Associates (2004), p. 195.

Solution and grading rubric:

• p:
  Correct. Complete diagram (with the sun, moon, and observer on Earth), and discusses one of the following reasons why this description would be implausible:
  1. waxing crescent moon is overhead at 3 PM, and rose six hours earlier at 9 AM; while waning crescent moon is overhead at 9 AM, and rose six hours earlier at 3 AM, such that neither of these crescent phase moons could be rising just after sunset; or
  2. the moon phase that would be rising around/at/after sunset (6 PM) would be the waxing gibbous moon, full moon or waning gibbous moon, such that no crescent phase moon could be rising after sunset.
• r:
  Nearly correct (explanation weak, unclear or only nearly complete); includes extraneous/tangential information; or has minor errors. Diagram and/or explanation has minor errors.
• t:
  Contains right ideas, but discussion is unclear/incomplete or contains major errors. Problems with either diagram or discussion.
• v:
  Limited relevant discussion of supporting evidence of at least some merit, but in an inconsistent or unclear manner. At least attempts to draw a moon phase diagram and apply rise/overhead/set times.
• x:
  Implementation/application of ideas, but credit given for effort rather than merit. Discussion not clearly based on a moon phase diagram.
• y:
  Irrelevant discussion/effectively blank.
• z:
  Blank.

Grading distribution:
Section 30674
Exam code: midterm01n7in
p: 15 students
r: 3 students
t: 4 students
v: 5 students
x: 0 students
y: 0 students
z: 0 students

Section 30676
Exam code: midterm01S7wY
p: 24 students
r: 2 students
t: 5 students
v: 9 students
x: 5 students
y: 0 students
z: 0 students

A sample "p" response (from student 2310):

Astronomy quiz archive: eclipses/history of astronomy

Astronomy 210 Quiz 2, spring semester 2020
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Section 30674, version 1
Exam code: quiz02n1xI


Section 30674

0- 8.0 :	** [low = 6.0]
8.5-16.0 :	*****
16.5-24.0 :	******* [mean = 23.8 +/- 9.0]
24.5-32.0 :	*********
32.5-40.0 :	******* [high = 36.5]

Section 30676, version 1
Exam code: quiz02SnRl


Section 30676

0- 8.0 :	** [low = 8.0]
8.5-16.0 :	*******
16.5-24.0 :	*************
24.5-32.0 :	********* [mean = 24.8 +/- 9.2]
32.5-40.0 :	************* [high = 40.0]

Online reading assignment: atmosphere problems, Earth, the moon, Mercury (SLO campus)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2020
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 problems caused by the atmosphere for telescope observing, Earth, and the impacted worlds: the moon, and Mercury.

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.

"That light waves can be affected by our atmosphere. I just found it interesting because it was something that I never considered."

"How light pollution can affect so many things in our environment, such as animals."

"That light pollution interferes with the view of the stars/planets. People would then need go to hilltops far away away from the light pollution just to look at the clear stars and planets."

"I found light pollution very interesting and did not think it was a very big problem until I read into it some more."

"Something I found interesting was that if you were to go to a rural town with not very many lights you could see a faint Milky Way. I found that interesting because we do not get that many chances to see it if you do not leave your hometown."

"Comparing the atmosphere to rippling water was a good analogy. I found this part interesting because I knew that the atmosphere made it more difficult to view view things using a telescope, but this comparison made it easier to understand why."

"I found the comparison between sitting under a pool of water and looking up to sitting under a 'pool' of air really interesting. I never thought about how movement in the sky, such as turbulence, could create such a problem for astronomers or anyone interested in the views of the sky."

"I found learning about how atmospheric turbulence and opacity affect our ability to use telescopes and the ways we combat those effects interesting. I never understood why it was better to have telescopes at a higher altitude and now I do."

"I found the readings about different ways that astronomers have to go about collecting different types of electromagnetic radiation. I found this interesting because it forces them to find new and interesting ways to collect data, which leads to a deeper understanding of our known universe."

"I thought that it was very interesting that telescopes in space can be the size of a bus. This is crazy to me how they can be that and still be be able to function in space."

"Airborne and space telescopes (airplanes, balloons, rockets and satellites), because it is such an interesting perspective to think about."

"I liked reading about all the different atmospheres on the different planets and I liked how it got into global warming. I was also interested by the stages that earth has gone through to and how we'll basically always be in stage three because Earth's surface is constantly changing."

"The greenhouse effect of how an atmosphere traps heat and raises the temperature of a planetary surface. It's crazy how the atmosphere has such an effect on planets--without it, Earth would be a lot different."

"The large impact hypothesis, stating the bulk of two objects will combine to form Earth (and the moon), with most of their cores and the surrounding crust melting, then coalescing."

"I was interested particularly in the geology comparing the planet Mercury to our own moon. Both involved the formation of craters followed by partial filling of lava. I found it fascinating that both bodies were strikingly similar and figured that this could help us learn more about the formation of other planets."

"When learning about the history of Earth's moon, I really enjoyed reading about the magma ocean, it just sounds super awesome to picture."

"I thought the different sizes of the moon's core versus Mercury's core was interesting because you would expect them to remotely similar but are different and you can determine this by the gravitational pull."

"I really liked looking at the pictures of the moon's and Mercury's surfaces. It is cool looking at the ridges and craters shown in the pictures."

"I think it's increasingly interesting how much we think we know about other planets that is primarily based on extrapolation. All of this could change as soon as new evidence presents itself."

"Super-hectic weekend and wasn't able to get to the reading but I will before class!"

Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.

"I do not understand the electromagnetic spectrum graph or how to use it."

"I did not quite get what the difference between radio astronomy and light astronomy was. I wanted to know, but was just lost by the name drop."

"I don't understand how atmospheric turbulence occurs."

"I'm still catching up on the history stuff, I'm really bad at remembering names and related numbers and just putting it all together in the right way."

"The greenhouse effect."

"How carbon dioxide enters and leaves the atmosphere and everything about it, mainly confusing because I thought I already had an idea and now I am jumbled up."

"I was confused about how an asteroid wouldn't be able to break the moon's structure or crack it, it would only leave a crater."

"Something I found confusing was trying to determine which craters were oldest to youngest. Personally because when I was reading the information I just could not retain it."

"That the four inner planets were composed of rock when the outer planets are not."

"The atmosphere on Venus. Why is it so cloudy and thicker than Earth's? It's confusing for me because I thought all the planets had the same amount of atmosphere."

A large modern optical telescope in outer space would have images with better __________ than a comparable ground-based telescope.

brightness.	******** [8]
resolution.	************************ [24]
magnification.	* [1]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	*** [3]

Stars to appear to "twinkle" in the night sky because of...

"The stars twinkle in the night sky because of the effects of our atmosphere. When starlight enters our atmosphere it is affected by winds in the atmosphere and by areas with different temperatures and densities. This causes the light from the star to twinkle when seen from the ground."

"Movement within the atmosphere causing the images of the stars to move and blur."

