Online reading assignment: the Milky Way (SLO campus)

Astronomy 210, fall semester 2019
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 the Milky Way's shape, size and composition and spiral arm structure and formation.


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 really liked the Fe[26] game, I may or may not have spent half an hour playing it when I should've been studying."

"I didn't think about the fact that we can not see the rest of our galaxy from our perspective."

"I find it interesting that if we use an infrared or radio telescope that we can see the whole Milky Way galaxy and if we don't do this we cannot see as much of it."

"Learning a bit about dark matter in the Milky Way was interesting. I had no idea that dark matter is what creates and spreads out the gravity in our galaxy. This unusual matter that does not deal with light or dust or gas is holding our galaxy together."

"Dark matter, thinking about the majority of matter is not seen/doesn't interact with our realm of reality is fascinating."

"I thought the 'MACHOs' and 'WIMPs' was interesting because I have never heard of those for explaining dark matter."

"I found it interesting how all the dark matter 'WIMPs' could have a substantive amount of mass and they don't interact with any light and that they permeate and pass through our galaxy."

"I like that the explanation for the broken spiral arms I saw in the lab is finally revealed."

"I liked the traffic jam analogy. It's interesting to think that stars form that way. And that sometimes they do form, and sometimes they don't."

"The density wave 'traffic jams' in galaxies. I was curious to know more about spiral galaxies."

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

"Nothing really was confusing this week. I'm still scratching my head about our last two weeks' topics (star types and what they 'eat')."

"It was confusing thinking about the size of our galaxy."

"It's kind of difficult for me to imagine the Milky Way being a flattened disc in comparison to our position on Earth. I'm a very visual person and my brain wants to make the Milky Way rounded since we observe it from a rounded planet."

"The idea that we live in a 'flattened disk-shaped galaxy' is confusing because that is hard to visual. I don't see it like a flat disc."

"Dark matter--puzzling over exactly what is is difficult to grasp, as it almost doesn't seem to play by the same rules of physics as the observable world."

"Dark matter. Just like black holes, it's hard to imagine something that can't be seen."

"I don't fully understand how persistence of vision is associated with the Milky Way."

"The PimpStar Rims and traffic jams. I don't really know how to explain how they work."

"I am confused about the PimpStar Rims. Why do people do this to their cars? I truly don't understand."

"I found the PimpStar Rims and everything were confusing; I need more explanation on them."

"I don't really feel confused on anything."

In your experience, how much of the "Milky Way" (the band of faint stars across the celestial sphere) have you been able to see in the night sky?

As much as can be seen with the naked eye.	******** [8]
Not very much.	********* [9]
Barely seen it.	*** [3]
(Never been able to see it.)	*** [3]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	[0]

Using the most powerful light-gathering optical telescopes in the darkest skies, __________ of the stars in our entire galaxy can be observed from Earth.

1%.	*********** [11]
5%.	[0]
10%.	******* [7]
50%.	* [1]
100%.	* [1]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	*** [3]

If you did not have access to a mirror while camping, what could you do to find out whether or not you're having a bad hair day?

"Ask the most honest person around you."

"Use a still pool of water as a mirror."

"Use the back of a spoon."

"Use your phone's camera."

"Just throw my hair in a messy bun that way it looks crazy on purpose."

"If you're really camping, every day is a bad hair day. You will feel the hair sticking out everywhere."

"I always have a bad hair day."

"Look for wild animals, see if they run."

"You can use your hands and feel your hair to find out if your having a bad hair day or not."

"Through your own shadow." "

Look at PimpStar Rims (*.html) for cars, or MonkeyLectric Rims (*.html) for bikes. Briefly explain how they work.

"Both have LEDs that flash and when put in motion, they appear to create a pattern or seemingly solid color due to blurring."

"They blink and leave an afterimage which is similar to a strobe effect."

"They're electronic lights that spin around the rim of the car and change on an interval that matches how fast the rim is spinning, once the wheel is spinning faster than the human mind is capable of interpreting, the changing colors of lights appear as an image."

"I'm really not too sure. Out of everything taught this was what was most confusing to me in class."

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

"When you say compressed to describe the space where the arms of the galaxy show up, how much is compressed? Or how tightly packed does the matter in these arms need to be in order to generate star formation?" (Just enough to kick-start star formation, which is really hard to start on its own without any help.)

"Is it hard to teach a subject where almost nothing is fact?" (Wait, are you talking about astronomy? At least everything we've covered so far have been verified with evidence. Well, subject to further observations. #keeplooking)

"Can we take a field trip to see the Milky Way (or are there good viewing locations around here?)" (Just make sure the moon is not up. Then go somewhere dark and clear--I would suggest Carrizo Plain, but some other less remote, nearby locations might work.)

