This assignment is slightly different from the others. (Hat-tip to Steve Bradshaw at Rice University for the idea for this kind of assignment!)
News stories about the Sun and space physics often appear in the media. This assignment is an opportunity for you to use a popular article as a "gateway" to learning more about the science behind the story.
Choose a recent article (see list of sites and examples below) that interests you, then write a brief report that describes the science upon which it is based. Some key questions that you may like to consider include:
Your report should be about 1000 words in length, which is roughly 4 double-spaced pages. It can also include images or equations, but those don't count toward the 1000 word total. Please also include a full copy of the news story (with URL) that you chose to analyze. You can submit the whole thing -- your report and the story it's based on -- either electronically (PDF preferred; see main course page for my email address) or on paper.
- Is the journalist leaving out any important information?
- Is the science reported faithfully or is it misrepresented?
- If the article includes "everyday-world" analogies or similes, are they misleading?
- If the science includes observations, does the article describe how, when & where the observations were made?
- Does the article convey a sense of why these results are important?
Your grade will be based on how well you convey your understanding of the topic (i.e., expressing what you have learned in your own words) and how you link the material to the topics that we're covering in class. Spelling and proper grammar will also be taken into account, since the ability to communicate your thoughts clearly in writing is a key skill to develop.
Science media news sites:
On the following sites, it will be helpful to search for keywords like "Sun", "solar flare", "solar wind", "plasma", "magnetosphere", or "aurora":
Below are a few recent example news articles that would fit the bill for this assignment. For your own assignment, please try to find other articles to use besides these (i.e., treat these only as a last resort):Your article doesn't have to be super-recent. If you have a question about whether or not a specific news story fits the bill for this assignment, please feel free to email me the link.
- Mysteriously Powerful Particles from Solar Explosions Unveiled in New Study
- Sun's Fading Spots Signal Big Drop in Solar Activity
- Sun's 2013 Solar Activity Peak Is Weakest in 100 Years
- What’s The Real Danger From Solar Flares?
- Solar Dynamics Observatory: The 'Variable Sun' Mission
- How Hot is the Sun?
- Our Sun Is A Roiling Ball Of Magnetism, Computer Reveals | Video
- Sun Could Unleash Devastating 'Superflare'
- Power of the Sun: Elusive Solar Neutrinos Detected, a Cosmic First
- Space Radiation Expected to Rise for Airline Passengers and Astronauts
- Big Solar Storm Packs Small Punch, But Not Over Yet
- Mysterious Case of Missing Sunspots Solved
- Intense Solar Flare Unleashed from Unruly Sunspot
- Sun fires off first strong solar flare of 2015
- NASA probe finds nanoflares and plasma bombs on Sun
- Orbiter spots solar particles penetrating deep into atmosphere of Mars
- Origin of long-standing space mystery revealed: Origin of the 'theta aurora'
To check out some real science, and search for original literature, go to ADS, the Astrophysical Data Service. Search for authors (e.g. those that are mentioned in the news articles) or for keywords under "Title Words" or "Abstract Words". Use quotes and the "and" function (instead of "or") to constrain your search.
As you already know from the syllabus, the CU Boulder academic integrity policy needs to be obeyed at all times, and this includes plagiarism. Some other local online guides that go into more detail about plagiarism include those at CU Denver and Colorado State. It's definitely not worth the risk to your academic career to go down that road.
BACK to main ASTR-3760 page.