"Stars appear to twinkle in the night sky because of the effects of our atmosphere. When the light from the stars enter our atmosphere, it experiences turbulence. This causes the stars to look like they 'twinkle.'"

"Living in at the bottom of an 'ocean of air,' turbulence disturbs the air in the atmosphere, making our view disrupted."

"The way our atmosphere moves and shakes."

"I'm not sure, I don't remember this part of the reading."

"Unsure."

Identify how carbon dioxide enters and how it is taken out of Earth's atmosphere.
(Only correct responses shown.)

Enters atmosphere from: volcanoes [44%]
Taken out of atmosphere by: oceans [57%]

Identify the oldest (longest ago) to the youngest (most recent) features on the moon.
(Only correct responses shown.)

Craters partially filled in with flat lava plains: oldest (formed longest ago) [31%]
Flat lava plains: middle [22%]
Craters on top of flat lava plains: youngest (formed most recently) [53%]

Identify the oldest (longest ago) to the youngest (most recent) features on Mercury.
(Only correct responses shown.)

Large crater basins: oldest (formed longest ago) [39%]
Lava-filled lowlands: middle [61%]
Long curving ridges: youngest (formed most recently) [58%]

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.

"I was unsure about why the segmented mirrors might be beneficial. The textbook said that the thin mirrors weigh less and cool faster?" (Yes, saving weight is important when there are so many mirror segments in a large telescope, and having the mirrors be able to cool down (or warm up) quickly is good, because any temperature differences will make a "mirage" effect from thermal air currents around the mirror segments.)

"I found understanding the order that the features formed on the moon and mercury difficult to grasp, the moon a little more so than Mercury. To me, neither the textbook or online presentations presented a clear order and explanation of how we can tell which order they came in."

"I was confused about the order that things occurred on moon because I searched pretty hard and couldn't really find the definitive answer." (We'll be sure to cover this in class this week.)

"What is the significance of knowing the surface features of the moon? Those are just the way it formed, but I would want to know why it's so important to study the moon." (We brought back an abundance of samples from different parts of the moon for thorough laboratory analysis, so we have a very good idea of how the moon formed. Since we do not have samples from other planets (yet) that we can analyze back here on Earth, then the best way to understand those outer planets is to compare their similar/different features compared to the moon's features.)

"I thought the large impact theory in reference to the moon and Earth colliding would have ruined the round structure of both, but I assume over time the gravitational pull at the core would reshape the round sphere?" (Yes, the impact would melt/vaporize both, but as that material cooled gravity would bring everything back together similar to how they first formed by themselves, but now they'll form side-by-side, with the current moon made mostly of the vaporized outer layers of both.)

"I don't totally understand how the large impact theory for the moon's formation is supported when there's contradictory evidence." (Well, it is the best supported and also least contradicted theory given the evidence available.)

Online reading assignment: atmosphere problems, Earth, the moon, Mercury (NC campus)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2020
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 problems caused by the atmosphere for telescope observing, Earth, and the impacted worlds: the moon, and Mercury.

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.

"It's so cool to think about infrared light with longer wavelengths than visible versus ultraviolet with shorter wavelengths than visible light."

"How in a telescope's tube there can be a mirror at the back and the light can bounce back and forth inside the tube and project the image to the eyepiece. To be honest I found it interesting just as to the fact it's sort of simple, but also complex at the same time."

"I found that the "Keck in Motion" video was the interesting part for me because I personally thought it was cool on how they basically work together to find stuff out with the stars and how they move."

"I thought that light pollution was interesting. I was always wondering why telescopes are in the middle of nowhere, but I never looked into why they are so far away from civilization. The reason being light pollution makes complete sense and it makes me want to go to the middle of the desert somewhere at night and observe all the stars that I can't see in the city because of light pollution."

"After reading the textbook, I thought learning about light pollution was interesting because some places have more light pollution like big cities. This makes sense to me because I feel like people who live in the country enjoy looking up at the sky and soaking in its beauty. People who live in the cities might think the sky is pretty but may not think it's as pretty as people who live in areas with less light pollution because they are able to see more."

"I liked reading about sidereal tracking. I never thought about how telescopes would need to move continuously to continue to look at a certain point in space."

"What I found most interesting was the explanation for why stars appear to 'twinkle,' because stars don't actually twinkle but due to turbulence in Earth's atmosphere."

"It was very interesting to hear about different places where telescopes are placed."

"That the planets and the sun both start from a nebula."

"That we are capable of finding data on the formations, compositions, and histories of other planets despite there not being any humans that set foot on any of them."

"That the ocean absorbs the CO₂ in the atmosphere and filters it down to be trapped in sedimentary rocks. You only hear that plants use CO₂ in photosynthesis but never that the ocean could use it to make rocks. I found that really interesting."

"I did not know how hot Earth's core is compared to other terrestrial planet cores in our solar system."

"I thought the geological structures of Mercury being so similar to those of the moon to be very interesting."

Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.

"The big interferometer in the presentation slides, I was just confused in its entirety and how it works."

"The textbook's explanation of how carbon dioxide is removed by oceans."

"The creation of Earth's secondary atmosphere, because of the steps it took to create it--I wasn't familiar with carbon dioxide being soluble in water which helped remove CO₂ from the atmosphere."

"The history of the planets seemed to confuse me more than most of the reading. It just seemed like a blob of information to me and it was really hard to try to remember which fact was relative to which planet."

"I was confused on the features for the moon, the reading wasn't very specific."

"I still don't completely understand which craters are older or younger when it comes to the moon and Mercury. It's just not making sense to me."

"The large impact hypothesis for the moon's origin."

A large modern optical telescope in outer space would have images with better __________ than a comparable ground-based telescope.

brightness.	******** [8]
resolution.	************ [12]
magnification.	**** [4]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	*** [3]

Stars to appear to "twinkle" in the night sky because of...

"The twinkles are caused by turbulence in Earth's atmosphere. A star near the horizon will twinkle more than a star overhead."

"The light from the star travels through our atmosphere and by the time the light gets to earth its path will have bounced around a bit."

"The stars twinkle in the night sky because of the effects of our atmosphere. When starlight enters our atmosphere it is affected by winds in the atmosphere and by areas with different temperatures and densities."

"The way our atmosphere is."

Identify how carbon dioxide enters and how it is taken out of Earth's atmosphere.
(Only correct responses shown.)

Enters atmosphere from: volcanoes [48%]
Taken out of atmosphere by: oceans [52%]

Identify the oldest (longest ago) to the youngest (most recent) features on the moon.
(Only correct responses shown.)

Craters partially filled in with flat lava plains: oldest (formed longest ago) [37%]
Flat lava plains: middle [26%]
Craters on top of flat lava plains: youngest (formed most recently) [44%]

Identify the oldest (longest ago) to the youngest (most recent) features on Mercury.
(Only correct responses shown.)

Large crater basins: oldest (formed longest ago) [56%]
Lava-filled lowlands: middle [41%]
Long curving ridges: youngest (formed most recently) [56%]

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.

