ADVANCED ASTRONOMY CAMP
Required Essay

Admission to the Advanced Astronomy Camp requires an essay of at least 1000 words. This essay is our primary means of gauging a student's motivation, creativity, maturity, and ability to follow directions. These are qualities we value highly in our Advanced Camp students and that we feel are valuable to future success. The essay must combine both fact and imagination. Students should first research existing knowledge about the topic and use that research as a basis for imaginative extrapolation. The factual basis must cite at least two published references not including Internet sites. The essay must start with an imaginative title. We include some sample references to help you incorporate current understanding.

To help prospective campers gauge the level of competition, we provide two essays from students who attended the 2000 Advanced Camp: "The Slumber of the Suns" (Cheryl Johnston) and "The Legacy of Copernicus" (Ezra Rapoport).

New students must write on one of the following three topics. Previous Advanced Campers wishing to reapply must write about a proposed research project that might also interest other Advanced Campers. See below for a more detailed description.

ESSAY TOPICS

Essay #1: Over 200 planets have been discovered orbiting other stars. You are responsible for choosing one of THESE planets or its hypothetical moon(s) to colonize. Where would you go and what would you hope to learn there? Base your essay on known properties of the parent stars and the planets themselves.

Essay #2: You visit a hypothetical planet in a KNOWN binary star system of your choice. Describe how and why life on your planet would be different from that on Earth. Base your essay on the known properties of the parent stars (e.g., mass, temperature, orbit, lifetime, age, etc.).

Essay #3: You are the assistant of a famous astronomer (past or present). Describe a research project in which you are involved and how it has impacted your life. Base your essay on biographical information about the particular astronomer and his/her research accomplishments and interests.

STUDENTS WISHING TO REPEAT THE ADVANCED CAMP

We encourage previous advanced campers to reapply for the Advanced Camp in year 2008. Since many qualified students are expected to apply for the first time, it is likely that no more than six repeating campers can be admitted. Last summer, four repeating students were selected. Each year's Advanced Camp has a different theme for daily activities, but the main focus at night will still be the research projects conducted by teams of students using the equipment in our collection.

Students wishing to reapply must write an observing proposal, similar to, but more detailed than, the proposals they wrote during a previous Advanced Camp. Based on your experience with our telescopes and instruments, you should be able to describe a new project which you and other students could conduct together during the one week camp. To be successful, you do not have to solve any modern mysteries of the Universe, just propose something which interests you, utilizes our equipment, and would interest other students. Your project may be a challenging one but it must be realistic. You must include the following in your proposal:

1. Title

2. Abstract

A concise paragraph summarizing your goals.

3. Scientific Description

Why is this project interesting and what do you hope to learn from the observations?

Be sure to list some published references to provide scientific context for your proposal and cite any articles etc. you have used in preparing your proposal.

4. Scientific Method

How will you obtain and analyze your data? What telescopes and instruments do you require? How much observing time is necessary?

5. Team Management

As the leader of your project, how will you involve other students in the observing, analysis, and presentation aspects of this project? How will you deal with the fact that these students may not understand anything about your topic but are eager to learn and participate? How will you interact with your colleagues to encourage, teach, and manage them during the weeklong camp?

You can read about Astronomy Camp's telescopes and facilities. Please contact Dr. McCarthy with any questions.

POSSIBLE REFERENCE SOURCES

Magazines: Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, Mercury, The Planetary Report, Scientific American

Astronomy texts:
Universe, W. J. Kaufmann III, 1994, 4th edition (W.H. Freeman and Co., NY)
Astronomy: The Evolving Universe, M. Zeilik, 1994, 7th edition, Wiley & Sons, Inc., NY)
The Comsic Perspective, Bennett, J., Donahue, M., Voit, M., and Schneider, N.

Books:
Burnham's Celestial Handbook , R. Burnham, 1978, (Dover Publ.: New York).
The Cambridge Atlas of Astronomy, J. Audouze & G. Israel, 1994, (Cambridge Univ. Press).

Internet sites:
Extrasolar Planet Encyclopedia
Wikipedia's Extrasolar Planet page
California & Carnegie Planet Search

miscellaneous:Camp Links from our Home Page