The kite hunter
Personajes:
Tema: The Universe and the Solar System
Competencias
Competencia en Comunicación Lingüística
Competencia Matemática, en ciencia, tecnología e ingeniería
Competencia Personal, social y de aprender a aprender
Competencia en conciencia y expresiones culturales
Materias y cursos por Sistema Educativo
España > Biología y Geología > 4º ESO > La Tierra en el universo
Enunciado
The astronomer Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) was known as "the comet hunter". This astronomer was the first person to see Uranus, a planet she discovered while researching with her brother, also an astronomer, William. Between Caroline and William, they devoted themselves to vastly improving the telescopes of the time, and achieved greater range. Their advances and discoveries led them to work under the orders of the King of England.
Caroline was the first person to discover a comet, and in the course of her career, as well as doing a great deal of astronomical work, she discovered eight comets in total. Because of this, she was known as "the comet hunter".
Caroline, The Comet Hunter, de Leviathan League
1. Among the celestial bodies discovered by Caroline we find Uranus. What type of celestial body is it?
2. What are comets?
3. "The comet hunter" was not only dedicated to discovering comets, although this is what made her famous; her work in creating and correcting star catalogues was very extensive. She added more than 2000 entries between discoveries and corrections to the catalogues. Find out what a star catalogue is.
4. Caroline also discovered and catalogued several nebulae. Define what a nebula is.
5. What is the relationship between Caroline's improvement of telescopes and the observations she made?
6. Relate the concepts of comet, nebula and star to the Solar System.
Observaciones y contexto
These activities deal with different aspects of both the Solar System and the Universe. Given the work of Caroline Herschel, the introductory text could be used for other types of activities more focused on the solar system (on comets or gaseous planets) or to focus more on the universe (stars and nebulae).
Since ancient times, there are records of women scholars in the field of astronomy. Perhaps the oldest record of all is that of Enheduana, a priestess who lived in Babylon around 2354 BC, to whom we owe the earliest known calendars. Another of the most significant figures of antiquity is Aglaonice of Thessaly (Greece, 2nd century BC), who predicted eclipses, and Hypatia of Alexandria in the 4th century BC, who is credited with the invention of the astrolabe, sky charts and a planisphere. During the 17th and 18th centuries, we find many women dedicated to astronomy, such as Maria Cunitz (1604 - 1664), who wrote "Urania Propitia", which were like the "Rudolphine Tables" but new and simplified, more precise and easier to use, or Maria Wilckelmann Kirch (Germany, 1670 - 1720) who discovered a comet in 1708, but it was attributed to her husband. Similarly Caroline Herschel (Germany, 1750 - 1848), discovered 17 nebulae and eight comets. Caroline Hereschel and the Scottish Nary Somerville collaborated regularly and were accepted in the same year into the astronomical society of the time.
In the 19th century, figures such as Maria or Mariel Mitchell (1818 - 1889), who discovered a comet named after her, appeared. Williaminna Fleming (1857 - 1911), who discovered white dwarfs, 10 novae, 52 nebulae and hundreds of variable stars. Or Annie Jump Cannon (1863 - 1941) who created the spectral classification system for stars. Despite women's contributions to astronomy, until well into the 1950s, it was very difficult for women to devote themselves professionally to this branch of science. Perhaps the most paradigmatic example is that of Jocelyn Bell (1943 - ), discoverer of pulsars, who missed out on the Nobel Prize in physics for this discovery, which was awarded to her thesis supervisor.
Descripción
Short quiz activities about the components of the solar system, based on a short text about Caroline Herschel's discoveries.
The aim of the activity is to learn about the different types of stars in the universe through the work of Caroline Herschell.