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Quick Links
Current Academy Projects
Being Worked on by Academy Students in Academy Courses
or Astronomy and Space Science students
Watch this space for links to the finished research
2007-2008 School Year
RESEARCH
Original, primary research using data gathered by students to investigate
legitimate scientific hypotheses
OUTREACH
Public Display of information explaining concepts in science and astronomy, including performances, works of art and music and writingSpitzer HU Aquarii project
A new project to look at a magnetic cataclysmic variable star system (known as a polar) has been started by Dr. Steve Howell of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and he has invited DVHS to form a team of students to participate in the observation of this target. A student team has not yet been formed but we are recruiting sophomores and juniors at this time.
Spitzer Round 3 :"A Galaxy Ablaze from Afar: Infrared Spectrometry of S50716+714, a second year study."
Spitzer Active Galactic Nucleus project
This project was started last year by Alekzandir Morton and Thomas Travagli, and they continued it this year by being the first high school students to request time on the Spitzer Infrared Space Telescope. The observation of a distant quasar was made in December and they visited the Spitzer Science Center for data reduction.Thomas Travagli and Alekzandir Morton won 1st place in 12th grade physical science; first high school students to use the Spitzer Infrared Space Telescope using a proposal of their own devising; $1000 Chevron Innovation Award Scholarship (each) and $100 from Mirant Corporation (shared).
Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity
In cooperation with the NASA Education and Public Outreach office at Sonoma State University, we will premiere the new planetarium show Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity this fall at the school planetarium.
WZ Sge
In cooperation with Dr. Steve Howell of NOAO, students participated in the multi-wavelength analysis of a cataclysmic variable binary star system using the Spitzer Space Telescope.
Science poster presented at American Astronomical Society
Education poster presented at American Astronomical Society
John Michael Santiago and Trevor Butler
Workshops
A variety of workshops are planned to fulfill our outreach mission to teachers and the general public. Watch this space for a list of dates, times and places.
Lunar Eclipse/Black Holes workshop scheduled for February 19 and May 13. The workshops will start at 4:00 PM and will last until about 9 PM including a dinner break.
Radio study of the ionosphere
Michael Sydlik will monitor the changes in the ionosphere using a specially designed radio receiver from Stanford University.
New Mars Display
We also completed the first of three workshops scheduled for teachers and the public this year by hosting a special Mars night in December including a new Mars diorama built by volunteer Kelsey Burkhardt. Coming this spring are two workshops on black holes sponsored by Sonoma State University, featuring our new planetarium show Black Holes:The Other Side of Infinity, narrated by Liam Neeson and funded by the NASA Education and Public Outreach office at Sonoma State University.
Robotic Arm
Douglas Bahr is designing a robotic arm. "In a short spur, my arm is made for human robotic interaction, for daily use and personal customization. I hope to create a better integrated world."
Martian Constitution project
Jeff Adkins and Allison Weihe also won an $8000 CTAG grant to develop a constitution for a future Martian colony via a wikispace page, and a team of students will do some pilot work on this project this spring.
Project wikipage:
Transit of Mercury
Karla Flores observed the 2008 transit of Mercury with a webcam attached to a telescope. Images will eventually be posted here for download.
Giant Newton's CradleDoug Bahr set up a giant Newton's Cradle, which illustrates the conservation of energy and momentum through collisions.
AGN Microvariability Monitoring
Two students, Ronnisha Jordan and Alesha Longacre, have picked independent projects and are our first students to use the Skynet worldwide remote telescope system. The first observation they have selected are targets similar to those we have observed in the past from the Global Telescope Network’s list of interesting Active Galactic Nuclei targets. They have been trained on how to make observations using large ground-based remote control telescopes and have already shot test images from observatories located in the mountains of Chile. These girls have been invited to present a poster at the American Astronomical Society’s High Energy Astrophysics meeting, if the work can be completed in time.Stockton Astronomical Society
(information pending)
Expansion Rates of Nebulas
Michelle Symmons - 2nd Place 12th grade Physical Science and a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society
(information pending)
Mapping the Empire Mine Railroad
2nd Place 12th grade Physical Science, $500 Chevron Innovation Award, $100 American Vacuum Society award, and a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
MESA at Freedom High School
(information pending)
Where's my Wireless? The Effect of Router Location on Signal Strength
3rd place 12th grade Physical Science, and a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Oakley Science Week
(information pending)
Composition and Structure of Cell Walls in Lactuca serriola leaves and stems
Amy Lin - 4th place 11th grade Biological, first DVHS student to enter biology category, and a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Sponsored by Dirk Sikkema.