"I don't understand how matter isn't being sucked towards the center of the galaxy. If there's a supermassive black hole there, then what is stopping matter from being sucked towards it? I get the 'circling the drain' aspect but wouldn't everything eventually get sucked in?" (In terms of the total amount of stuff in our galaxy, the supermassive black hole is actually quite miniscule. It certainly has cleared out its immediate neighborhood and added it to its mass, but to the rest of everything outside of that vicinity, the amount of gravity from that central region is still the same whether it is a single supermassive black hole, or a cloud of gas, dust and stars. So everything else in the Milky Way goes about its business just the same.)

"Your bike is legit."

"Would you put PimpStar Rims on your car if you got them for free?" (I would add them to the lights on my bike.)

"At what location was your Milky Way picture taken?" (The Atwell Mill Campground in the Mineral King section of Sequoia National Park.)

"What is a telescope you would recommend to invest in for a broke college student?" (For telescopes, most anything you can get from Craigslist that is still functional--no sense buying a telescope new if you're just starting. But also consider binoculars as well.)

"When is our second midterm?" (In two weeks.)

Online reading assignment: the Milky Way (NC campus)

Astronomy 210, fall semester 2019
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 the Milky Way's shape, size and composition and spiral arm structure and formation.


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 in very dark skies if you take a look at the Milky Way, which to the ancient Greeks resembled a milky stream across the sky."

"I thought the Milky Way night photo was super cool and interesting because it encompasses science and the outdoors in such a beautiful way. I love to be outdoors and in nature so this really resonated with me."

"I like how it was once again proven that we are not the center of the universe as I feel when we think this way without waiting for proof we are very narrow-minded."

"That the Milky Way sort of has arms. Making it look like a spiral."

"The mystery of dark matter is always interesting to hear about. What is dark matter? How can we find it, and once we find it how can we identify it? These are questions I sincerely hope are answered in my lifetime."

"Learning a bit about dark matter in the Milky Way galaxy was interesting. I had no idea that dark matter is what creates and spreads out the gravity in the galaxy. This unusual matter that does not deal with light or stars or gas or dust is holding our galaxy together."

"Dark matter--thinking about the majority of matter that is not seen and doesn't interact with our realm of reality is fascinating."

"Persistence of vision, along with the different examples provided."

"Something interesting was learning about stars' formation. As gas and dust compress, star formation occurs and lights up a spiral arm."

"I liked the traffic jam analogy. It's interesting to think that stars form that way. And that sometimes they do form, and sometimes they don't."

"The PimpStar Rims comparison was a very funny and clever way to compare the formation of the spiral arms in a galaxy. I was able to understand it better."

"I like that the explanation for the broken spiral arms I saw in the GalaxyZoo lab is finally revealed."

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

"I found confusing as to how we can determine the shape of the Milky Way along with where the center is?"

"The fog model."

"The difference between the centered and spread-out mass in a galaxy."

"Dark matter."

"I don't fully understand how persistence of vision is associated with the Milky Way."

"I am confused with dwarf galaxy interactions and the triggering of density waves. I can get that when a smaller galaxy comes close to a bigger one it gets sucked in but I do not understand what it has to do with triggering density waves."

"The entire concept of density waves has gone completely over my head. I dearly hope you'll explain in easier-to-understand terms in class at some point."

"I don't really feel confused on anything."

In your experience, how much of the "Milky Way" (the band of faint stars across the celestial sphere) have you been able to see in the night sky?

As much as can be seen with the naked eye.	****** [6]
Not very much.	***** [5]
Barely seen it.	***** [5]
(Never been able to see it.)	****** [6]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	[0]

Using the most powerful light-gathering optical telescopes in the darkest skies, __________ of the stars in our entire galaxy can be observed from Earth.

1%.	************ [12]
5%.	** [2]
10%.	**** [4]
50%.	[0]
100%.	* [1]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	*** [3]

If you did not have access to a mirror while camping, what could you do to find out whether or not you're having a bad hair day?

"Ask the most honest person around you."

"Use a still pool of water as a mirror."

"Use your phone's camera."

"Just throw my hair in a messy bun that way it looks crazy on purpose."

"If you're really camping, every day is a bad hair day. You will feel the hair sticking out everywhere."

"I always have a bad hair day."

"Look for wild animals, see if they run."

"You can use your hands and feel your hair to find out if your having a bad hair day or not."

"Through your own shadow."

Look at PimpStar Rims (*.html) for cars, or MonkeyLectric Rims (*.html) for bikes. Briefly explain how they work.

"They work because of a series of blinking LED being placed under a rapid speed will emit a certain pattern."

"They blink and leave an afterimage which is similar to a strobe effect."

"It's a set of LED lights that are in the wheels that have a built in microprocessor and adapter. and as they spin it creates the magic."

"I am fairly certain they harness their sheer tastelessness to emit a glow of pure obnoxious energy."

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

"Nearly ten years ago, I went camping with the boy scouts on Catalina Island. When the lights in the camp facilities went off, there was absolutely no light pollution for miles around, so I could see the entire night sky, including the milky way, totally unobstructed for the first time ever. I've always wanted to see the sky that way again, but I haven't been able to find a night sky so clear since then."

"The comic book style notes help."