"Telescopes are pretty rad."

"How did science first figure out stars twinkle because of our atmosphere?" (The amount of twinkling is noticeably related to how windy it is. Less wind = less twinkling.)

"After doing the reading, what struck me the most was how there's atmospheric turbulence. The presentation talks how to solve this problem by placing the telescope as high as possible, where the thin air is. My question how do they know where the thin air is?" (Basically the higher up in elevation you are, the thinner the air--if you've driven or hiked up a high enough mountain, you may be literally "out of breath" because there is less oxygen up there for your lungs to take in. Also, yes, there would be less twinkling because there is less atmosphere up there.)

"Can a core of a planet reach the same intense heat of the sun?" (No. While Earth's core is pretty hot, the core of the sun is hella hot.)

"I'm completely lost on memorizing the terrain and the order it comes in, is there any shortcuts to remembering?"

"How can you tell which crater is younger and older and in the middle? Would smooth areas be considered youngest because it looks seemingly untouched since the planet formed?" (We'll go into further detail on this in class.)

"Can the moon die?" (It's already dead.)

"In the readings it is said that a large-scale collision may not have been responsible for Mercury's larger than expected iron core. It then just moves to the next stage of Mercury's expected history. Were no other theories developed on the planet's creation?" (There are many theories for Mercury's formation, but until a probe can land on its surface and analyze its rocks, then there really isn't much evidence to go on right now, and the limited evidence we have from looking at its surface from above is somewhat contradictory.)

"What's the oldest planet in our solar system?" (They're all the same age, in that they all formed at the same time as the sun from the same nebula. However, their surfaces will be different ages, because we think of rocks as "old" or "new" depending on how long it's been since they first hardened from being molten lava.)

"Will we have any opportunities for extra-credit? And when?" (Yes, typically in class just before/after each midterm, which is when most of you really need some extra-credit points.)

Astronomy quiz archive: stars/sun/seasons/moon phases

Astronomy 210 Quiz 1, spring semester 2020
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Section 30674, version 1
Exam code: quiz01N3ve


Section 30674

0- 8.0 :	* [low = 6.0]
8.5-16.0 :	****************
16.5-24.0 :	********** [mean = 21.6 +/- 8.6]
24.5-32.0 :	*************
32.5-40.0 :	**** [high = 40.0]

Section 30676, version 1
Exam code: quiz01s4L3


Section 30676

0- 8.0 :	* [low = 8.0]
8.5-16.0 :	****
16.5-24.0 :	***************
24.5-32.0 :	*********** [mean = 26.6 +/- 9.5]
32.5-40.0 :	************** [high = 40.0]

Online reading assignment: eclipses, history of astronomy (SLO campus)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2020
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.

"I found the lunar eclipses very interesting. I am a photographer and in 2015 when there was a good 'blood moon' I took photos of it and I never knew why it was red but I thought it was cool. Then I discovered it's because of sunlight scattering through earth's atmosphere then hitting the moon causing that look."

"I went and saw the total solar eclipse in Oregon, and it was the most beautiful and amazing experience, so to understand more behind it was interesting."

"When I lived in Oregon I saw the total solar eclipse, and to read about it now is really interesting to put it together like that. Also we had to buy special glasses to watch the sun just before and after just totality so it wouldn't hurt our eyes."

"That when you are observing a solar eclipse you can still get blinded by the sun even when the sun is not quite completely blocked."

"That lunar eclipses always occur on full moons, but not every full moon and solar eclipses always occur on new moons, but not ever new moon. This was interesting to me because I've always been intrigued with eclipses, so knowing they occur quite often now makes me excited to go out and watch them."

"I really liked looking at the pictures of the solar and lunar eclipses. I thought those pictures were so cool to look at."

"I didn't know that lunar eclipses were when Earth blocks out light to the moon. Now I understand why it's called a lunar eclipse because the moon (luna) is being eclipsed! Go figure."

"To see the exact measurements for how far and big the sun is compared to the moon. It's insane that they just happen to line up to create eclipses. So weird to me."

"That solar eclipses only happen during the new moon phase."

"The history of astronomy and how far we have come from then to now."

"The historical evolution of how we understood our solar system; I had never learned the order in which correct conclusions were made, and it was cool to know the order in which things were figured out."

"That ancient astronomers abided by 'first principles' for so long."

"All the philosophers who kept changing the model of planetary motion over and over again. I thought the first principles were interesting in that everyone just agreed with them, even though there was no research."

Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.

"I'm just bad at starwheel questions. The starwheel always confuses me a little."

"The terminology for everything having to do with eclipses is overwhelming. I know that it can be learned with practice, but I hope to understand what each term means and be able to explain it with understanding and not just memorization."

"This might sound dumb but I didn't know the difference between the lunar and solar eclipse. I also didn't know why or how often they happened."

"Picking apart the differences between solar and lunar eclipses. This was confusing because there are a lot of things going on for each eclipse that can easily get crossed."

"I found the terms and umbra and penumbra confusing, because they weren't really defined. Also, I'm confused in the order they occur in when it comes to eclipses."

"I thought the lunar eclipse was confusing at first because if Earth is in front of the moon, wouldn't the moon be just dark? Then I figured out it doesn't work like that."

"In the textbook it says for a lunar eclipse the sun can turn a coppery red, because the moon is hiding in Earth's shadow, and Earth is blocking the sunlight. I haven't looked it up, but based solely on the textbook reading, I don't understand why the moon would turn red if it's in the shadow, and why it wouldn't just be dark or not visible."

"I was confused as to why a lunar eclipse could occur only during a full moon. While it made sense why this might affect visibility when viewing it from Earth, wouldn't the phenomenon still take place regardless of moon phase?"

"The only thing that was slightly confusing was why solar eclipses and lunar eclipses don't happen at every full/new moon."

"I found the GIF animation in the presentationthat shows the moon and Earth's movements as seen from the sun a little hard to understand. I understand that when the moon is in the right phase and the orbit is aligned, that's when there is an eclipse. But when the GIF is in motion it is hard for me to distinguish when the orbit is aligning."

"I think having to remember the different astronomers and the order in which they contributed will be a struggle and also having to differentiate whether they are a mover or disprover."

"One thing I think could be confusing will be trying to remember the order of the different astronomers and each of their contributions and ideas."

"Though I am not entirely lost on the subject, the idea of movers and disprovers is what I am understanding least. They each have specific roles in the progression of our understandings, but I am confused as to why they must be separated into groups, I feel all movers should attempt to disprove their own models in order to strengthen their arguments?"

"The idea of planets going into retrograde and moving the opposite direction that there supposed to for a short amount of time was difficult for me to visualize. but after thinking about it a little and reading the explanation about a runner on a track and how it's like when you pass someone and it appears they are moving backward compared to their background helped a lot."