American Geophysical Union
Ray Kuntz attended this year's AGU conference in December.
Deep Space
Ronnisha Jordan - 4th place 11th grade Physical Science, and a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
California Partnership Academy Conference
Jeff Adkins and Allison Weihe will attended this conference in March.
WZ Sge
John Michael Santiago - 4th place 12th grade Physical Science, and a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
American Astronomical Society
Jeff Adkins and Trevor Bennett attended the conference this year to learn present posters on WZ Sge.
Observations of the Mercury transit
Karla Flores - 4th place 12th grade Physical Science, and a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Create Your Own Spark
Faisal Rehman - 4th place 12th grade Physical Science, Certificate from American Meteorlogical Association, and a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Also recognized as a good engineering project, plus $100 award. Also a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Sponsored by Raymond Kuntz.
Rovering Robot
Doug Bahr, first engineering project ever entered from DVHS, a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Seeds from Space
Ryan Divito, a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers plus 100% on his 200-point major project for astronomy class.
Prius: Is It Worth Your Money?
Jessica Chaing, first 9th grader from DVHS to enter the fair, 4th place 9th grade Physical Science, a book and certificate from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Sponsored by Liz Ritchie.
2006-2007 School Year
RESEARCH
Original, primary research using data gathered by students to investigate
legitimate scientific hypotheses
OUTREACH
Public Display of information explaining concepts in science and astronomy, including performances, works of art and music and writing*Spitzer Observation of AGN
This is a project sponsored by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory to have teachers write and conduct a proposal to observe Active Galactic Nuclei on the Spitzer Infrared Space Telescope. Students are involved in these observations and data reductions. The first round of the project has been completed and presented at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, DC in January 2006. We have been approved for a second round of observations. We did the observations and now several sub-projects are under way related to this project.
Thomas Travagli is creating a mathematical model of the IR blackbody radiation seen in the object. Thomas assisted with the data reduction.
Manutej Mulaveesala is writing the interpretation of data and procedures for the lab.
Alekzandir Morton did the majority of the data reduction for the project.
Current Project Team: Manutej Mulaveesala, Thomas Travagli, Alekzandir Morton
In addition to the 1st place prize at the Contra Costa Science and Engineering Fair (2007) in their grade level the young men also received a medallion from the Yale Science and Engineering Association for Most Outstanding 11th Grade Exhibit in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics or Chemistry.
What's Up in Spanish
"El cielo de Noche!"
Come watch Vita Guido's "What's up in the night sky?" in Spanish! This show is intended for the Spanish speaking community of all ages. It will beheld at the DVHS Planetarium on March 13, 2007. Doors open at 8 PM, no late admits after 8:15 PM.
Here are copies of the English and Spanish scripts presented at the planetarium this year. This work is released under the GNU public license; you may copy and modify it for your needs, but please cite us as the source and let us know if you found it useful.
These are basically planetarium operator's scripts for a "What's up?" program in any standard live-performance planetarium.
(All documents in word .doc format)
Earthquake Waves Simulated with Sound
John Dawson performed an experiment that test how the ground under Deer Valley High School will be affected during an earthquake. He will be conducting 3 tests. One test will be with completely dry dirt. The second test will be with water saturated dirt and the third test will be a mixture of wet and dry with dry on one side and wet on the other. It will test which creates more damage.
The school’s first-ever earth science entry was completed by junior John Dawson, who won a $150 prize from the Golden Gate Section of the Society of Petrochemical Engineers for his research on the transmission of earthquake energy through the various materials underlying Deer Valley High School.
This full-dome projection show shows the Earth at different times in the Earth's life. The movie shows different clips as you rush past obstacles, down rivers, and up mountains. The movie shows a mountain exploding (Mt. Etna in Sicily), a flash flood, and the ice age (as well as the extinction of the dinosaurs.)
Airfoil Design Testing
Justin Spahn investigated the effect of camber on the ability of airplane wings to life. Several airfoils were constructed out of balsa wood. Justin built a wind tunnel from scratch to conduct his testing. The wind tunnel was used to create lift in the airfoils, measured with a force sensor. Justin will be presenting his research at the Contra Costa Science and Engineering Fair. Watch this space for a more thorough report when the research is complete.
