Introduction

You have been given the task of determining a stars origins and make up. To do this, you must do research on light. We are unable to roll back in time to see the birth of the star, and we can not simply send a probe to the star to ask it questions, or find readings from the star itself, so you must utilize the same methods modern astronomers use to determine information from the star.

Your task is simple. For your given star or star cluster you must:
 

• Research the location, age, makeup and any theories on its formation
• Figure out how the scientists determined these things
• Create a 10-15 minute presentation to show the class about your star. You may use any presentation method you so desire - powerpoint, a poster, or the whiteboard.

To Complete your project, you will work in a  three person group. Each group member will have a specific task in the research phase of yoru project. You must have a history buff, a spectral scientist, and a color export.

All participants should start by spending time on the ExploraTour about stars. At the top of the page is a forward button. Use it to get to a topical index. Remember this site - you may find it useful on your own specific tasks. As a matter of fact, you may find your specific star there somewhere!!

Keep in mind as you work that the resources provided are a great starting place, but you are by no means limitted to the sites listed.

Specific tasks for each participant:

HISTORY BUFF-

1. Start by reviewing the evolution of stars, looking at the birth and death of stars on the stellar life website
2. Now that you have an idea of the life cycle of a star, research your particular star or cluster. You are looking for information specifically on what stage of life your star is in and what, if anything, astronomers have discovered about your stars origin. Check wikipedia, see if they have any information. If they don't, consider adding information if you find anything! Another reference to try is the Bright Star Catalog. Make sure you understand how they came to the conclusions they did!
3. Find the exact location of your star, and create a map of nearby stars. This may be as simple as finding a good map online that you can print.
4. Determine if your star is part of a larger nebula. If it is, research surrounding stars. Is your star young or old in the grand scheme of things?

1. Start by reading the information in the Quantum Zone about what spectral lines are.
2. Now, investigate how scientists have used spectral lines over the years to determine the makeup of a star at the Science of Light.Make sure you are capable of explaining how you can look at a spectral makeup of a star to determine what elements are present. For a good explanation of the different classifications of spectral make up go to the Regulus! Papers
3. Research at the constellation and star website to determine the spectral type of your given star or cluster. Use what you learned before to figure out what this means approximately. Make sure you know how the scientists before you determined these things.
4. Consult with the history buff. They should be determining the age of a star. See if the makeup you have determined makes sense with the age of the star. Remember that heavier elements cannot exist in a young star!

1. Start by investigating the tech site. Read up about color and light. Determine how mixtures can determine the color that you see.
2. Investigate the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, and how it has to do with stars. Make sure you can explain how an astronomer would use it.
3. Research into the color make up of your star. One fun resource uses internet color coding to give an approximate color of a star. Where does it fit on an H-R diagram? Consult with the Spectral Scientist and the history bugg to make sure your findings match up with their's.

Include in your presentation a bibliography, citing all resources you used to research your star. Use rapid cite to create your bibliography and use MLA formatting.

Practice your part of the presentation for each other (possibly more than once!) to make sure your presentation will flow smoothly, and will not repeat itself in each section!

Describe to the learners how their performance will be evaluated. Specify whether there will be a common grade for group work vs. individual grades.

	Beginning 2	Developing 4	Accomplished 6	Exemplary 8	Score
Students contributed to presentation within their given role.	One student presented entire presentation.	Two students contributed to presentation.	All members contributed, but did not discuss specifically their part of project.	All members effectively related their specific material and worked together to present all infromation.
History and formation of star accurate	No information on history or formation of stars.	Some infromation related to formation of stars, but not the specific star in question.	Detailed infromation related to formation of stars, but not the specific star in question.	Accurate information was given on the specific star, or stars similar to specific star if information was not readily available.
Spectral analysis infromation accurate	No information on spectral analysis of stars.	Some infromation related to spectral analysis of stars, but not the specific star in question.	Detailed infromation related to spectral analysis of stars, but not the specific star in question.	Accurate information was given on the specific star, or stars similar to specific star if information was not readily available.
Color information accurate	No information on color of stars.	Some infromation related to color of stars, but not the specific star in question.	Detailed infromation related to color of stars, but not the specific star in question.	Accurate information was given on the specific star, or stars similar to specific star if information was not readily available.
Detailed bibliography included	No bibliography - 0 points	Bibliography has more than 4 errors, and does not include all sources.	Bibliography present, with two or more errors in formatting.	Thorough detailed bibliography in appropriate formatting.

From all of this, you have seen how different pieces fit together to create the make up of a star. You have seen the different things that an astronomer must combine to research a new star or cluster, and seen how those puzzle pieces fit together to see a project to completion.

An addtional site you may have fun investigating is put out by NASA, and has a way to view different areas of the sky. Have fun, and happy star hunting!

Most of the information on this page comes from my college astronomy classes, so a big thank you to Andrea Dobson for the patience she showed me in those classes!

I found both the background image and the prism picture at the top on free image websites.