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.	[0]
Gemini.	[0]
Cancer.	[0]
Leo.	[0]
Virgo.	* [1]
Libra.	[0]
Scorpio.	[0]
Sagittarius.	[0]
Capricorn.	[0]
Aquarius.	[0]
Pisces.	*********************************** [35]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	** [2]

I believe astrology is able to make accurate predictions about my future. (This is a follow-up question.)

Strongly disagree.	****** [6]
Disagree.	********** [10]
Neutral.	********************** [22]
Agree.	** [2]
Strongly agree.	** [2]

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 am still confused with astrology so I am still neutral because I don't exactly know what it is."

"I didn't know that percession existed therefore changed my idea on the predictions we see today."

"I've always been curious about astrology, but never a big believer that it has a certain say in my future. I think it predicts some things that makes me think it could be true, but then it's also always vague. What I didn't know is that everyone's astrological sign is off! That's so funny to me, and makes me disbelieve in it more."

"I never understood what people meant by 'sun-sign," I always assumed you had only one sign and it dealt with when you were born. Understanding now that your house is where the sun lined up with the constellations is really interesting but my opinion remains neutral on the subject"

"I personally didn't know my sun-sign. But now I'm able to find it on the starwheel."

"I do not believe my answer affects my opinion because I like to trust my thinking."

"I'm very neutral about astrology because I do believe and I do not believe in some of the predictions that are made about us."

"How I can predict what constellation will be in the sky on a specific night."

"I feel like my opinion stays the same due to the fact that I said it was neutral because sometimes they are true and others they are false. "

"I learned that our sun-sign is on a one-month shift and our sign is actually different than what the horoscope says. This still doesn't really change my view. I still do not think that astrology can determine our personalities or tell our futures."

"I didn't know that astrology was 'discovered' so long ago, that the sky has changed now, and that it changes which stars are in the sun on certain days. I didn't believe in the social media predictions of astrology before, so it doesn't really change my opinion."

"I find it weird that I was told I was a Scorpio growing up but now that I have seen in the lecture I'm a Libra."

"I now know that the sun-signs used in modern astrology are not really your true sun-sign, and that it really has no correlation to life events or personality."

"I still kinda do not believe it especially now that I know that the dates are shifted one month over My belief has not changed, I do not believe in astrology as fortune telling."

"I don't believe scientifically in the big bang, I believe in God's creation."

"What I know now that has affected my earlier opinion is that your house sign will most likely not be the same as your birthday zodiac sign. It makes me believe more in astrology and its process."

"I still don't think my future is affected by astrology and horoscopes but I am a little offended to be a Leo when using the star chart. Being a 'Virgo cusp' I have always fully identified as a Virgo, but found Leo's in my life to be polarizing. Being a Leo by the star chart made me not want to believe it matters..."

"It didn't change my opinion at all to be honest I still believe that it has no affect in your life at all."

"I didn't know that the zodiac signs are different now then when we recorded them I don’t believe that this makes astrology able to predict my future."

"That sun-signs don't necessarily fall within the typical dates, but rather when the sun is "in" each zodiac constellation. I still believe in astrology despite it being a psuedoscience- it's fun and something for me and my friends to talk about."

"The fact that our signs are different according to the starwheel makes me question some of the legitimacy of astrology and those who wholeheartedly believe in it as if it were a religion."

"I never knew that the signs were so off! I also didn't even know or understand how we even got our sun-signs in the first place. I totally believe a little bit that it has something to do with who you are because I have always thought that I was more of a Leo, rather than a Virgo, and according to the starwheel, I am, lol."

"I still don't know enough abut them to make a different opinion."

"I don't believe that stars have a direct influence on our life. I do believe that some of the zodiacs can be extremely accurate to describe a person which is interesting. If there is any influence I believe that it's through people reading their zodiac and acting how they think they are destined too."

"I didn't know how the constellations correlated with the date of birth or that the zodiacs have changed over time."

"I was already quite skeptical of the sun-signs, learning that they are all completely off though really was pretty entertaining."

"I didn't know that our signs are a whole month behind our actual signs. This is huge in showing people that astrology is a bunch of bologna."

"I thought I was a Cancer according to my 'natal chart' and it told me all my personality traits but now that I know all of the zodiac signs are off because of precession I think it's all fake."

"I think the ideas of a mover and disprover help to give background to the different thought processes and help bring light to the ideas behind them and allows others to form their own opinion."

"I didn't know about the different solstice and equinoxes and now I know a bit more about them and when they occur."

"My opinion stays the same. I don't think your astrological sign can predict your future, but I think that people with the same astrological signs can carry similar character traits."

"During class, I learned that precession affects the accuracy of monthly changes in astronomical signs. This explains why the signs sometimes differ for the same given date depending on whether a starwheel or horoscope is used. After learning this, I only became more convinced that astrology cannot make accurate predictions about the future (my initial belief to begin with)."

"I learned how to find my true zodiac sign from in class and learned more about the history behind the sun-signs. But I still don't think that means it can predict my future or who I am."

"Well I never knew that the zodiac symbols where off by a month and I thought I was a Aquarius but I'm in-between Capricorn and Sagittarius (Jan 25)."

"I previously didn't believe that astrology could make accurate predictions about my future. The last lecture re-enforced that by going over how astrology is actually not even correct. In the sense that precision has shifted the zodiac constellations roughly a month off. This makes it even harder to believe that this system could predict anything."

"Everything is a lie, and sun-signs attest to that statement."

"I did not know that most people actually have a different sun-sign than what is posted online."

"I didn't know that precession has changed the location of the zodiac constellations in relation to the time of the year. Astrology was never something I took super-seriously, but I take it even less seriously now."

"Knowing that the constellations in the sky when people are born has changed over the years doesn't really affect my opinion on astrology. When I speak to people about astrology I have always looked at both what their house is listed as well as the one to come and the previous house. I still find that there are aspects in the descriptions of these types of people within each of the different houses. I still don't look to astrology to make predictions about my future."

"I learned that due to precession, the dates for our astrological signs have changed. Therefore, predictions made by horoscopes are meant for people born in months other than those they are stated for. For instance, I'm a Leo but my starwheel says that I'm a Cancer. Therefore, astrological readings for Leo that are supposed to be predictions for me are 'inaccurate.'"

Match the phase of the moon during these eclipse types. (Only correct responses shown.)

Total solar eclipse: new moon [74%]
Partial solar eclipse: new moon [57%]
Annular solar eclipse: new moon [62%]
Total lunar eclipse: full moon [88%]
Partial lunar eclipse: full moon [69%]

Place these astronomers in chronological order of their historical contribution to astronomy. (Only correct responses shown.)

Aristotle [83%]
Ptolemy [71%]
Copernicus [79%]
Tycho [57%]
Kepler [55%]
Galileo [55]
Newton [76%]

Match these terms with their descriptions. (Only correct responses shown.)

Ideas accepted as truth without further examination: first principles [88%]
Predictions that could be tested by observations: hypotheses [86%]
Universal statements of cause and effect: rational laws [76%]
Describe phenomena without explaining why it occurs: empirical laws [67%]

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.

