Galaxy Zoo-keeper Training

• Computer with internet access

• Other materials as detailed within individual activities

How big is the observable Universe? How far away is the nearest Milky Way Galaxy neighbor? How far can these telescopes really see?

The following exercises will help your students start to think about how amazing it is that we can see these galaxies at all!

Exercise 1: When talking about the observable Universe astronomers start to use very large numbers. Have your student watch TED ED Powers of 10 video to become familiar large numbers and scientific notation.

Exercise 2: Although understanding distance is not the main point of this activity, you will want to be sure students are mentally placing galaxy images outside the Milky Way. You can do this through the use of a variety of web resources such as:

• Magnify the Universe
• Scale of the Universe 2

Exercise 3: How far away are the galaxies?

1. Remind students of the enormous distances between Earth and the nearest galaxy.
2. Place two dots on the board, one centimeter apart. If this represents the distance between Earth and the edge of the Milky Way (approximately 40,000 light years), then the Andromeda Galaxy (2.5 million light years) would need to be placed 62.5 centimeters away. Andromeda is 62.5 times the distance between Earth and the edge of the Milky Way.
3. You may want to take this a step further: If you make the one centimeter distance between the two dots represent the 93,000,000 miles (eight light minutes it takes light) to travel from the sun to Earth, then one light year would be approximately 657 meters away or (365 x 24 x 60) / 8. Earth is approximately 40,000 light years away from the edge of the Milky Way. At this scale, we would need to place the dot representing the edge of the Milky Way 26,280 kilometers away (657 m/ly x 40,000 ly) and Andromeda would be placed 62.5 times further still. [Helpful hint: Find landmarks or known areas that are located 26,280 km and 1,642,500 km from your school, respectively. This will allow your students to have a better understanding of these large numbers.]

Establishing an accurate mental model of the universe is a key concept in astronomy.

Your students should be familiar with how large distances are in our Universe from the Put things into Perspective activity. This is only one part the model. What actually makes up our Universe is the second.

Galaxies are part of the large-scale structure of our Universe, but they are not all the same. The following exercises are ways your students will become familiar with the variety of size and shapes of galaxies.

Exercise 1: To help your students practice their observing skills, try the lesson: Observe Like a Scientist

Exercise 2: Students should become familiar with the variety of shapes associated with galaxies. With Explore Galaxy Shapes lesson your students will seek out patterns on their own before introducing the Hubble Classification Scheme. Full lesson is found at Zooteach.org

Exercise 3: For a quick exploration of the variety of shapes associated with galaxies, have your students watch this video Classification-Explore the Tuning Fork Lessons (This video is in Spanish with English subtitles).

Exercise 4: The following will allow students to experience the variety of shapes associated with galaxies and seek out patterns on their own. 

1. Print pictures of many different types of galaxies from NASA (10-20 images).
2. Then have your students develop their own classification systems. Take inspiration from the crowdsourcing exercises outlined above. (An example lesson can be found here.)
3. Then have students compare their classification to that of Edwin Hubble.

Before you get to analyzing the classifications you and the Zooites have made, you may want to think more about data collection and analysis by doing these exercises. Try them out!

• Collect Data
• ​Analyze - Running Numbers

Analyze Your Data

The Galaxy Zoo scientists have created a tool called Navigator that allows Zooites (Galaxy Zoo contributors) to form groups and analyze galaxies together. Within the Navigator tool, you can create many different graphs from the data your group analyzes. Use these the Short Student Guide to Navigator and the Student Guide to Graphing Tools in Navigator to help you learn to use Navigator.

Remember, Graphs Answer Questions

Explain to your students that a graph is created from a question in the investigator’s mind. If you want to see how one thing relates to another, you make a graph. Have your students create a couple of questions they could answer with they data they collected. 

Create your graphs:

1. The Graph Data button brings you to the graphing tool. The title at the top of the page tells you to construct your question.
2. The prompts on this page not only allow you to choose what information will be retrieved from the databases but also, remind you what the resulting graph tells you. 
3. • Keep this in mind when you are making graphs and you will not lose track of what you are doing and why you are doing it.
4. If you would like to have your students explore their data and the data generate by others (especially if your students are interested in other Zooniverse projects), use these more technical Zooniverse tools:
   • A New Way to Analyze View and Share Data​
   • Zooniverse Tool

NGSS Science Practices

• Asking questions

• Planning and carrying out investigations

• Analyzing and interpreting data

• Using mathematics and computational thinking

• Constructing explanations

• Engaging in argument from evidence

• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

NGSS Crosscutting Concepts

• Patterns.Observed patterns of forms and events guide organization and classification, and they prompt questions about relationships and the factors that influence them.

• Scale, proportion, and quantity. In considering phenomena, it is critical to recognize what is relevant at different measures of size, time, and energy and to recognize how changes in scale, proportion, or quantity affect a system’s structure or performance.

Common Core: English Language Arts Anchor Standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.L.6 Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.5 Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,

• organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. 

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.10Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Common Core: Standards for Mathematical Practice

• CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
• CCSS.Math.Practice.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
• CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP6 Attend to precision.