"Do you imagine the PimpStar Rims or the MonkeyLectric Rims will become popular?" (I have them on my bike.)

"One thing I found confusing is disk stars and halo stars. Which one does our galaxy consists of?" (Both, although the halo star clusters above and below the disk are pretty sparse.)

"I have never gotten a good view of the Milky Way. Where and when in California is the best to view the Milky Way?" (Make sure the moon is not up. Then go somewhere dark and clear--I would suggest Carrizo Plain, but some other less remote, nearby locations might work.)

"What separates galaxies? Void? Void from lack of gravity? Is it safe to assume that space is infinite?" (The space between galaxies really is empty (no gas/dust, so no stars will ever be made in that space). Right now it seems that the universe is infinite, or at the least so large that it might as well be infinite, but that's not a completely settled question.)

"When is our second midterm?" (In two weeks.)

Online reading assignment: the Milky Way (SLO campus)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2019
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 the Milky Way's shape, size and composition and spiral arm structure and formation.


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 really liked learning about the Milky Way because when I was young and went to LA you couldn't see the Milky Way, but at home you could see it really nicely without the light pollution. Learning about dark matter was crazy as well because I didn't know a lot about it."

"I really liked learning about the Milky Way. I live out in the country so on super clear night growing up as a kid I was able to see the Milky Way."

"That the word 'galaxy' derives from the Greek word for milk, interesting fact."

"The fog model. The idea that there are things we can't see because of things being in the way is fascinating."

"How big the Milky Way is."

"I thought the bad hair day camping was a funny and interesting analogy."

"I guess I never really thought about how we would image our own galaxy, looking from the inside out. But the way that we do it is pretty interesting. It's confusing, but I'm sure the lecture will clear it up."

"That we actually have a method to determine our galaxy to be a spiral galaxy and it's not just assumption."

"I never thought about how hard it would be to figure out what size and shape our own galaxy is since we are inside of it and have no mirror for reference."

"Learning about the Milky Way and its spiral arms was pretty interesting. I liked it because the Milky Way is always talked about, but never in this much depth."

"That people were able to come up with ways to picture our own galaxy even though it's huge and we can barely get to other planets at this point."

"That we can use the orbital motion of the sun to find the mass of the galaxy inside the sun's orbit. The fact we're able to infer this correlation blows my mind. It makes total sense, too. Plus, even if it's not exact, the fact that we can even get an estimate also demonstrates just how interconnected everything really is. We've been able to learn so much about space already, even with the extremely limited data we actually have."

"Dark matter because the idea of unexplained and mysterious phenomena are always intriguing and exciting."

"I thought that the idea of dark matter was super-weird and interesting. But it does make a lot of sense."

"Dark matter is cool because is it scary and most of the universe is dark matter. Creepy."

"How we detected the spiral arm 'lanes' of the Milky Way, because they don't just use a regular telescope."

"The wildfire analogy for star births through type II supernova explosions was interesting. I find it helpful to have comparisons to more common everyday occurences that I have actual experience dealing with when trying to understand the abstract astronomy subjects."

"The formation of the Milky Way is based on a lot of theory, and that some of the mathematical estimations could be as much as 10% off. It's interesting to know that there is still much knowledge to discover."

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

"Why can we see the Milky Way but we are a part of it."

"I'm still not totally sure about how we can use things like globular clusters to find the size and center of the galaxy, but after reading the textbook on the various ways we figured it out, that was cleared up more for me. I'm not really confused on anything else in this section."

"The globular cluster part about the Milky Way was a bit confusing. The image that was provided didn't make much sense to me--I just think I need a better, in class explanation."

"The period-luminosity relation."

"I want to know more about dark matter. What are your ideas of what it could possibly be made of?"

"Dark matter, I've always heard of the references to what darkmatter is and how its a major part of our universe, but the MACHOs and WIMPs categories still confuse me on the subject still."

"WIMPs--what is a weakly interacting massive particle? How can something be weakly interacting?"

"Star formation in spiral arms."

"How density waves work."

"The spiral arm/Pimpstar Rim optical illusion thing. I get it on a basic level, but I need more explanation."

"The spiral arms, I didn't really understand the concept of them."

"Self-sustaining star formation--why is it prominent in some galaxies and not all?"

"I think I'd just like more in class discussion on all the presentation slides."

"Just about everything I have read."

"Pretty straightforward slides!"

"It all clicked."

In your experience, how much of the "Milky Way" (the band of faint stars across the celestial sphere) have you been able to see in the night sky?

As much as can be seen with the naked eye.	********* [9]
Not very much.	*************** [15]
Barely seen it.	*** [3]
(Never been able to see it.)	***** [5]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	[0]

Using the most powerful light-gathering optical telescopes in the darkest skies, __________ of the stars in our entire galaxy can be observed from Earth.

1%.	************ [12]
5%.	***** [5]
10%.	********* [9]
50%.	** [2]
100%.	[0]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	**** [4]

If you did not have access to a mirror while camping, what could you do to find out whether or not you're having a bad hair day?

"Look in the reflection of a pond/river/lake."