Spahn won a first-place rating for 12th grade at the fair, a rating which is based on the number of points he earned for his display and his interview by a panel of judges. He also won the Grand Prize at the fair, and, along with a student from DeLaSalle High School, will represent Contra Costa County at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in May 2007.
Presented courtesy of Loch Ness Productions, by the Planetarium Class.
Larry Cat In Space is a playful, imaginative cartoon presentation about an inquisitive cat who takes a trip to the Moon. Through Larry's eyes, we observe his human family, a group of enthusiastic sky-watchers. Larry notes how human time differs from cat time. Diana takes a job on the Moon, and sadly leaves Larry behind. Larry figures out a way to hide in her clothes trunk. The trunk and Larry are loaded onto the Space Plane, which takes him to space station Freedom.
From there, he is transferred to the Lunar Shuttle. During weightlessness, the trunk opens. Larry floats out into the cabin, and looks out the window. When Diana discovers Larry, he leaps to greet her, but sails over her head, since he only weighs two pounds in lunar gravity. He meets the rest of Imbrium Village's inhabitants, including the evil Commander Stone, who orders Diana to return Larry to Earth. The Moon base crew petitions to keep Larry, and the Commander relents. He even makes Larry a cat space suit. When Larry ventures outside, he spots the Earth, looking a lot like the Moon did from the porch at home.
Presented courtesy of Loch Ness Productions, by the Planetarium Class.
Since its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has provided incredible images in unprecedented detail to astronomers, and made an astonishing array of discoveries — from nearby objects in the solar system to the most distant galaxies at limits of the observable universe.
We've taken the best and most exciting Hubble images and woven them into an engaging story of cosmic exploration, bringing the wonders of the universe to audiences everywhere. HUBBLE Vision 2 is a fascinating tour of the cosmos — from Earth orbit.Magnetic Field of the Earth
Unassigned
Science Fair 101
Students and teachers presented information at the Science Fair 101 workshop this fall at Heald College.
Fall What's Up? Show
The Fall What's Up? Show was edited and revised by Vita Guido. This show tells about constellations and objects visible in the fall sky.
Solar Ionospheric study
Alekzandir Morton is making long-term observations of the earth's magnetic field using a Stanford Ionospheric monitor (SID monitor).
AAS Poster Session
Jeff Adkins, Manutej Mulaveesala, Alekzandir Morton, and Thomas Travagli will present a Poster at the American Astronomical Society Meeting in January.
Javascript Life
My objective in this project isto create the "Game of Life" algorithim in Java. Once I have created it, I plan to go a step further by creating "adversary" cells for them to compete with. To complete these tasks I must learn Javascript commands, array usage, animation, and be able to set up rules so that each cell type is able to live with equal chance as the other to be affected by starting conditions.
Joseph earned a 2nd place rating at the Contra Costa Science and Engineering Fair in 2007. Smith also received an award certificate from Intel for Excellence in Computer Science.
NSTA
Jeff Adkins will present a workshop at the National Science Teachers' Association convention in March 2007.
Mass of Saturn
Michelle Anderson is observing the moons of Saturn in order to determine the mass of Saturn. Amateur astronomers are assisting Michelle in obtaining the data.
California Partnership Academy Conference
Jeff Adkins will present a session at the California Partnership Academy Conference in San Diego in 2007.
Age vs. Size of Open Clusters
John Michael Santiago and Alekzandir
Morton are measuring the ages of open clusters using color-magnitude diagrams. They will be using robotic and professional telescopes to collect images.Automated Stellarium
Nick Pollard is designing a scripted Stellarium show. The movie-like show will teach people the basic constellations and show how these constellations throughout the year.
Solar System to Scale (in time)
Ryan Lucido and Mike Johnson made a real-time video of a scale model solar system, including how long it takes to travel to the nearest star at the same scale. Here is a link to the Youtube video version of it.
NOAO Asteroid color-magnitude project
Sponsored by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, this is a pilot of a new project to track and analyze the light from asteroids.
Assigned to 7th period students George Almanza, Samantha Chuon, Preeti Sander, Marlon Menjivar, Ronnisha Jordan
Helio-Edge project
In cooperation with Cal State East Bay, we plan to pilot and provide feedback on a new educational game based on saving the earth from a solar flare.
This project was completed by a team of students from the Astronomy Class.
Jupiter
by John Dawson
This project is about the planet Jupiter. My project is for everyone because it has many interesting facts for kids and adults. It can be shown anywhere at anytime on any computer to teach people about awesome things about our neighbor in the solar system. It was presented in the planetarium in May 2007.
