Science in the News Treasure Hunt

Since February 2002, AstroCappella has kept an archive of the astronomy press releases that cover topics in the AstroCappella songs. Here's a treasure hunt through those news articles for your high-school level students.

In the archive of past press releases, your students will find all the news articles sorted by topic and with the date of publication. In order for your students to answer the following questions, they'll need to read the appropriate press releases. In some cases, an Extra Credit question exists. The Extra Credit usually requires reading or knowledge beyond the scope of the press release, but easily found online or in reference books. The bold text in each question provides a clue to the correct section of the press releases.

  1. When in recorded history was Mars closest to the Earth? How far was it from the Earth? Extra Credit: compare that distance to the average distance between the Earth and the Sun.

  2. As of May 29, 2003, how many known satellites (moons) did Jupiter have? How many of them were discovered between January 1 and May 29, 2003?

  3. How did scientists determine that Pluto's atmosphere was expanding?

  4. What's a lunar or planetary love number? How does the moon's Love Number compare to the Earth's? What does that imply?

  5. How far below the surface of the sun is the circulation system that drives the 11-year solar cycle? Do scientists expect the next solar cycle (peaking in 2010-11) to be stronger or weaker than this past one? Extra Credit: compare the distance of the circulation system below the surface of the sun to the diameter of the Earth.

  6. Describe the size and orbit of the extrasolar "Evaporating Planet" that the Hubble Space Telescope discovered around another star. Extra Credit: plot the size compared to Jupiter and plot the orbit compared to Mercury.

  7. How bright was history's brightest star? Would that have appeared brighter than a) the sun, b) the full moon, c) Venus? When was it that bright? Observers in what countries recorded the event?

  8. What is Quaoar? How long does it take to orbit the sun?

  9. How long did it take for dust from China's TaklaMakan desert to travel around the world to the French Alps? List some of the countries the dust crossed on its way from China to France.

  10. Astronomers use the doppler shift the same way state troopers nab speeding motorists. Scientists used the doppler shift to confirm two theories about neutron stars. What are the two theories? How many times does the neutron star 4U 1636-53 spin per second?

  11. Identify the source(s) (the type of star or stellar system) of Type Ia supernovae, a major class of supernova explosion.

  12. A new image of the infant universe was obtained in early 2003. Analysis of this image reveals several important things about the early universe. What is the age of the universe? How early were the first stars formed? What percent of the universe is ordinary matter? What percent is dark matter? What percent is the mysterious dark energy?

  13. On March 24, 2003, two X-ray astronomy press releases were published about intermediate-size black holes. The two teams of scientists studied different black hole systems and came to somewhat different conclusions, based on different types of data analysis. Briefly describe what each team discovered.

  14. Explain how a gamma-ray burst gets its identifying name.

  15. Multiple choice (select all that are true):
    In the gamma-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum, the brightest gamma-ray bursts sometimes outshine
      A) the sun
      B) the galaxy
      C) the universe

  16. A gamma-ray burst on March 29, 2003 has become the "Rosetta Stone" of GRBs. This burst confirms one of the two or three major models of long GRBs. Which model is confirmed by this burst? Briefly describe this model's process.