*educational content may be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
Educational problem
Very little about stellar dynamics is taught to high school students. In general the
contents of astronomy and astrophysics are limited to the knowledge of the solar system and very little else. The large variety of time scales in stellar dynamics and evolution is in contrast with the apparently static night sky and the minimal activity perceived from the sun with the naked eye. The sense that everything is evolving and changing continuously, even in outer space, is not well transmitted to students within the normal educational framework.
This scenario aims to provide an insight into the richness of phenomenology present in the many astrophysical scenarios found in stellar systems.
The target systems chosen, the Be X-ray binary systems (or BeX for short), provide both the opportunity the see stellar dynamics in action and to produce data and science which will help to solve some scientific issues for which we currently do not have a clear answer.
Educational scenario objectives:
During this scenario, students will:
1.Learn about the dynamics of stellar systems, and in particular the different time scales present in BeX systems (i.e. orbital motion, pulsations in compact objects, processes of formation and disruption of circumstellar discs)
2.Learn about the techniques and procedures to acquire astronomical data and measure stellar brightness (magnitudes)
3.Learn about the importance of standardised systems, in order to compare measurements obtained at different times or from different instruments.
Download the PDF complete version by clicking on the following link: scenario_uva_ucm_faulkes_bex_pr.pdf
This proyect requires acces to The Faulkes Telescope Project
Educational content developed by Universidad de Valencia (Grupo de Astrofísica y Ciencias del Espacio) and Universidad Complutense de Madrid (HOU-España/AEGORA)
Validated by Discover the Cosmos + Measuring the light curve of Be X-ray binaries
Last update | 20/06/2013