East Bay Astronomical Society
Academy students will present research at the East Bay Astronomical Society meeting in June.
2005-2006 School Year
RESEARCH
Original, primary research using data gathered by students to investigate
legitimate scientific hypotheses
OUTREACH
Public Display of information explaining concepts in science and astronomy, including performances, works of art and music and writing*Spitzer Observation of AGN
This is a project sponsored by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory to have teachers write and conduct a proposal to observe Active Galactic Nuclei on the Spitzer Infrared Space Telescope. Students are involved in these observations and data reductions. The first round of the project has been completed and presented at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, DC in January 2006. We have been approved for a second round of observations. They have been scheduled and are in progress. See the link above for current information on this project.
The first year's observations were primarily reduced by student Brielle Hinckley, who has written about her experiences and work for a paper posted below.
Phases of the Moon and Eclipses
A Flash Animation and Powerpoint presentation by Jason Cava. Presented at the DVHS Planetarium on December 13, 2005, along with an actual moon rock on loan from NASA. The animation will eventually be posted here for you to use, and included in the textbook Conceptual Astronomy by Jeff Adkins.
RA 1420 Radio Telescope Project
Efforts continue to establish a radio telescope on the roof of Deer Valley High School with which students can measure radio signals from Jupiter and the Sun. A steerable dish has been donated from Seatel of Concord, and they have provided training and expertise in the installation of the dish. More students have joined the Radio Telescope project this year, and hope to continue the work started by students Eric Chamberlain and Ryan King last year. Work continues with Sean Hyland leading a team of students working on installing our radio telescope via a local company, Minex Engineering of Antioch.
Colors from Space
This planetarium show was adapted from a Lawrence Hall of Science PASS (Planetarium Activities for Student Success) script. Adaptation by John Michael Santiago. This show was presented several times at the DVHS Planetarium.
Microvariability of 4C 29.45 with Spitzer Space Telescope and Ground-Based Telescopes
and
Microvariability of 1ES 2344+51.4
(in progress)
Brielle Hinckley was awarded 2 nights of observing on a 0.9 m (36 inch) telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory to observe a quasar over time. This project will yield information about the target's Spectral Energy Diagram and change over time due to changes in flux of the jet of the AGN. She also reduced data from the Spitzer Space Telescope and ground based telescopes on the target 4C 29.45.
This project won 3rd place in the 12th grade division at the Contra Costa Science and Engineering fair, as well as a 2nd place $75 prize from the Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society, and a $750 scholarship from Chevron.
Who Discovered America?
This Planetarium show by David Cisneros asks the question if other people found America, how did they get here?
*Light Pollution in Antioch, California
Jennifer Shankey measured light pollution in Antioch and planning on advocating for an anti-light pollution ordinance at the city council.
This project won a 3rd place in the 12th grade division at the Contra Costa County Science and Engineering fair and also received a $200 scholarship from Chevron.
Planetarium shows for local schools
In cooperation with the Antioch Unified School District's science program for elementary and middle schools, we present planetarium shows for local schools and organizations. To request a show, contact Dena Palmer at the AUSD Science Center or
Ray Kuntz at Deer Valley High School. To see a list of schools we have served this year, look at the Planetarium Production Class home page.*The Glass Ceiling Persists
Anne Nguyen did an interesting study of how young children perceive the gender of scientists.
This project won 2nd place in the 12th grade division at the Contra Costa Science and Engineering fair, a special award from the American Psychological Society, a $50 gift certificate from John Muir Health, a 2nd place $75 prize from the Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society, and a $750 scholarship from Chevron.
Winter "What's Up" Show
Jennifer Shankey and the Planetarium Production Class are making a Winter Show of constellations to go with the Spring show written by last year's class. This is our default show when we don't have a special topic night.
*Proof of Standard Stars
Jennifer Becker examined TLRBSE data to see if the standard stars given to us by that project really do not vary.
This project won a 3rd place in the 12th grade division at the Contra Costa Science and Egnineering fair, won 1st place for Best Astronomy Project from the Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society (along with a $100 cash prize), and a $400 scholarship from Chevron.
Grand Canyon Tour
Academy teacher and Geology instructor Raymond Kuntz is preparing a show about the Grand Canyon, presented in panoramic format in our digital planetarium.