"Check in the reflection of the water? Honestly, I'd have a hat though."

"If a car is nearby look in the window."

"Take a selfie."

"Ask your fellow campers or study their reactions to you when you climb out of your tent."

"Ask a friend you trust who has a verifiable history of qualifying good and bad hair days in accordance with your hair day system of values."

"Ask a wild animal."

"Ask a grizzly bear."

"I don't usually care about what I look like when I'm camping."

"Camping hair don't care."

"Probably just roll around in the dirt. Then I'll know for sure that I’m having a bad hair day, and there won't be any mystery anymore."

"Make sure your camping partners look worse than you so no one can tell you're ugly."

"Look at your shadow."

"I would use my hands to feel, if my hair is in place relative to my head."

"I would just run my fingers through it, the more knots the more painful the hair looks."

Look at PimpStar Rims (*.html) for cars, or MonkeyLectric Rims (*.html) for bikes. Briefly explain how they work.

"Rapidly blinking lights are coordinated to create patterns when swept across our field of vision."

"For Pimpstar Rims there is a microprocessor in each wheel and images are sent to each wheel through wirelessly. For MonkeyLectric, there are many different designs that are already picked out that were created by different artists."

"Using LED lights set into the rims of cars or bikes the lights are able to make a picture as the wheel spins. The article said they use 'strobe modulation effect' kind of like a marquee where the lights light up and make it appear as if the words are moving in fluid motion instead of lights just lighting up."

"Usually one 'spoke' made up of a handful of LEDs spin around fast enough to create what appears to be a solid disk. By changing the LEDs at a rate that correlates to the spinning speed, it can create a picture."

"I think the reason that they work is because the light on the wheels when going really fast make it seem that there's a solid color, similar to when you turn on the fan and the blades when going fast look like a single big blade. How they create the cool patterns I'm not sure."

"PimpStar Rims are rims on a car made to put a design/ make a visual illusion to people that drive by. The spiral arms of the Milky Way are a similar persistence of vision illusion--like the lights on Pimpstar rims, short-lived massive stars are born and die at certain intervals as they orbit around. MonkeyLectric Rims are the same but for bikes."

"The wheels have freaking pictures!"

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

"If you could elaborate on the shape of our galaxy in class, please?"

"I'm a bit confused as to why the Milky Way galaxy is flat disk shaped. In the globular cluster positions slide, it shows the star clusters above and below the disk but there's still clusters inside the blue disk right? Where is the border where star clusters are officially part of the Milky Way and where they're not?" (Yes, the globular clusters are everywhere in the halo (above and below the disk), and also can pass through the disk as they circle around their tilted orbits.)

"Why is it called 'dark' matter when it is actually made up of light matter?" (We can't see dark matter (yet)--it doesn't give off light (like stars, or emission nebulae), doesn't reflect light (like fine dust), and it doesn't even block light (like clumpy dust particles). Perhaps a better term for dark matter is "non-light interacting matter.")

"Why did you want us to look at the ugly rims?"

"The LED lights for your bike are really cool and nicely personalized."

"I must be a child because I laughed at 'Pimpstar.'"

"Is it true that there are more stars in universe than grains of sand?" (If the universe is infinite, and each star in this infinite universe has a planet with sandy beaches, then probably so. #mindblown)

"How do you feel about 'Song About The Sun' by They Might Be Giants?" (Eh. It's okay.)

"We should do a potluck!" (We'll do a "knowledge potluck" for the final exam. Just make sure you at least bring enough for yourself.)

"Do you like camping? Do you consider yourself to be high-maintenance?" (Yes, and probably yes. I usually just wear a hat when backpacking, though. #doitforthegram)

"What was your Ph.D. research on? Why'd you choose that?" (Atomic holography. Because, holograms. Of atoms.)

Online reading assignment: the Milky Way (NC campus)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2019
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 the Milky Way's shape, size and composition and spiral arm structure and formation.


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 thought it was interesting that the Greeks named the Milky Way because they believed the Milky Way was a milky river that flowed through the night sky."

"The 3D map of our Milky Way galaxy was interesting because it gave a direct sense of scope that feels more real than looking at artist depictions or being told how large it is."

"I think it was interesting learning about the Milky Way galaxy. There are many unique parts about it and all the visuals are very eye-catching."

"I found the fog model particularly interesting because of the fact that we can only see a portion of the Milky Way galaxy because of the interstellar medium. This is interesting to me because anything bigger than that is hard to even fathom."

"Our Milky Way galaxy has a disk shape. I never looked at it in that way and I'm curious as to why that is."

"The facts that gravity is smeared/spread out was such an interesting idea to me."

"The cause of density waves because I was never aware that in order to sustain its spirals, other smaller galaxies would be consumed in the process."

"That the spiral arms of a galaxy are optical illusions. Instead they are created through the movement and formation of new stars."

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

"I need some clarification regarding the percentage of stars that can be observed from Earth."

"I was confused about the globular clusters and their purpose?"

