Hubble Deep Field Academy

AstronomyName:Date:

The Hubble Deep Field image reveals much about our cosmos. Use astronomer’s methods to unlock the universe’s secrets!

Using the website: , work through the online activity to discover more about the amazing image. NOTE: The questions we are asking below are different from the ones that the activity will ask.

ORIENTATION

  1. When was the HDF image taken, for how many hours, and over how many days was the image taken?
  1. Write down two of YOUR five questions about the HDF.
  1. Write down two ASTRONOMER questions that were different from your two above.
  1. Why does the HDF have a funny shape?

STELLAR STATISTICIAN

  1. You estimated that there are ______objects in the ENTIRE Hubble Deep Field image, while astronomers estimate that ______objects appear in the image.
  1. Click on the “Did you know this?” section
  2. The HDF lies near which constellation?
  1. The HDF shows ______of galaxies in an area of the sky that is about the same size as President Roosevelt’s ______on a dime held at arm’s length!
  1. It would take about ______images of the area represented in the HDF image to cover the entire sky.
  1. Astronomers estimate that there are ______to ______similar objects in the universe.

COSMIC CLASSIFIER

  1. List three objects on which you and the astronomers agreed. Use their numbers to identify them.
  1. List three objects on which you and the astronomers disagreed. Use their numbers to identify them.
  1. Give two reasons why you think you and the astronomers disagreed.
  1. How many groups contain at least five objects
  1. Choose any one group and describe the characteristics of its members.
  1. What do you think the objects in your group are? Give a reason to support your hypothesis.
  1. Using “Astronomers Explanations of Objects”, complete the chart below:

Shape / Stars / Round Elliptical / Oval
Elliptical / Spiral / Irregular
Description

DISTANCE WIZARD

  1. What main trait did you use to rank HAL objects from nearest to farthest?
  1. Astronomers cannot use ______alone to estimate an object’s distance from Earth…To estimate the distance of an object, astronomers also must study the ______it emits.
  1. Astronomers believe that “F” and “D” are closer than “C”. Give three separate reasons why this might be so.

DEEP FIELD OBSERVER

  1. What is the difference between a galaxy and a star?
  1. What does the color of a galaxy indicate?
  1. What does the shape of a galaxy indicate?
  1. Why isn’t a galaxy’s size alone useful in determining its distance from Earth?
  1. Explain why the same galaxy can appear to have different shapes to different observers.
  1. Describe the process used by astronomers to estimate the number of galaxies in the universe. Be sure to explain what mathematical operations must be performed.
  1. Why is it better to observe the sky from space rather than from Earth?

Identify the HDF object

  1. What does the color of the oddball object tell you?
  1. What does the shape of the oddball object tell you?
  1. What do you think this object is? Justify your answer.
  1. What are the two different astronomer opinions on what the oddball object is?

On the page “Hubble surveys of the distant universe after HDF”, click on each and answer the accompanying questions.

  1. 1998 ______

What special object is in this image and what did it do for astronomers?

  1. 2004 ______

How far away are the closest and furthest galaxies in this image?

  1. 2009 ______

What are the faintest and reddest objects in this image?

  1. 2012 ______

How many galaxies are contained in this image that is actually SMALLER than the original HDF?

  1. 2003 ______

What agencies collaborated on this project?

  1. 2007 ______

What new information was gained from his view?

  1. 2008 ______

What was the purpose of this study?

  1. What is the purpose of the James Webb Space Telescope that is launching in 2018?