ACTIVITIES on Supernovae, Pulsars & Black Holes

Credit: NASA/ESA/JHU/Sankrit & Blair		 Stellar Explosion Simulations
Tutorial and online lab. Take notes and do the exercises as you go. Click to open the virtual laboratory frameset at the bottom of the page and then choose "Labs for Semester 2" and then "Lab 3: Stellar Explosion Simulations" from the menu on the right. Print out the answer sheet .

Searching for Supernovae
In Hands-On Universe Book 3, do "Techniques for Finding a Supernova Unit" (p. 5-9) and "Discover a Supernova Unit" (p. 10-15). You will be using image processing software to manipulate actual images containing supernovae.

Supernova Light Curves
In Hands-On Universe Book 5: Measuring Brightness, do p. 20-26 and read p. 27-31. You will be using light curves to classify supernova as Type I or II.

Supernova Light Curves
Make light curves for supernova data using Excel spreadsheets and use then to classify supernovas as Type Ia or Type II.
From Pixels to Images: De-Coding Starlight
Use "raw" data processed from the Chandra satellite to turn boring numbers into a "super cool" picture of the Cas A supernova remnant.
Cas A: The Supernova as Cosmic Recycling Center
Use ds9 image processing software to analyze real data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. You will need to install the ds9 software first. You may wish to go through learning ds9 as well.

Anatomy of a Black Hole(9-12)
Information and activity book from Imagine the Universe!. A grade k-8 version of this book can be found through Starchild.

Aluminum Foil, Balloons, and Black Holes
This activity will allow you to conceptualize what happens when a star collapses into a black hole, and to gain the following understanding: whatever the mass is inside a black hole, it is not made up of matter as we know it. Additional information to help with this activity can be found here
A Classical & Relativistic Trip to a Black Hole
It is the year 2070 and you and your crew of interstellar astronauts are prepared to take the first journey of humans beyond Pluto! Your mission is to test, firsthand, the predictions of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Specifically, your goal is a black hole some 10,000 light-years away. Because of its distance, the trip will be a multigenerational one. Your offspring, and theirs, and so on, will be trained in your task to complete the mission. (alternate version with extra help, formula sheet)

Analysis of Two Pulsating X-ray Sources using ds9
Find the periods of the X-ray emission pulses for GK Per and Cen X-3 using data sets from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and ds9 analysis tools and then to use this information to determine if these sources could be white dwarfs or neutron stars.

ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES for Stellar Evolution
Our Cosmic Connections Webquest
A webquest to assist students in acquiring a basic understanding and appreciation for the cosmic cycles of formation and destruction - and their connection to planet Earth.
Stellar Evolution Assessment
Put slides in order and write a script showing the evolutionary sequence of stars.

Helpful links:
Chandra X-ray Observatory Photo Album
The Hubble Project - Astronomy Images