"How can we see our Milky Way galaxy, because the view is 'foggy?'"

"Dark matter. I mean it makes sense, but it's just kind of confusing to me."

"I am still unsure as to what dark matter is, or what it could possibly be. I have the feeling that it is particles that are either too small or too dim to reflect light or be visibly seen but still create a gravitational force?"

"The way the Milky Way galaxy is mapped confused me a little. I need a little more clarification since I don't fully understand it."

"How the spiral arms are moving and at what rate. This is confusing because I understand that density waves move the particles but is this happening over a long period of time or is it happening super fast?"

"The persistence of vision was a hard subject to understand."

"Nothing in particular was confusing. everything was straightforward."

"Nothing is too confusing--it's a little complicated but it's not confusing."

In your experience, how much of the "Milky Way" (the band of faint stars across the celestial sphere) have you been able to see in the night sky?

As much as can be seen with the naked eye.	************* [13]
Not very much.	********** [10]
Barely seen it.	** [2]
(Never been able to see it.)	* [1]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	[0]

Using the most powerful light-gathering optical telescopes in the darkest skies, __________ of the stars in our entire galaxy can be observed from Earth.

1%.	****** [6]
5%.	*** [3]
10%.	********** [10]
50%.	** [2]
100%.	[0]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	***** [5]

If you did not have access to a mirror while camping, what could you do to find out whether or not you're having a bad hair day?

"You could use the reflection in an area of water, presuming there is any nearby."

"If you're camping near water, you can always look at your reflection in it. Another possibility would be to just use your phone."

"Use a window or mirror of a car if you drove to the campsite. If you have sunglasses or a watch on, those would work as well."

"Look in a reflection in a tin cup or a spoon."

"In my opinion it doesn't matter about your hair if you're camping you're suppose to enjoy the nature/wilderness. If you're worried about your hair then don't go camping."

"Honestly who cares? Just throw your hair up in a bun or something and you are good to go."

"I don't particularly care what my hair looks like (that's what hair-ties are for)."

"Well I have curly hair that never changes, so it's always perfect :)"

"Never had a bad hair day :)"

"Well if I'm camping I think it's pretty safe to assume that I am having a bad hair day. But if I really wanted to lower my self-esteem, I would just ask someone."

"Ask the person you are with because you shouldn't go camping alone."

"You could touch your hair."

"Just play with my hair and just feel how messy it is."

"I just usually do a 'surface check' and see if there are any big puffs of hair protruding from my head."

"Just realize ask yourself if you have P-dog's mustache and if not, then your answer is YES I'm having a very bad hair day."

Look at PimpStar Rims (*.html) for cars, or MonkeyLectric Rims (*.html) for bikes. Briefly explain how they work.

"The wheel knows its rotational velocity and adjusts its pixels to maintain a stationary image on a rotating plane."

"The blinking lights can be timed to the speed of the wheel, giving it the ability to light up at the exactly right time, to produce a pattern on a wheel."

"They work by using a strobe modulation technique by having built in microprocessor, wireless adapter, and LED lights."

"They put out the lights or words and because of how fast it is moving, it looks constant."

"They leverage an illusion called persistence of vision. This illusion tricks you into believing these moving lights are painting an image."

"I'm not sure? Something about a flashing light and how to reacts with speed?"

"Not sure."

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

"I went on a backpacking trip in the Sierras for a month, where there were no lights from any cities. I was able to see the Milky Way for the first time, and it was so beautiful because all the stars shined so bright. It was amazing, and I'll never forget it."

"Would you pimp your car out with PimpStar Rims?" (I've already pimped out my bike with something like that already.)

"How often do you ride your bike?" (Not as often as when I taught physics at UC-Davis.)

"Why don't you have any open-note, open-book quizzes or exams?" (The reading assignments and the quiz question packets are already where you answer questions with open-notes, open-book. But I do want to see how much astronomy you know inside you on the quizzes and exams, so that's why they are closed-notes, closed-book.)

"How are we able to determine our current grade in the class?" (You can add up all the points from Quiz 4 and Quiz 5 to the Midterm 1 summary page (which is the last time your points were totaled). Or you can wait until you after Midterm 2, when the summary page will once again update with your most current points.)

"Opinion on Milky Way candy bars versus the OG Milky Way galaxy?" (What if the OG Milky Way galaxy were made up of only Milky Way candy bars?)

Online reading assignment: the Milky Way (NC campus)

Astronomy 210, fall semester 2018
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 the Milky Way's shape, size and composition and spiral arm structure and formation.


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.

"Learning that the stars in the Milky Way are continuously being born and dying. I know we've gone over spiral arms of galaxies in lab, but it's a little more interesting to discuss their characteristics and make-up in more detail."

"How much we can and can't see in the night sky from Earth."

"I liked all of the pictures of the galaxy because they were pleasing to my eyes That by judging the motion of globular clusters we can find the center of the Milky Way. Dark matter making gravity everywhere."

"The radio wave map of the Milky Way, because I never knew that you would be able to see it."