"Can you explain the sun and lunar eclipses more in class?"

"Still not too sure about the eclipse phases."

"I would like a little bit of clarification on the relationship between full solar eclipses, annular eclipses, and partial eclipses. The way I understand it is that a full solar eclipse is when the moon totally blocks the sun, and an annular eclipse is when the moon isn't big enough to cover the whole sun so there is that ring. What I wanted was clarification on is (1) is it considered a partial eclipse if you are in the penumbra for either of those eclipses, and (2) is an annular eclipse is always considered a partial eclipse since it doesn't totally cover the sun?" ((1) Yes, if you are only in the penumbra (one of the side shadow zones of the moon) for any type of solar eclipse, then you are only seeing a partial solar eclipse, where only the edge of the sun is covered up. (2) Annular eclipse means that you are actually in the "negative shadow" (the antumbra), and while the sun is not completely covered up by the moon, it is still centered on the sun, so it's not considered a partial solar eclipse.)

"How many total solar eclipses have you witnessed, if any?" (Just one, so far, in Hawaii with my family in 1991. Hopefully I'll get to take Mrs. P-dog somewhere to see her first total solar eclipse one day.)

"Are the predictions or estimates all true of annular and partial eclipses since they predict or estimate through 2024 in the book?" (Yes, but here's a list of upcoming eclipses specifically for San Luis Obispo, CA.)

"How much time do you think we should put aside for extra studying for tests and quizzes to do well? Are going over notes or studying the textbook more in-depth going to be more helpful?" (I would say that going over the past semester's quiz, and the quiz question packet would be most helpful, and then referring to your notes and/or the textbook as needed to answer those questions.)

"This homework assignment was difficult for me and the reading took me a while."

"How long did the mustache take to grow?" (A long time. Too long. Now that I've had it for the past sixty semesters, I don't think I'll ever shave it off.)

"I can't think of a question yet!" (Well, you were able to think of a comment.)

Online reading assignment: eclipses, history of astronomy (NC campus)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2020
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.

"Eclipses. I never really took the time to realize there was more than one. Finding out there's more and that they can look different really blew my mind."

"Differences between lunar and solar eclipses. A lunar eclipse is when the moon passes through Earth's shadow and a solar eclipse is when the moon casts its shadow on Earth. I was aware of the existence of eclipses but not the types of it."

"How a lunar eclipse turns the moon into a copper-red color and how the lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves through the shadow of the Earth. I found this interesting because I remember seeing the Moon making this beautiful color in the sky but I didn't know why it did that before reading this chapter in the text."

"I found the reason why eclipses don't happen every month interesting. Even though you know an eclipse happens when the sun aligns with the moon or the sun, moon, and Earth align, you don't really think about why they don't happen every month."

"That solar eclipses are predictable."

"During a solar eclipse, if you look at the sun, if you wear sunglasses it can still cause damage to your eyes."

"I still find it interesting that you can't look at a solar eclipse. We're taught that we shouldn't look at the sun so technically we shouldn't look at the eclipse. It's one of those things that you know you shouldn’t do but don't really think much of why."

"How a shadow from an eclipse is consisted of two parts the umbra and penumbra. This whole time I thought it was one big shadow that covered the total surface."

"It took two thousand years for astronomers to eventually come to the conclusion that the geocentric model was wrong. So many incorrect and completely wrong calendars over those years and then Copernicus and others finally fixed it."

"How long ago the first astronomers made their mark on history. This is insane to me because despite their lack of technology and prior knowledge they were able to make ground-breaking discoveries."

"Copernicus 'challenging belief in the locations of heaven and hell' to disagree with Aristotle's model of the universe. I found this interesting compared to now because of how easy it is to disagree with someone else regardless of 'beliefs,' we have more freedom of expression today."

"That a 'disprover' is someone who tears things down--an astronomer who argues against a previously-held model of planetary motion."

"That astronomers of the past found ways to explain things that worked, but were ultimately proved wrong."

Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.

"I was very confused on some of the explanations of the eclipses maybe it was just the wording."

"Shadow zones and differences between lunar eclipses and solar eclipses."

"I can't wrap my head around the penumbra and umbra."

"The phase of the moon is in for different types of eclipses."

"I remember when the partial solar eclipse happened a few years ago, there were posts all over the internet of crescent-shaped images of the sun cast by leaves and stuff but I don't really get why."

"The difference between lunar eclipse and solar eclipse was confusing to me because I don't quite understand the difference between the two. I also don't understand the difference between the total solar eclipse compared to partial and annular."

"I find it confusing how and when an eclipse will happen and why it happens, and why not every full moon is a lunar eclipse."

"My source of confusion is often in visualizing how things look spatially, and this chapter was no exception. I knew planets appeared to move backwards in the sky sometimes and that it had to do with how our orbit varies from theirs, but its hard to think of how that would look without an animated GIF."

"What was confusing that the scientists in Tycho's time had no telescopes or anything of the like, but they would still make their own observations."

"The astronomers. I have never personally been good at remembering names and dates. Remembering seven different people seems a bit confusing."

"I would like to understand the history of astrology more, it kind of turned into a mess in my brain. When trying to remember on the spot, who is a disprover or a mover, or who is scientific or nonscientific, it's difficult for me to distinguish between the astrologists. It was also kind of confusing to me their ways of doing things and how they created what they did. I'm not sure if it's shown anywhere how they figured out what the universe looked like or how they envisioned it so well without technology, it would be really cool to know."

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.	* [1]
Taurus.	[0]
Gemini.	[0]
Cancer.	[0]
Leo.	[0]
Virgo.	** [2]
Libra.	* [1]
Scorpio.	[0]
Sagittarius.	[0]
Capricorn.	[0]
Aquarius.	* [1]
Pisces.	*********************** [23]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	**** [4]

I believe astrology is able to make accurate predictions about my future. (This is a follow-up question.)

Strongly disagree.	* [1]
Disagree.	*********** [11]
Neutral.	***************** [17]
Agree.	*** [3]
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.)

"There are way more astrology signs than I thought. I know now that the time periods for each sun-sign are based off old positions for constellations recorded in ancient times. So the ridiculous personality traits attached to each sun-sign aren't even based off the right constellations for those birthdays."

"I already knew about how because of the way the months are going each time there will be a new horoscope. I still don't think the stars are fortune-tellers but I did learn it takes the moon a month to go around Earth."

"I knew that astrology had to do with your sign and all that but im surprised its more to do with the moon and sun-signs."

"I didn't know that there were more than three types of eclipses."

"Something I know now that I didn't before was figuring out our actual zodiac signs. The internet is off by 20 days each sign. To find your sign you line up your birthday with noon on your starwheel and which ever is in the line of the sun going from south to north, that's your zodiac sign."

"Personally nothing stood out as something I really didn't know before, I still remain neutral on the subject. I don't really believe that astrology is going to sway my beliefs much."

