A telescope is a tool for observing objects in the distance, either in the sky or across land and sea. In this article, we will talk about telescopes for observing objects in the sky, to their natural beauty and to understand more about the nature of the universe in which we live.

It is useful to think of telescopes as "light buckets", whose main purpose is to gather as much light from a particular region of the sky as possible and to b.ing it into focus. For backyard astronomers, we are interested in observing sky objects in wavelengths visible to the human eye, that is, with an optical telescope (there are telescopes which observe other forms of light radio waves, microwaves, infrared, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays, used by professional astronomers.).

There are two basic types of optical telescopes: reflectors and refractors, that are used by backyard astronomers. A third type, known as catadioptric combines the two.

To keep things simple, a reflector uses a curved mirror to collect the light and bring it to a focus at an eyepiece (see first figure at top of page). A refractor uses a lens, or a series of lenses, to focus the light at the eyepiece (see second figure at top of page). Combining the two types allows for a more compact telescope (shorter tube), but is a more expensive option (see figure at bottom of page).

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There are many things to consider when contemplating the purchase of a backyard telescope, not the least of them, the cost (in dollars). For those interested in buying a telescope that is worth the expense, I refer you to the references at the end of this article.

A basic principle is to use your money on aperture (the size of the light-gathering mirror, or lens), rather than on magnification: seeing dim objects in the sky depends upon how much light is gathered. There are natural limits to magnification-at a certain point details, or resolution. exceeds the limits of the telescope equipment and our visual equipment (our eyes).

           May you have clear skies!

[References: Night Watch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe Revised 4*' Ed. Terence Dickinson Firefly Books 2013 (Basic)
The Backyard Astronomy's Guide 3'd Ed.
Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer Firefly Books 2013 (More Advanced)

George Drake, M.D.
ETHOS Innovation Center Volunteer
Michiana Astronomical Society Member 

https://www.ted.com/talks/nathalie_miebach_art_made_of_storms?language=en
One to watch!


Parents and teaching colleagues, if you have not had a chance to watch this TED talk by Nathalie Miebach, you need to take some time!

What are you looking for?

2 things:

1. The potential of cross-curricular and Pathways schools
2. Viewing the world at the level of the scientist

1  The first comes with a disclaimer.  Cross-curricular and pathways can mean different things, depending on who you talk to about each of these.  Watch the video, and then see if you agree with what I classify: "What it has the potential to be," and "a close second."

Cross-curricular:
A close second...
My child does science, does english, and does math, and they do it in a way the three are connected.  For example: we do an exercise where we see what will float, what will not, and what hovers in water.  Then we read a story about things that float, and she answers questions about the story.  Later, she does a math exercise about greater than and less than (bigger and smaller numbers).

vs What it has the potential to be...
My child does a science exercise in which we make observations, write down what we notice and quantify as we go.  We make predictions along the way and write about our discoveries, coming up with new questions and support for possible answers.  For example: We draw picture of our set-up, including various objects and a glass of water.  We make predictions we record, and then start to make other observations of the materials before dropping any objects in water to make predictions.  We represent the likelihood of sinking, for each object by stacking blocks, which we sketch on our paper and then write about our reasoning.  We drop each in water and write about our new results and new questions we have, and what our observations may suggest about floating and sinking.

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In brief - with "cross curricular," mix it up.  Take time to write and document in many ways as you go.  Children need to learn the interweaving roles of subjects.  If a writing skill needs to be honed by the child, then let the experience flush it out and give it real purpose for the learner.  Science provides a fun why we are doing this to an english exercise.

Nathalie is not separating art, mathematics, and science.  She is combining them.  And, the combination is impressive!  As much as it may seem to document a phenomenon, to look at her work is to discover something new.

Pathways:
A close second...
Students register for "pathway classes" based on career interest and are grouped with peers who have been identified with similar career interests.  They take classes together in which teachers add enriched material which are themed toward the selected career path.  They take english, math, and science classes which each follow this theme during the year and work on various projects within each class.  The last theme centered around an environmental issue which happened locally.  Projects in the science class are related to the chemistry involved in the incident, and in english students do related research papers and readings.  Even the math classes solve problems which are scaled down problems similar to the real world occurrence.

vs What it has the potential to be...
In the business and international studies school, a student enrolls in business communication ("english"), business statistics ("math"), sociology, applied chemistry and business graphics ("art") (did I leave anyone out?).   The teachers meet periodically and design series of 2 week projects for students.  The english teacher takes lead, as communication is job one, and the science and sociology teachers throw out an idea for an investigation based on a local environmental occurrence.  During the task, documentation is intense, but the math teacher is meeting with students to develop the math skills they need to investigate further and run experiments mentored by the science teacher.  And, the english teacher discusses how to best communicate with various stakeholders.  Students research and write about the sociological impact, and use graphic arts to effectively communicate and sell their positions in an open peer reviewed forum.  Through a series of ongoing documented experiments, they are able to better understand and communicate the occurrence and its financial and ethical impact on the local community and suggest next steps (including a budget).