"I found the Milky Way's spiral arm existence and possibility to be interesting because I never considered how much it takes for the arms to exist."

"The whole presentation about the Milky Way interested me. I really love galaxies and think they're fascinating. I also liked the first picture that you posted that showed the stars and Milky Way right above you."

"Those spinning lights are cool how they work but are ugly on cars. I think the idea is cool but the actual use of it is a letdown."

"In the spiral arms of the Milky Way there is a massive of stars that are born and than die at certain times as they orbit which helps to create an illusion."

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

"Dark matter--I feel like I need more explanation on it."

"The pulsar periods of Cepheid stars, and I don't known exactly how much of the galaxy we can observe from Earth. Best guess 10% because compared to the rest of our galaxy, the solar system alone is just puny."

"Dark matter. I've read up on it before, but it's still a very abstract concept to me."

"I don't understand tracing the spiral arms. The O- and B-type stars threw me off."

"It took me a while to see and figure out the orbits and mass of the globular clusters."

"Global clusters and positioning."

"I would like to know more about how O- and B-type stars work."

"I would like more explanation on density waves."

"Dark matter seems a little confusing. We know it's there but we don't really know what it is."

"I was confused and really didn't understand how the globular clusters helps or tell us determine the shape of our galaxy."

"I didn't really find anything to be confusing."

In your experience, how much of the "Milky Way" (the band of faint stars across the celestial sphere) have you been able to see in the night sky?

As much as can be seen with the naked eye.	******* [7]
Not very much.	**** [4]
Barely seen it.	[0]
(Never been able to see it.)	[0]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	[0]

Using the most powerful light-gathering optical telescopes in the darkest skies, __________ of the stars in our entire galaxy can be observed from Earth.

1%.	*** [3]
5%.	** [2]
10%.	***** [5]
50%.	[0]
100%.	[0]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	* [1]

If you did not have access to a mirror while camping, what could you do to find out whether or not you're having a bad hair day?

"Ask somebody. Unless I'm camping alone, I'd either use my phone camera or feel my hair out myself."

"Reflective water, or wear a hat."

"Look into water for your reflection."

"Look into very still water."

"On a reflection from the water."

"Use my phone, duhhhh."

"I really wouldn't mind how my hair looks if I didn't have a mirror while camping my hair is usually up in a bun and its pretty much trained to look the way I wanted."

"Feel around your head to see if your hair is going crazy or not."

Look at PimpStar Rims (*.html) for cars, or MonkeyLectric Rims (*.html) for bikes. Briefly explain how they work.

"With a microprocessor and a large set of LED lights, they they programmed to activate and create images if observed in motion. The illusion, known as the persistence of vision illusion, is difficult to explain, but the process is very simple. Easier to understand if observed."

"They work by projecting an image through rotating motion."

"Pimpstar Rims work by sending the images to the wheels via wifi. I'm not clicking on the other link because it deleted my whole survey!"

"They use wifi to project a image on the wheels using LED lights. You can have the same one on all them or a different one all of them."

"They work by using rapidly blinking lights coordinated to create patterns when swept across our field of view."

"There are set points made out of bright lights to create an image on the rims, as they move quickly we see the image."

"Computers using microprocessors and LED lights to create words, images, or designs."

"A series of LED lights are used to create an image while a car tire is turned. Each picture is sent over wifi and controlled with a computer."

"I think because they both have lights that flash in them. As they spin or are in motion the light can stay as a solid pattern. It's the same for the cars, bikes or MonkeyLectric rims--the lights seem to create a solid pattern."

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

"Do you have PimpStar Rims?" (On my bike. If you see me rolling at night, don't be hating.)

Can we do a small party just because? And do you know anyone who builds custom lights in the area?"

"Please pass me with a C, lol."

"I'm nervous about my grade, is there going to be more extra credit offered?" (Yes, next week in the study hour just before the midterm.)

Online reading assignment: the Milky Way (SLO campus)

Astronomy 210, fall semester 2018
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 the Milky Way's shape, size and composition and spiral arm structure and formation.


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.

"Something that is interesting to me from this chapter is: was how the Milky Way was named and that was by the Greeks because they thought it looked like a milky river. I used to take camping trips all the time and I would love finding great spots to look at stars and loved finding certain locations where the Milky Way was clear, vibrant, and beautiful."

"The sun and our solar system are located near the edge of the disk of the Milky Way."

"The shape of the Milky Way very interesting because I had no idea what the shape of our galaxy was before reading the presentation."

"The analogy about looking for tall buildings was a way to help us figure out where a downtown area might be."

"Learning about the fog model and methods of using landmarks in the Milky Way to be able to orient ourselves in our galaxy."

"The Milky Way galaxy is a spiral disk with a halo of globular clusters."

"The way in which they were able to determine that we were not in the center of the universe."

"That we were able to find out somewhat where we are in the galaxy and what kind of galaxy we are without actually seeing our galaxy from the outside."

"The arms of the Milky Way are similar to the arms of a starfish."

