Astronomy C

[PM2017]

Is it a worthwhile investment to write programs on my ti-84/laptop to quickly solve math sections? my astronomy team does decent at dso questions and stellar evolution/conceptual stuff but we struggle with the math every year. I figure using the formula sheet on the wiki i could write a bunch of programs to solve for that stuff. would it be better if we actually learned the math or would a couple programs be enough? I'm pretty sure i could write the programs in less time to learn the math as well and since everyone on the team is busy i feel like it'd be a more efficient use of time.

It's more important to know how they work. After that, I would say go ahead and write a program.

We tried as well but unless you make something like Wolfram you'll get in trouble when the test tells you to show your work.

[TheMysteriousMapMan]

Is it a worthwhile investment to write programs on my ti-84/laptop to quickly solve math sections? my astronomy team does decent at dso questions and stellar evolution/conceptual stuff but we struggle with the math every year. I figure using the formula sheet on the wiki i could write a bunch of programs to solve for that stuff. would it be better if we actually learned the math or would a couple programs be enough? I'm pretty sure i could write the programs in less time to learn the math as well and since everyone on the team is busy i feel like it'd be a more efficient use of time.

It's more important to know how they work. After that, I would say go ahead and write a program.

We tried as well but unless you make something like Wolfram you'll get in trouble when the test tells you to show your work.

I would still make a program, if not to check my work, so that way, if I get something wrong in my work, I can still say "Ta-da" and get the correct answer for more partial credit than if you got the wrong answer entirely. Of course, it may not be worth it for time-save at that point.

[kalimarieyork]

Anyone have any good tests for this season yet?

[kalimarieyork]

What is the best way to understand dark matter/energy?

[Blank25]

I can't decide how to organize my info. Should I use two three-ring binders, a binder and a computer, or just two computers?

[LiteralRhinoceros]

2 computers is objectively the best

[TheMysteriousMapMan]

I can't decide how to organize my info. Should I use two three-ring binders, a binder and a computer, or just two computers?

2 computers is objectively the best

Subjectively, however, I prefer one of each – putting DSOs in a binder makes it much more comfortable to flip through and identify, at least for me – but you might find a different workflow that works better for you. Having a bunch of raw numbers and data in a computer can be useful in a crunch, though.

[jxxu20]

Hi guys! I can't seem to find any detailed info on the three quasars (DSO section) ... apparently, they were discovered quite recently. If anyone knows any resources for this section, please let me know. Any help is greatly appreciated

[PM2017]

Does anyone know how astronomers find the inclination of binary star orbits (other than using apparent elliptical motion and assuming 0 eccentricity)?

[TheMysteriousMapMan]

Hi guys! I can't seem to find any detailed info on the three quasars (DSO section) ... apparently, they were discovered quite recently. If anyone knows any resources for this section, please let me know. Any help is greatly appreciated

The Chandra site contains somewhat of a good writeup, and the Chandra Astronomy webinar, as always, has fairly good info. Other than that, I haven't really been able to find much good info either.