"After learning more about zodiac signs about timing in the sky, I changed my opinion to being neutral on this question. I think that astrology could have accurate predictions about my future after learning more about zodiac signs and what there is out there that describes people born in a specific month."

"Before this lesson I didn't understand the differences in the types of eclipses, I figured they were all the same. Understanding how they work and why they occur makes much interested in viewing an eclipse."

"I'm honestly still pretty neutral on it. It is still interesting but I haven’t had a point where I’m like, 'Yeah, this is totally predicting the future.'"

"I have learned that horoscope astrology signs are off and I am actually a taurus. It hasn't really changed my beliefs but it's cool to learn about."

"Something that I didn't know that I know now is how scientists don't update the zodiac signs to the correct dates and months due to the movement of the constellations. It has not affected my opinion on astrology at all i'm still neutral."

"Something I know now is that our zodiac signs are slightly different than what actual constellations our birthdays on the internet assigns. For example how I am considered a libra, however the sun is not located in front of that on my birthday, it is actually located in front of Virgo. This somewhat affected my opinion making my disbelief opinion stronger simply because what is said online is already incorrect based on what the star wheel tells us, which makes it harder for me to believe."

"I am not sure how to answer this question, I just know how it can't predict the future but there is some coincidences sometimes."

"I have learned that the zodiac signs that we usually see are off by one month, they're not accurate. That being said, I definitely support the fact I that astrology cant predict our future. I know know that the zodiacs that I think I know are a month off present time and now I know I'm not a Leo, I'm a Cancer."

"I put agree because I found that astronomy was interesting in high school and couldn't decide if I should major in criminal justice or astronomy."

"Knowing that the zodiacs were a month off does push my thoughts of astrology to neutral from disagree. I don't think that they can completely predict something but they can hit some points that may apply to you."

"My opinion on astrology hasn't changed all that much. I have learned a couple new things but my opinion hasn't been affected much."

"I still say neutral due to the fact that I don't really know how the information I have already obtained from the course would help me on deciding in belief of disbelief."

"There is no way for someone to see the future their is no way to know what will happen in the distant future."

"My opinion that it relies on confirmation bias still stands, with the added point that technically it can predict a very specific part of the future, by which I mean one can predict what stars will be where when on any date including the future."

"I had no idea about provers and disprovers, tearing an idea down or trying to prove a idea. Astrological signs don't line up with the constellations."

"I still feel the same about astrology. I disagree that it has any impact on the events in our lives and our personalities, as it has been disproved by various scientists to be supported by the scientific method. A new thing I did learn though was that the zodiac constellations and zodiac horoscopes do not match up, as the zodiac constellations on the starwheel and the dates for the horoscopes are a month off from each other. This may show that astrology is not completely reliable."

"I'm still curious as to why people believe that these star signs can predict things. I want to see some sort of reasoning from astrology fans. I have a hard time believing anything without proof or reason."

"I don't really know much about astrology still and that makes me not confident in choosing whether or not I believe or disbelieve in astrology. I think my lack of information is holding me back from forming an opinion."

"I believe it's not true that it can predict one's future because the star wheel says my zodiac sign is different from what I have thought my whole life."

"I think my line of thinking, that people believe in astrology because they fulfill the expectations of behavior of their signs and focus on features they share with their sign and ignoring contradicting features, still stands? Technically you could say you can make accurate predictions about your future using astrology, but it would be very specific things like what constellation will be on the meridian on your birthday, or 6 months after your birthday, or such."

"I previously had chosen that I agreed, but after finding out that well there not really off new data the stars are always changing, but we have not changed with it. I am a Virgo originally but come to find out my true sign is Leo. So when I look now it is totally ruined for me because I'm technically not Virgo anymore. I am now neutral about it."

Match the phase of the moon during these eclipse types. (Only correct responses shown.)

Total solar eclipse: new moon [78%]
Partial solar eclipse: new moon [56%]
Annular solar eclipse: new moon [66%]
Total lunar eclipse: full moon [91%]
Partial lunar eclipse: full moon [72%]

Place these astronomers in chronological order of their historical contribution to astronomy. (Only correct responses shown.)

Aristotle [75%]
Ptolemy [59%]
Copernicus [69%]
Tycho [56%]
Kepler [50%]
Galileo [41%]
Newton [69%]

Match these terms with their descriptions. (Only correct responses shown.)

Ideas accepted as truth without further examination: first principles [72%]
Predictions that could be tested by observations: hypotheses [94%]
Universal statements of cause and effect: rational laws [63%]
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.

"Do you think it is cooler to witness a solar eclipse or lunar eclipse and why?" (A total solar eclipse, no question. It is really cool to see the sun literally transform into a black dot and they sky turn into stars over just a few minutes. Also hearing all the birds freak out, and the streetlights pop on in the middle of totality.)

"Can you explain the moon phases and their effect on eclipses?"

"Explain differences between solar and lunar, they make no sense to me."

"Something I found confusing was why we are not allowed to look directly at the eclipse. I know that it is dangerous but why does it make it so dangerous." (During a solar eclipse sun gets covered up enough that it seems safe enough to look at directly, but because you want to watch it for a few minutes, you will wind up damaging your eyes without knowing it.)

"Overall this section was a little harder to grasp for me. The stuff about eclipses just needs some going over for me. The historical stuff was just dull to get through, but it was still interesting to see the different kinds of models that were made leading up to ours."

"All the wack models of the solar system that ancient minds thought made total sense are so interesting to me, like Anaximander's model from the 7th century BCE where Earth is surrounded by air, encased in a spherical shell with holes in it, and behind those holes is a layer of fire that gives stars their light."

"How did these astronomers effect astronomy? I couldn't find where we discussed this." (The textbook is background reading; we'll be discussing this in class this week and next week.)

"Why do you think it took so long for heliocentrism to be figured out when the Greeks easily figured out that Earth was a sphere?" (Well, even then not everyone was convinced with the geometrical proof that Earth was spherical. Old beliefs die hard.)

"Will there be a lot of questions delving into each astronomers and what they've done, or will it be major accomplishments they've achieved?" (We'll concentrate on their contributions on developing (or refuting) models of explaining why planets undergo retrograde motion.)

"Good class so far, keep it up ;)"

Online reading assignment: motions and cycles, advice from previous students (SLO campus)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2020
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 Earth's rotation/precession/revolution/tilt, the moon's motions and cycles, along with advice from students from the previous semester.

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.

"The animated GIFs in the presentation were helpful and interesting the ones used for rotation helped with my understanding."

"That the stars are actually present in the daytime, and that the reason for that is the atmosphere's scattering of sunlight overpowers our naked eye to only seeing the sky as clear and blue."

"The length of the precession really shows just how insignificant we are even though our perception of time makes us seem all important with how we measure history."

"The changing of our north star. I knew that it wouldn't be Polaris forever but I didn't know the timeframe. At what point do we not have a 'north star?'"

"The fact that one day there won't be a 'north star' and that the 'north star' has been and will be something other than Polaris is so weird!"

