TCA #30 - RTSRE: What Kinds of Research Can You Do?; + 5 more [July 1, 2022, Paid Post]

Astronomy Remotely--What Research Can You Do?; Doing an Astronomy Course for Skills Mastery; A Biographical Calendar; Best Info in Print/Online; RAP Sheet-What's in a Photo?, Phases, in Grade 6 or 8?

Cover Photo - A Robotic Telescope in Texas

Credit Las Cumbres Observatory

In This Issue:

• Cover Photo - A Robotic Telescope in Texas

• Welcome to Issue 30!

• Astronomical Teachniques

  - AAS: An Outline for Doing an Astronomy Mastery Course

• Astronomy Remotely —

  - RTSRE: What Kinds of Research Can You Do? (Cover Story)

• Connections to the Sky -
  - AAS: Astronomer Biography Calendar
  - AAS: USNO Sky Information

• The RAP Sheet
  - What Hides Within a Photograph: Analysis of a Light Curve in the Classroom
  - Grade Level Influence in Middle School Students' Spatial-Scientific Understandings of Lunar Phases

• The Galactic Times #27 Highlights
  

Welcome to Issue 30 of The Classroom Astronomer Newsletter-Inbox Magazine!

Last week was spent listening 8-12 hours per day for three days to talks about using robotic/remote telescopes all over the world for research and education, at this conference in Santa Barbara, CA, called the RTSRE, Robotic Telescopes, Student Research and Education Conference. A little over 100 attended and about 10-12% were there virtually (including myself). The first time I used remote telescopes (and I don’t mean traveling to remote sites to use them in person) were for stories in the 1990s for computer magazines. Back then I knew of…three. At the time it was to take photographs, and that was pretty much it.

Now the world is covered with extremely sophisticated telescopes ranging from common amateur scopes like Celestrons to what has passed before as professional level multi-meter-sized mirrored behemoths, with other technologies beyond picture taking. The telescopes are usually unmanned, completely computer controlled (pre-programmed or manually operated but without a human present), and used for real research by everybody from Ph.D.s to elementary students, and for educational exercises as well. There are global networks out there, such as SkyNet and Global Sky Partners, and self-contained operators such as Harvard’s MicroObservatory and the UK’s National Schools Observatory.

Add in the abilities to tap into massive astronomical databases of information like Gaia and research that used to be doctorate level are being done routinely for fun.

Starting in this issue, I will begin covering lessons learned from this conference There were several overarching stories present, one of which I will cover below as a starter—on what kinds of astronomical research you can do with robotic telescopes—and a whole lot of case studies to delve into, in terms of research accomplished. I will then, one by one, give some overviews of educational exercises available for…the classroom astronomy teachers, over the next few issues, and the networks and services available to the classroom teacher. For some of these, both in education and research, I expect to try my hand in them.

Additionally, there are still things to report from the June AAS conference (and as I write this I’ve half an ear to the plenaries of the European Astronomical Society) and my ‘newsfeeds’ including the scholarly journals for the RAP Sheet.

Enjoy and stay cool and safe.

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Publisher -- Dr. Larry Krumenaker