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Astronomy C: Teams will demonstrate an understanding of Star and Galaxy Formation and Evolution.

Astronomy Wiki

Astronomy Test Exchange 2019

Past Threads: 2009 (Variable Stars), 2010 (Galaxies), 2011 (AGNs), 2012 (Stellar Evolution & Type Ia Supernovae), 2013 (Stellar Evolution & Type II Supernovae), 2014 (Variable Stars & Stellar Evolution), 2015 (Star & Planet Formation), 2016 (Star Formation & Exoplanets), 2017 (Type Ia Supernova Events), 2018 (Type II Supernova Events), 2019 (Galaxies)

Past Question Marathons: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

Note from Adi: think of this as everything from last year's topic, plus some cosmology. Also, JS9 is a big addition! Expect to see it frequently.

It appears that JS9 images has been fair game since at least 2017, but I haven't seen any analysis to this point in any tests I have seen or taken. Do we think the addition of access to JS9 during tests is an incentive to do this sort of thing more, as I prepared for it my first year, didn't see it, and let it go to the bottom of the pile of stuff to study?

I also found the rewording of the no-Internet clause interesting. Any ideas on what this change was to prevent?

TheMysteriousMapMan wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2019, 3:06 pm It appears that JS9 images has been fair game since at least 2017, but I haven't seen any analysis to this point in any tests I have seen or taken. Do we think the addition of access to JS9 during tests is an incentive to do this sort of thing more, as I prepared for it my first year, didn't see it, and let it go to the bottom of the pile of stuff to study?

Regarding JS9, I would expect a bit of it on tests written by the Nationals group. Outside of that, I don't expect any change from the past.

Is cheating really prominent in this event? My friend told me at regionals he saw many people going online, which is believable since our region isn't too serious. Howeverl, he said he even saw cheating at the state level(I live in Socal). Is it really that bad?

freed2003 wrote: ↑September 4th, 2019, 9:02 pm Is cheating really prominent in this event? My friend told me at regionals he saw many people going online, which is believable since our region isn't too serious. Howeverl, he said he even saw cheating at the state level(I live in Socal). Is it really that bad?

It's possible your friend saw people opening downloaded webpages locally - this is relatively common.

Unome wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2019, 3:07 pm

TheMysteriousMapMan wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2019, 3:06 pm It appears that JS9 images has been fair game since at least 2017, but I haven't seen any analysis to this point in any tests I have seen or taken. Do we think the addition of access to JS9 during tests is an incentive to do this sort of thing more, as I prepared for it my first year, didn't see it, and let it go to the bottom of the pile of stuff to study?

Regarding JS9, I would expect a bit of it on tests written by the Nationals group. Outside of that, I don't expect any change from the past.

What even is JS9 meant for? How would test writers make questions using JS9? How should we study for JS9 questions?

Name wrote: ↑September 4th, 2019, 10:10 pm

Unome wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2019, 3:07 pm

TheMysteriousMapMan wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2019, 3:06 pm It appears that JS9 images has been fair game since at least 2017, but I haven't seen any analysis to this point in any tests I have seen or taken. Do we think the addition of access to JS9 during tests is an incentive to do this sort of thing more, as I prepared for it my first year, didn't see it, and let it go to the bottom of the pile of stuff to study?

Regarding JS9, I would expect a bit of it on tests written by the Nationals group. Outside of that, I don't expect any change from the past.

What even is JS9 meant for? How would test writers make questions using JS9? How should we study for JS9 questions?

It's for image analysis. I don't know too much more than that. Should be pretty straightforward for the most part honestly.

Unome wrote: ↑September 5th, 2019, 7:21 am

Name wrote: ↑September 4th, 2019, 10:10 pm

Unome wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2019, 3:07 pm
Regarding JS9, I would expect a bit of it on tests written by the Nationals group. Outside of that, I don't expect any change from the past.

What even is JS9 meant for? How would test writers make questions using JS9? How should we study for JS9 questions?

It's for image analysis. I don't know too much more than that. Should be pretty straightforward for the most part honestly.

Agreed... most of the JS9 questions were pretty basic and a lot of them were pretty much just common sense, although they might be a bit more in depth with the new rules ig.

Hey everyone!

Welcome to Astronomy C for the 2019-2020 season! For those of you who do not know me, my name is Asher Noel and I have the pleasure and honor of serving as Astronomy Event Supervisor for many of the upcoming tournaments this season.

Astronomy C is a special event for me; not only was it the first event that I joined or found success in, but it was where I made my best friends and felt the most fulfilled and inspired by my studies. The rules this year are more broad and full of possibilities than ever before, and I am excited to bring you guys questions that I hope you find interesting and rewarding.

To help guide your studies, I want to make you all aware of a few resources that have proven very useful for my preparation for this event over the past few years:
- Astronomy Today by Chaisson and McMillan (introductory, qualitative);
- An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics 2e by Carrol and Ostlie (intermediate, quantitative);
- Introduction to Cosmology by Ryden (intermediate, quantitative); and
- Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology by Schneider (advanced, qualitative and quantitative).

You by no means have to be an expert of every concept in these books to be successful in Astronomy C, but I just want to make you guys aware that these texts exist and that they have great ideas worth learning. In fact, many of the most decorated competitors in Astronomy at the national level even have not spent significant time with textbooks, and I did not hear about Carrol and Ostlie until my junior year of high school. However, for those of you that want to take your studies to the next level and see the breadth and depth that astronomy has to offer (the later texts cover graduate level material and/or recent research), these books are for you!

If you have any questions about preparing for this event, astronomy at all, or anything else, feel free to reach out to me via p.m. or email me at ashernoel@college.harvard.edu. I'm excited to be involved with Astronomy C this year, and I am looking forward to making this the best season yet!

All the best,

Asher

Is Chandra going to post videos this year/is NASA sponsoring the event again?