"I never knew what people meant when they would talk about their 'sun-sign' until going through the presentation slides and reading about it so that interested me a lot and I can't wait to learn more about it. (Side note: I would have done the reading in the book, but it has not arrived in the mail, therefore I haven't been able to.)"

"The reason that each zodiac sign is assigned to the stretch of time that it is. I didn't realize that it had to do with the sun being in between Earth and the constellation during that period of time."

"I did not know that seasons are caused by changes in the amount of solar energy that Earth's hemispheres receive at different times of the year."

"Even through all the phases of the moon there is still a side of the moon that we don't see because it rotates to be make us see the same side."

"That the moon orbits around Earth in about a month. I honestly never thought it would take that long for it to orbit around Earth."

"Moon cycles. This was personally interesting to me, because I never realized how many different phases there were. I didn't know about the waxing and waning phases until this class. The waxing phase gets more full over time, while the waning phase gets less full overtime. Moon cycles in general are just very interesting to me, and I look forward to learning more about them."

Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.

"I find the starwheel confusing."

"I'm wondering if there is a way to easily remember the different terms given! There are a lot of 'r's [rotation, revolution, precession] and I fear mixing them up."

"I found the vocabulary confusing because of the sheer amount of it and because of the fact that the later concepts regularly made reference to the vocabulary that was just introduced, making me have to go back and reread a lot."

"'Sun-sign' astrology was a little confusing for me at first. Is this the same thing as the zodiac signs?"

"Seasons. I don't know why I haven't thought about what causes seasons or the science behind them since I first learned an overview in elementary school. It seems like a simple concept but paired with the rotation of the planet, it starts to get confusing with how it all works."

"I have a hard time identifying the different moon phases. When looking at pictures, I still have a hard time telling whether the phase is waxing or waning and a crescent or gibbous moon."

"I found it a little confused how to tell the difference between a new moon and a full moon, because I quite honestly don't remember what a new moon even is! Figuring between the waning and waxing will need some practice as well, and so on."

The constellation Virgo is just above the east horizon, as seen by an observer at 11 PM in San Luis Obispo, CA. What date is this? (Ignore daylight saving time.)

February 20.	******************* [19]
April 25.	[0]
July 4.	* [1]
August 20.	** [2]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	**************** [16]

Match these cycles with their approximate duration.
(Only correct responses shown.)

Earth's rotation: 24 hours [89%]
Earth's revolution: one year [89%]
Earth's precession: 26,000 years [100%]
The moon's revolution: one month [78%]

I believe astrology is able to make accurate predictions about my future. (This is just an opinion question, there are no right answers.)

Strongly disagree.	***** [5]
Disagree.	*********** [11]
Neutral.	***************** [17]
Agree.	**** [4]
Strongly agree.	* [1]

Briefly explain your answer regarding your belief/disbelief in astrology. (This is just an opinion question, there are no right answers.)

"I somewhat agree because with my sign, Aquarius, my personality does not match up with the description of what an Aquarius is."

"Just because I was told we come from the stars."

"I don't think that astrology can predict how we will feel on a certain day or what we will experience exactly, but I feel like our zodiac signs do match our personalities and the kind of people we are. I think because of that it wouldn't be to hard to guess what that group of people in a certain month may be feeling or going through as a whole but I don't think astrology can tell the future, I just think it can hit a vague sense of what people could be going through based off a wide range of people born in the same month."

"I dont believe astrology is capable of influencing our decisions or events that happen to us. It is hard to believe that a certain position of a star in the sky can directly influence ones life, but I have seen people with similar tendencies share zodiac signs. Whether that is due to generalized traits or the influence of space on humans, I am not sure."

"I believe astrology has a good portion of science to it and I feel that beliefs discerned from the stars is a matter of opinion. Such as saying personality traits of each zodiac are very vague."

"I do belief in astrology because it speaks to me."

"This has nothing to do with what happens on Earth there is way too many variables that happened throughout our day that astrology cant predict the future."

"I answered neutral because some of the things it says is true and other times it's totally incorrect."

"I think astrology can do a lot of things, but I don't think it is capable of making accurate predictions about my future. I don't understand how astrology can tell you what your personality is, what your job should be, or what kind of person you should be friends with. I think astrology is a relic from a time when we understood much less about the world around us."

"Pseudoscience was explained in the reading and it was said that astrology made be the oldest pseudoscience. I found the astrology predictions interesting, but I don't believe that some how the stars can predict how my week or life is going to go based on when I was born."

"I don't believe in astrology but I do find it interesting that people believe that the way the stars are aligned determine your future and personality but for me I would need a little more proof that this is actually true."

"I do not agree with this because it is a pseudoscience, and it can't be proven that the positions of the sun, moon, stars and planets have an affect on the outcomes of the future of any of our lives. I believe that when reading predictions in astrology, we give meaning to the things we relate to, and they are often very general to be able to reach a larger target audience. We are the ones that put the power and meaning into the things astrology tells us."

"I'm not sure what this means. I believe that astrology is a helpful tool and will effect our future as a whole but I don't think if will predict my future. i am not too sure yet as well."

"I do not believe that the stars in the sky when I was born has any effect on my personality or fate an more than what was on the TV at the time would."

"I love astrology but I don't think life decisions should be based on it. I think because of the slight fluctuations in the earth's gravitational pull marked by the constellations, it holds some weight. That is probably just my crazy talking though. I truly believe that who you are, your character traits, your likes/dislikes, the people you choose to like, the people you choose to dislike, etc, can all be based on astrology. I believe it can predict your future."

"With absolutely no science behind it and based solely on my own experiences, I do think astrology is interesting and relevant to learning more about yourself. I don't think that horoscopes hold much weight as most of them are just made up for magazines, etc. However, I deeply identify with my zodiac sign and feel that we are connected to the stars. How, exactly, I don't know and doubt I'll ever know for sure."

"I just don't see the connection between space and people. I think its foolish to believe whatever our sign in telling us because in reality we won't know what is happening and it can't in any way predict the future."

"Well, I read the article saying astrology was 'pseudoscience,' so I know now it's not factual, but it's kind of fun, so I'm a little bummed."

"I believe in it and study it a lot. It's interesting and fun for me and I don't think it's 100% accurate, but I enjoy it. To me it's shown me a lot of insight."

"I believe that astrology holds the same merit as religion does. I do believe that people with the same sign tend to have certain similarities, but I don't think astrology determines what kind of person you are or will be."

"My answer is neutral because I really am not sure about any of it, I have no knowledge on the subject, so I don't have an opinion on it really. If I had to say, I would believe it is involved with our futures."

"I don't think that my future is set in stone, nor is it directly related to the concepts/system of zodiacs if that makes any sense."

"I have always thought that it was absurd to group everybody who was born in similar months with the same personality types, and predictions of the future. The aspects that I do enjoy are ancient myths and stories that surround these star formations."

"I believe that astrology can make correct assumptions, but I don't believe that you are the way you are simply because of the day you were born. People don't have any one behavior, so its easy for astrologists to throw out things and wait for things to stick."