"Dark matter is responsible for a significant portion of mass in the galaxy. It does not reflect light but is detectable via stellar transit or effect on visible object."

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

"I don't understand how globular clusters tell help us determine the size of our galaxy."

"Globular clusters confuse me because I don't understand where they are located. It says above and below the disk of the Milky Way. So are globular clusters not other galaxies?"

"Global cluster positions are hard for me to wrap my head around it."

"What the arms are made up of?"

"What causes these galaxies to maintain this form. What gravitational pull is being exerted on them to maintain this form?"

"How you find the mass of a galaxy. The book states that to find the mass you must look at orbital motion of the stars but I don't get how that pertains to mass."

"Kepler's third law--I felt like I couldn't grasp my head around the idea."

"Dark matter is pretty confusing and hard to picture."

"What is dark matter? It seems like we don't have any explanation for any of it."

In your experience, how much of the "Milky Way" (the band of faint stars across the celestial sphere) have you been able to see in the night sky?

As much as can be seen with the naked eye.	******** [8]
Not very much.	*********** [11]
Barely seen it.	***** [5]
(Never been able to see it.)	* [1]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	[0]

Using the most powerful light-gathering optical telescopes in the darkest skies, __________ of the stars in our entire galaxy can be observed from Earth.

1%.	***** [5]
5%.	********* [9]
10%.	********* [9]
50%.	***** [5]
100%.	[0]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	[0]

If you did not have access to a mirror while camping, what could you do to find out whether or not you're having a bad hair day?

"Other people."

"Our friends could tell us if we look like a spiral galaxy with arms or a messy blob."

"Well if I was camping. I could use my phone and use the camera on that, or I could look into water and see my reflection."

"Open the camera or Snapchat on my phone."

"Try to use your shadow."

"Look in the reflection of the water. Or ask someone. Or don't care."

"Touch my hair and feel the mess out."

"Feel it with your hands to see if you have spiral arms or are like a blob."

"I usually just put my hair up or a hat while camping."

"Honestly if I was camping I would just put my hair in a bun."

Look at PimpStar Rims (*.html) for cars, or MonkeyLectric Rims (*.html) for bikes. Briefly explain how they work.

"The blinking lights can be timed to the speed of the wheel to light up at the right time to produce a pattern on a wheel."

"They have LED lights inside the rims and are connected via wi-fi to them and once you send the image to them they maintain the image even though your wheels are turning through the sequence."

"Persistence of vision; your eyes and brain don't refresh visual information as fast as it's coming in and these lights turn on and off in patterns, creating images."

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

"Where is the best location to see the Milky Way clearly?" (Anywhere as far away from city light as possible. Try going out to Carrizo Plain.)

"Is it possible that 'dark matter' is not matter at all, but rather distortions in space-time similar to ripples on a pond? Instead of being caused by matter per se it would be more analogous to the wearing-out of fabric on a quilt?"

"In what ways does dark matter interact with regular matter other than gravitationally?" (That is not yet known. That's why it's dark, because we can't even see it.)

"Do you have one of those rim lights to write 'P-dog?'" (Yes, I do. If you see me rolling at night, don't be hating.)

"Is Midterm 2 harder in regards to material than Midterm 1?"

Astronomy quiz question: spiral arm composition

Astronomy 210 Quiz 7, spring semester 2018
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

The spiral arms of a galaxy are primarily composed of:
(A) dark matter.
(B) massive stars.
(C) globular clusters.
(D) type Ia and type II supernovae.

Correct answer (highlight to unhide): (B)

Massive main-sequence stars, which are the brightest and shortest-lived stars, form and die within a short time, essentially traveling the width of a spiral arm. Dark matter and globular clusters are mainly found in the halo of a galaxy, above and below the disk.

Section 30674
Exam code: quiz07nen4
(A) : 2 students
(B) : 8 students
(C) : 9 students
(D) : 2 students
(No responses: 1 student)

Success level: 41% (including partial credit for multiple-choice)
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.86

Section 30676
Exam code: quiz07SumM
(A) : 3 students
(B) : 16 students
(C) : 17 students
(D) : 2 students

Success level: 46% (including partial credit for multiple-choice)
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.48

Online reading assignment: the Milky Way (SLO campus)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2018
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 the Milky Way's shape, size and composition and spiral arm structure and formation.


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 pretty crazy to think we don't know what our galaxy looks like for sure."

"That we are able to observe that our galaxy has a disk shape even though we cannot get a real image of what it is like from an outside point of view."

"The fact that the entire galaxy is not made up of stars. and that the stars we do see is only apart of the milky way galaxy."

"The spiral arms--I think galaxies are so unique and colorful, learning more about the shapes interests me."

"How we are able to perceive our position in the Milk Way by observing star clusters above and below us."

"Dark matter--that we're able to observe galaxies and deduce their gravitational patterns without really understanding where it comes from or being able to quantify those characteristics."

"The description of dark matter was both interesting and confusing, because why does dark matter effect nothing on the outside of the halo? Why does it occur in a perfect sphere if there are multiple sources?"