*Microvariability of AO 0235+164
Crystal Ewen was awarded 7 hours of observing using the New Mexico Skies system by the TLRBSE School Year observing program. She did a time-based observation of one of the Global Telescope Network objects and will be preparing a light curve based on the observations.
This project won a 3rd place in the 12th grade division at theContra Costa Science and Egnineering fair and also received a $400 scholarship from Chevron.
Sudden Solar-Induced Changes in Earth's Ionosphere
JoAnna Catiller is participating in a pilot of a project sponsored by Stanford University to see if it is possible to monitor changes in the earth's ionosphere by detecting changes in the signal strength of the Navy's communications with submarines.
*Correlation of Sunspot Number to the Earth's Magnetic Field
Dan Perotti is using a a homemade magnetometer to detect signals from the Sun and correllate these to the current number of sunspots visible on the sun.
Colors4Space
In collaboration with Tim Erickson from eeps media, students are participating in a pilot of software designed to teach students about the scientific method from data collection to publication.
*Project Inspire
Sean Hyland is attempting to detect ionospheric disturbances and correlate them with sunspot numbers using a radio receiver originally developed for NASA's Project Inspire.
2004-2005 School Year
RESEARCH
OUTREACH
Microvariability in Blazar BL Lac
Tri Nguyen collected collecting data at Kitt Peak National Observatory to measure small-scale variations in a the first blazar ever found. Tri will contribute his data to the AAVSO and to the Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope's Global Telescope Network databases. Tri is one of the two students from DVHS selected for the KPNO School Year Observing Project in 2004. Link leads to a pdf download of Tri's paper.
Performance of Mars and Jupiter by Deer Valley orchestra
Renee Mastrolia organized a performance of Mars and Jupiter by Holtz by a student orchestra here at DVHS.
Download Mars by clicking here (5 MB)
Download Jupiter by clicking here (1.6 MB)
Permission is granted to use these files for educational purposes only.
These recordings will be played at the Deer Valley Planetarium on Tuesday, May 3, 2005.
Searching for Novae in Globular Clusters - new version, updated
Robert Johnson and Kyle Hornbeck are beginning a systematic search for novas in prominent globular clusters. They have 5 epochs of data already and are collecting more over time. No novas have been found yet, but they are measuring the brightness of a known variable star as an exercise while they search. Robert was one of the 2 students selected for the School Year Observing Program at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, sponsored by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. He and Kyle will use the additional data to continue constructing light curves for variables in M13 and M3. Robert and Kyle are using the Image Processing software from the Hands On Universe project to do their measurements.
(Link leads to a pdf file.)
Planetarium shows for local schools
In cooperation with the Antioch Unified School District's science program for elementary and middle schools, we present planetarium shows for local schools and organizations. To request a show, contact Dena Palmer at the AUSD Science Center or
Ray Kuntz at Deer Valley High School. To see a list of schools we have served this year, look at the Planetarium Production Class home page.Measurement of dune height to spacing ratio in the Ophir Chasma region on Mars
Images of Mars taken by the Mars Global Surveyor on behalf of the Astronomy and Space Science Class are being analyzed by students attempting to determine the height of sand dunes revealed by the images. This is part of the ongoing mission of the MGS to take pictures requested by the public for specfic areas of the surface of Mars. Project lead: Ashley Hall.
This project was the 2005 Bay Area Science Fair Grand Prize winner. Ashley competed in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in 2005.
The AP Physics Class (which is one of several courses which can be a culminating class for an academy student) has received a $900 grant from EBCUE (East Bay Computer Using Educators) for purchasing web cams to make short instructional videos about physics phenomena which can be measured from video. Our target audience is the 9th Grade Science class here at our school. We will work on these after the AP test this sping.Measurement of Crater to Spot Diameter Ratios in the Arabia Region of Mars
Alex Payne and Andrew Espiritu are investigating some mysterious spots seen in Mars Global Surveyor images. They want to know what causes the spots and why they all appear in the same quadrant of each crater. Alex and Andrew's research is on display at the DVHS planetarium.
Journal of Research and Outreach
The Journal of Research and Outreach is essentially this page of posted projects. When projects are proposed and under way, they are listed here. When completed, links are provided to the original work.
- Original research in mathematics, science, English, or history related to mathematics, Earth or space science, or science in general
- Reports on Outreach (students providing information in a public setting)
- Original essays expressing opinions about topics relevant to the academy
- Art or other creative expressions using or about science and math
Moon Parallax project
The moon parallax project seeks to photograph the moon and background stars simultaneously from two widely separated locations to determine the distance to the moon through parallax. The project successfully collected data in May of 2004. We are going to try again next school year.Project conducted by: Kelli Hover, Chris Guarini, and Chris Moore.
