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Wow, thank you all so much for the tips and information! Astronomy is at the top of my event wish list for next year, so it's really useful to have the input of people who have done this event. I can't wait till SO 2011-2012.

luo wrote:Yes, it's best to have two computers so that you can split the test up with your partner. And save every single webpage you find! I don't think it ever puts you at a disadvantage in Astronomy to have too much information saved.

My partner and I used my laptop (which had about half of Wikipedia/NASA/Chandra saved on it) at Regionals, along with a binder for quick reference. We did the whole split-screen thing, with me bringing up the info I needed on half the screen and him using the other half of the screen.

QuantumLeaper wrote:Wow, thank you all so much for the tips and information! Astronomy is at the top of my event wish list for next year, so it's really useful to have the input of people who have done this event. I can't wait till SO 2011-2012.

You're welcome, and if you have any more questions, I'm quite willing to help. Astronomy is a great (though difficult) event; I'm glad to see interest in it.

Gillen wrote:Having two computers can be helpful if you need to split the test up, like I had to at state. There were 100 questions, so me and my partner split it up and ended up getting first.

100 questions? Ouch, we didn't get that many even at state. The very first time I ever did Astronomy, though, there were at least 117.

FullMetalMaple wrote:100 questions? Ouch, we didn't get that many even at state. The very first time I ever did Astronomy, though, there were at least 117.

It wasn't quite as bad as it sounds, they were all multiple choice. It answered itself a lot, too, since there were groups of questions about the same topic. That has been by far the most questions I have ever seen on an astronomy test, though.

Haha. Our state test was ridiculously difficult. There were a lot of really complicated physics problems with the Doppler effect, and we only got two minutes per question (until we got to the speed round, where it was 30 seconds).

FullMetalMaple wrote:Haha. Our state test was ridiculously difficult. There were a lot of really complicated physics problems with the Doppler effect, and we only got two minutes per question (until we got to the speed round, where it was 30 seconds).

I would rather have a test like that, since my partner doesn't know much about astronomy but is good at math. There was almost no math on my test, so although we did split it up, I ended up doing almost the whole thing.

noooo!!!!!!! i thought we did really good but we only got 11th place.....

There are pictures and info about each of the DSO's on the Astronomy Wiki right now. I had planned on putting more specific information on the sections (it's really bare right now) but I haven't had time yet.

For anyone who has done and/or studied the 2010 Nationals test, do you know how to determine the answers for questions #1 and 2? My first thought was to simply compare the resolutions of each image, but that seems too simplistic, and it doesn't quite fit with the correct answers.

Also, how would one determine the absolute magnitude of a main-sequence star based solely upon the star's absorption spectrum, as is required in Part C, question #4 of the 2009 Nationals test? Would computing redshift be required?

luo wrote:For anyone who has done and/or studied the 2010 Nationals test, do you know how to determine the answers for questions #1 and 2? My first thought was to simply compare the resolutions of each image, but that seems too simplistic, and it doesn't quite fit with the correct answers.

Also, how would one determine the absolute magnitude of a main-sequence star based solely upon the star's absorption spectrum, as is required in Part C, question #4 of the 2009 Nationals test? Would computing redshift be required?

I haven't seen the 2010 test, so can't give an answer to that.

For the 2009 test, you want to find out its spectral type (O B A etc) and from there you can approximate its absolute magnitude using an H-R diagram.