This June 19-23 for 1.5 hours per class period, I'm going to (try) to teach a class about satellite observing (along with related subjects) to 4th to 6th grade kids in a talented and gifted program. I have a lot of ideas that I'm putting together. E.g. I'm planning to work a lot with Heavens-Above. I'll assign them various duties like observing ISS passes and iridium flares. I'm also going to have them construct a crude Styrofoam ball/skewer Sputnik-1. If any of you have any ideas of your own or know of someone who might, I will sure welcome the help! [[Please respond to my personal e-mail: sciteach@mchsi.com.]] (1) One project I want to have the kids do is something that a member of SeeSat-L posted awhile back. I managed to loose the URL and cannot think of what the topic was called. It had to do with using a simple handheld protractor of sorts to estimate a satellite's orbital height I think it was. As I recall the participant held the gizmo at arm's length and noted how long it took the satellite to cross a certain distance. I assume that it's altitude was also important. Can someone help me find that webpage? I would like to have each student make a simple clinometer as well. (2) This is probably a rhetorical question - can I easily predict a satellite's return in time and space by measuring the satellite's path with respect to the stars it passes using a planetarium program? I use "TheSky," a program by Bisque and plan to use a PowerPoint projector to show satellite passes. I could print out the star field and have the students record the path that they observe and the various times etc. (3) Another topic that I may include is the basics of TLEs. Would this work - take a TLE from a specific satellite, maybe a stable geosynchronous one, and copy it over a few times then modify parts of the TLE to demonstrate what the various modifications do - using time-lapse - if need be - with planetarium software? Thanks in advance. Any ideas are welcome!! Tom Iowa USA ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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