"Like all girls I used to look to astrology and believe it. I dont really know how I feel about it know, I think it's a bit vague."

"I think there are some basic predictors but at the same time, I don't think it completely navigates your life or your actions/decisions. I don't know about making predictions about your future but I think certain signs share certain distinct characteristics."

"I am pretty convinced that most information you read about your astrological sign that seems 'accurate' is cherry-picked. In a recent study for instance, the researcher told the participants he could supposedly guess their astrological signs. He gave each person a handout (corresponding with their sign) that included a personality description. Everyone was in awe about how personal and accurate their astrology results were. However, the researcher disclosed that he had handed everyone the same piece of paper. This comes to show how our brains selectively find information that confirms our beliefs, even if we are unaware. Thus when reading about your astrological sign, it is difficult to take an objective approach and thoughtfully assess whether the information is truly accurate or inaccurate."

"I believe the more that we advance in astrology the better off we will be for the future when we start sending mass amounts of people up into space."

"Well now we're getting into philosophy, but I disagree for a few reasons, chief among them is that I don't believe our future is predetermined. So with that belief and the belief that your future is constantly changing with the choices you make, there cannot, in my mind, be a way to 'predict' it."

"A lot of the predictions regarding astrology are very generic and have either been way off or spot on."

"I have never seen scientific proof about the accuracy of astrology."

"I don't believe in astrology enough to actually base any decisions on it. But it is a fun thing to think about when it comes to personality traits. It can be surprisingly accurate at times. The telling the future through horoscopes part I don't really pay attention to."

"I believe that many of the comments relating to signs can be seen in people when you really look into their lives, but I do not believe that astrology can make predictions about the future."

"I don't believe that astrology is a good predictor of the future. I think that astrology readings tend to seem 'surprisingly accurate' because they involve information that is typically accurate for a lot of different types of people, and tend to be fairly vague to be more applicable. "

Place these moon phases in chronological order in their cycle (starting with new moon).
(Only correct responses shown, in unscrambled order.)

New moon: first [97%]
Waxing crescent: second [76%]
First quarter: third [86%]
Waxing gibbous: fourth [82%]
Full moon: fifth [87%]
Waning gibbous: sixth [74%]
Third quarter: seventh [74%]
Waning crescent: eighth [68%]

Pick one piece of student advice from the previous semester, and discuss why you agree (or disagree) with it.

"'Prepare by doing the reading assignments to provide a rough assessment of your understanding, and questions to bring for the lecture.' Important because the reading assignments help to gauge comprehension of the material, and if there are challenging topics, to ask questions in order to have them clarified."

"'Do your homework and pay attention to the presentation slides posted on the blog. If you don't understand something, Google it. But come to class prepared enough to teach the subject to another student and you'll be fine.' I agree with this students advice, because I have heard that you can learn best by teaching someone else the subject, which ends up helping both students in the situation. Keeping up with homework and not forgetting to do it is important as well."

"'Come to every class--most important thing.' I chose this one because last year was my first semester at Cuesta and towards the end of it I my attendance was not the best. I need to make sure I come since this class is only once a week."

"'Be genuinely interested' was a funny piece of advice because you cannot choose what you're interested in. I did pick this course though because I'm interested so luckily that won't be a problem."

"'Turn off your phone in class.' I agree with this statement because the phone is one the biggest distractions in school and since this is just a one day a week class we cram in a bunch of material, so it's good to stay focused and have no distractions."

"'GO TO CLASS!' Anytime I've struggled in a class is because I didn't attend and failed to stay engaged. Showing up is half the battle for me."

"'Simply review your quizzes because they will be re-written on the exams.' I agree with this bit of advice coming from a former student of this class it helps the person taking realize there is more importance to the quiz sooner rather than later. I also feel that is an overlooked part of many classes because I tend forget about the quizzes and there is definitely answers that will help you later on."

"'Go to office hours with the practice quizzes, get help answering them, study up those sheets and you'll never worry about failing a quiz.' I agree, because office hours are perfect for getting clarification on anything. It's accessible to get help on understanding some of the homework assignments, study guides, or even getting clarification on past quizzes. Asking questions and getting help is the best thing a student can do to succeed in a course."

"'In order to succeed in astronomy, you need to do be in class every day. Skipping any class day will cause you to lose points for the in-class activities. You also need to do the online reading assignments as missing them will hurt your grade. Finally, study for the exams and the final, they are the most important to do and getting a good grade on them will boost your grade significantly.' I agree with this persons advice because I think this is true for every class in college. Doing all the work and showing up to class will benefit you, not hurt you. It is the smarter decision to show up to class and interact in group activities. Also, to study for the test and quizzes is so important and a must do."

"Tackle the material covered with general curiosity. In a sense 'trip out' and invest your time into genuinely and you will do great!" I agree with this past student because all we can do is tackle the information in front of us. Its up to us to be able to take in this new information, and I'm very excited to see what astronomy has to offer."

"'Do the reading assignments on time. It's easy to forget, and the lost points add up.' I Agree with it because it is easy to forget when you only have the class once a week."

"'Keep up with the blogs, not just the reading.' I strongly agree with this advice because the readng explains the material, but the blog shows many examples. The blog helped me better understand the material that I read."

"'Keep up with the blogs, not just the reading.' I agree with this piece of advice already because my first impressions of the blogs is that they are handy tools that seem to compress the information in the book into broken down slides with helpful visuals. I feel the blogs will help reinforce what we will be engaging with in the book."

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.

"This reading had interesting topics, and please go over the readings a little more in depth for a student that learns better from auditory learning."

"Can you please put up the instructions for each type of starwheel question again? (The notes on that (along with all other written notes from class this semester) are posted on Twitter using the #CuestaAstr210 hashtag.)

"I'm having a bit of trouble knowing just by looking at a moon whether it is waxing or waning. It usually takes a lot of thinking and comparing to get the right answer. Do you have any tips or tricks for identifying which of those it is quickly?" (We'll be going over that in class tonight.)

"Will we be memorizing a lot of vocabulary for this course?" (Yes, but we will introduce, drill, and review these terms quite a bit in each class.)

"Have you watched the movie Interstellar?" (Yeah. I liked the robots the best.)

"I'm wondering what length you're looking for with these responses. I tried to dedicate several sentences to each one but I'm wondering if that's enough or if they need to be a paragraph or two." (Just a sentence or two, as I'm basically looking to see if you're engaged with material. If you are really engaged, then feel free to write more.)

"Do you think time travel is possible?" (Well, maybe only in the forward sense.)

"In astrology was wondering if you know about houses and rising/ascendant signs? And if you've ever done your natal chart with birth time and place? Or if you've heard about trines/squares/opposition/and sextiles in astrology?" (Sounds like you know quite a bit more about astrology than I do. However, we will cover "sun-signs" (which essentially is your "house") in class this week, and later discuss your rising and setting signs, all of which we can find using a starwheel (and your birth date/time).)

"I am ready to get going in this class."