All about the Pleiades
This interesting paper by Renee Mastrolia compares the Subaru car company's logo to the well known asterism.
(Link leads to a pdf file.Requires Adobe Acrobat to open.)
Effect of friction in model rocket flight
by Scott Banker
Scott investigated the effect of air friction through computer simulation on the motion of a rocket. Scott's research is on display at the DVHS planetarium.
An Era of Mayhem
An awesome end-of-the world story by Jennifer Wilkinson. What would you do if you knew the sun was going to go nova...and you could delay the end?
Light Pollution in Antioch, California
Several students are attempting to quantify the light pollution in our home town due to the recent surge of commercial growth on the southeast end of town. More information can be found at the International Dark Sky Association web page.Project lead: Anne Nguyen and Sebin Sohn.
Note: link leads to a ZIPPED QuickTime Movie and is 2.1 MB (long download). You will need QuickTime for Mac/PC, Stuffit Expander (Mac) or an unZIP utility such as PKunzip for PC to decompress and view this presentation. A properly configured computer will download, uncompress and open the document automatically.
Nova Search in M31
We continue to participate in the TLRBSE sponsored search for novas in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). This is an ongoing student-centered research project. Students analyze photos taken of the Andromeda Galaxy and search for stars that explode and fade away, then plot their brightnesses over time.Our first original derivative project tests the hypothesis that the curvature of the decay curve may be affected by the nova's location in the galaxy. This research compiled and analyzed results from 3 classes' analysis of nova curves from the data provided by TLRBSE.
This research was conducted by Robert Sullenger and Tri Nguyen and the 2004 Astronomy and Space Science classes.
(Link leads to a pdf file.)
Asteroid Occultation with a CCD
The Astronomy/Physics Research class is going to attempt to image an asteroid occultation using a remote control observatory. Funding for the observing time was provided by the TLRBSE School Year Observing Program from the University of Arizona and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.The status of this project is on hold because the only favorable occultation of an asteroid seen from the New Mexico Skies site was obscured by clouds. Other dates are being investigated.
Asteroid Triangulation by Simultaneous Photography
We attempted to triangulate on an asteroid by simultaneously photographing it from New Mexico via the New Mexico Skies program and from Oakley with the help of amateur astronomer Mike Harms. The project was not a complete success because we could not reliably identify the asteroid in the photos. However, several students did the work necessary to demonstrate the proof of concept.
2003-2004 School Year and before
Moss Growth in the DVHS Amphitheatre
Michael Peterson has completed data gathering on his project to determine how precisely moss grows on the north side of objects by doing a careful study of the pattern of moss growth on the circular steps of the Deer Valley High School ampitheatre. Michael's research is posted at the link above.
Catalog of Stellar Evolution
The Astronomy/Physics research class is going to compile a catalog of images illustrating stellar evolution from dark nebulas to supernova remnants. These images will be used by next year's Planetarium Production class to construct a show based on the idea of stellar evolution and linked to the California Science Standards. The images will be captured through visits to local amateur astronomer's observatories, use of the school's telescope, and observing time provided by the TLRBSE School Year Observing Program from the University of Arizona and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.2004 Project lead: Trevor Butler.
2005 Project lead: Barry Parker
Catalog of Star Clusters and Galaxies
This page will accumulate interesting pictures of open clusters, galaxies, and globular clusters. Eventually, different types of galaxies will be illustrated.
2004 Project lead: Trevor Butler
How to Build a Cardboard Classroom Planetarium
This project was started in 2002 and explains how to build a classroom planetarium from cardboard for "not much money." Students in this year's class continue to work on the project by designing a homemade projector for use in the dome. The culminating part of the project was a web site, to which the link above leads.
Here are some pictures taken by Raymond Kuntz of the delivery of the RA1420 Project's radio telescope on December 19. The equipment was donated by Seatel of Concord.
Jeff Adkins, Director
astronomyteacher@mac.com
Cheryl Domenichelli, Assistant Director
cheryldomenichelli@antioch.k12.ca.us
4700 Lone Tree Way
Antioch, CA 94531
The ESPACE Academy is sponsored in part by a grant from the California Department of Education's Specialized Secondary Program.