"The analogy where we looked at dark matter in the terms of a criminal at large. It really makes sense to have its existence put in terms of this situation. I really liked the phrase 'though the case may never be definitively solved, doesn't mean that this person (dark matter) doesn't exist.' Why is this interesting to me personally? I think any time information that is confusing to me can be put into some type of cool analogy I am set."

"Dark matter, despite the fact that we do not know much about it."

"Dark matter is really interesting. I think just for the simple fact that we don't fully understand it, I am intrigued by it."

"Dark matter, because I didn't know it made up the majority of the Milky Way."

"Density waves interest me but also very much confuse me!? I really like the fact it helps make our beautiful galaxy even more so. I also think it's badass that our galaxy gets its spiral arms from swallowing others!"

"Density waves and how they are caused! Gravitational interactions from the collision of thin disk galaxies (with no spiral arms) pulling in dwarf galaxies causing 'ripples' that form density waves."

"I have no doubt that there were many things that would have been interesting."

"All of it."

"All I know is that I want PimpStar Rims on my car. It would be so cool.

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

"I'm confused about all the information that we can find in the H-R diagram. I can't keep track of it."

"The section on globular clusters and cepheid variables is super-confusing. I don't really understand how those things work at all, honestly."

"Dark matter, because it's cool and strange."

"Dark Matter. How the heck does that stuff work?"

"Dark matter...all I know is that there is not much to learn since not much is known of it in the first place."

"How is the spinning of the Milky Way related to the way light-up rims spin on car tires?"

"How Milky Way spiral arms can grow back such as the legs of sea stars."

"Density waves! What kind of time frame are we talking about with these stars living and dying? How solid is the evidence we have and how can we improve from what we have already? What's the next evolution is solidfying or discovering more solid information about of true shape and size?"

"Nothing."

"I know everything so I'm not confused at all."

"Everything is slightly confusing for me until P-dog breaks it down for us in class."

In your experience, how much of the "Milky Way" (the band of faint stars across the celestial sphere) have you been able to see in the night sky?

As much as can be seen with the naked eye.	*************** [15]
Not very much.	********** [10]
Barely seen it.	****** [6]
(Never been able to see it.)	**** [4]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	*** [3]

Using the most powerful light-gathering optical telescopes in the darkest skies, __________ of the stars in our entire galaxy can be observed from Earth.

1%.	********** [10]
5%.	**** [4]
10%.	**************** [16]
50%.	* [1]
100%.	[0]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	******* [7]

If you did not have access to a mirror while camping, what could you do to find out whether or not you're having a bad hair day?

"Find still water."

"I would look at my reflection from a metal spoon."

"A camera! Take a picture and see how it looks!"

"Know that I'm gonna have one regardless."

"Only leave the tent at night so nobody can tell."

"Assume it's bad and put a hat on."

"I'd leave it, lol it's just camping. I don't think the birds, bears, and deer are going to care too much over a few fly away hairs."

"Ask a friend/fellow camper to describe to you the state of your hair to you."

"You could feel with your hands to see if any hair is going in any crazy directions."

"Use my shadow."

Look at PimpStar Rims (*.html) for cars, or MonkeyLectric Rims (*.html) for bikes. Briefly explain how they work.

"They hook up lights to your rims that light up with your car."

"The images are created using a strobe modulation technique. LED lights are timed to light up at certain points in a full rotation so that, to the naked eye, a still image is created with multiple flashing images."

"As the wheel is spinning the individual lights are programmed to blink at a certain time and gives the viewer an image. If the wheels were not spinning and the lights still blinked the same you wouldn't see an image."

"The lights that flash are timed and synced up to the speed that the wheel goes in order to light up at the correct time making really cool patterns and light combos on the face of the wheel."

"It has to do with lag and certain timing of when lights need to flash or not flash."

"Persistence of vision: flickering lights plus motion/movement."

"Voodoo."

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

I liked the spinning light-up rims analogy."

"What do the light-up wheels have to do with us learning about the Milky Way?"

"Do you have PimpStar Rims on your car?" (I have them on my bicycle.)

"Do you think we will ever be able to really understand dark matter? (Probably, hopefully it's a graduate student that makes that discovery, he/she will get full credit and a Nobel Prize.)

"Can you get fired for __________ inside a classroom?" (The first of astronomy class is you do not talk about astronomy class. #siristhisatest)

"I have two exams before tomorrow's quiz, so other than quiz prep, I haven't had much time to focus on the new material. I'll get to read tomorrow!"

Do we (the students) have to always ask a question or make a comment for every weekly survey in order to get credit?" (No, this last section is optional. However, if you leave a lot of the sections above blank, then you can make up for that by leaving something substantial here.)

Is our final cumulative? (Yes, but selectively cumulative, not "everything cumulative." You'll be given a definitive list of things on a study guide, and if something's not on that list, then it's not on the final exam.)

"Hello?" (Yo.)

"No comment." (You just did.)

"I have been watching a lot of slime videos and all of the galaxy pictures look like slime I could make."