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In brief - stand-alones versus a teamed approach.  Traditional approaches are hard to get past, especially when the instructors have their own expertise.  Let the experience drive the curriculum, not the other way around.  A guided experience should look more like a completed salad, than the ingredients in the fridge.  

It is also important to remember the power (and responsibility) of communication.  Documentation will slow down students on the front end, but give power, efficiency, and a realness for students on the tail end.  Something they will be proud of upon completion.  And never underestimate the power of art to take students to a new level.  For students, creating a real and unique experience is very important.  And the real and unique is a relative term from their perspective - their life experiences to date.  Pathways should guide students to what they consider is an open investigation of the world.

An experience as unique as what Meibach is sharing is what we might expect from our students when guided to an open forum, from the tools of math, communication, arts, and science.  I am always surprised at what new and novel idea students are able to come up when given the opportunity.

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2  Something to consider.  When looking at the work of scientist in the field, the best communications they share are artistic.  Artistic ability is amazingly wonderful when used to convey the amazing design in the world around us.  My first thoughts after watching the video, is could we line up a dozen of artistic pieces, capturing various hurricanes by Nathalie, and do trend analysis with visual inspection.  What new revelations could we find in her visual representations we might miss on a flat screen.  

At the ETHOS Innovation Center, we are working to ensure every student has these experiences on a regular basis, and gets to know the amazing wonder of our world.  There is something magical about the ease at which a child can grasp the most complex in such simple and unmuddled ways!  And, then these fun simple complexities have a chance to stay with them for life.

Written by John Taylor: John Taylor, MEd is the Director of STEM Education at ETHOS Innovation Center.  Building on his discussion on what motivates learning in the ETHOS Blog, he ventures into the world of Pathways.  


The idea of merging school and the workforce has been around for quite awhile.  In my scant quarter century as an educator, I saw the likes of Tech Prep and then Project Lead the Way.  Those before me related to me the power of Kennedy's "We choose to go to the Moon.." speech and its impact on education in the 60's.  I kept their textbooks on the shelves of my classroom as a reminder of lessons learned, and often grabbed from these when designing lessons.

(Career centers across the U.S. have formed effective, but separate entities to make great things happen - connecting youth with gainful futures.  Although, I don't plan on elaborating on this point, there are some great lessons to learn from the programs offered at these (often) regionally located facilities, generally used to support the trades.)

Often in the past, the effort to bring traditional school and work together has been about merging separate education entities to function side-by-side and support each other.  It could involve a science class and an industrial arts (tech) teacher.  I've been a part of a physics + math + industrial arts effort.  'Even traded classrooms to support the cause.  For schools that were more adventurous, you added in a language arts (English) teacher.  But, it was always a fight to make it work; always seemed like a good idea; but felt like something was missing.

Perspective.

I feel fortunate my grandfather was born in 1903.  He had seen so many things come into normalcy.  The same things we take for granted.  Of course, TVs and radios were a big deal, but I was always fascinated by the more subtle,..  

• putting wire in an old house for the first time,
• power companies acquiring property for right of way of their new huge towers over open farmland,
• formal education ending after 8th grade;
• the DNR forming, and the fur trade,
• isolated northern black settlements (racism was very much alive up north),
• driving age, hard apple cider and prohibition, tractors,..

My mother relayed an occurrence to us when Grandpa shared a recollection with us about farming.  She talked about the tractor and the new bailing machines.  For those who don't know: straw and hay are used to feed livestock (cows, horses,..).  It is grown in the field and then cut down and stored for use throughout the year.  It is basically tall grass.  When the first bailer came into the area, it was an item and shared between some of the farmers. This was a large amish community, so the tractor (at the time) was of no use to many of the (amish) farmers.  Anyways, before the bailer, the cut grasses were cut and brought together in what are called shocks (google it - very beautiful sight on a hillside).  With the bailer, you could hook up a wagon and go straight from field to barn with these new rectangular shaped hay bails.  Great idea.

I am a big fan of the work of Nathalie Miebach.  She represent hurricane and other data through art.  She is able to dynamically communicate the storms.  What she does is in line with what I have seen from the best and brightest in high energy physics and astrophysics.  But, she seems to do it better.  I wish every scientist could take time to learn from Nathalie.  Why have we allowed art to be a stand alone?  In my opinion, it should be a component of every school of study as an understood way to enhance communication.

Add art to a business proposal and it takes on meaning and life.  Integrate it into a composition for a health plan and it sings and becomes effective as a part of a marketing effort.

​I would like to see Pathways done well.  We owe it to our kids.  And, we have to remember the big three: Language Arts (Communication), mathematics and art.  And, we have to rethink the role of each in the future.  Put the engine inside the car.

Here is a thought I often share to capture the essence of the Pathways school.  What if, for most of their upper elementary and secondary school career, our students should stop taking English and Math classes.  Rather, they took every year courses in Business Communication, Integrated Health Coding, Engineering Statistics and Applied Calculus, Art Applied to Enhance Health and Public Safety, or Presenting Natural Resources and Environmental Data Artistically. 

It's time to rethink teaching content through separate subject "islands."  Rather than separated course we would wish to integrate, let's put the "Why?" in education up front and consider this new paradigm shift.  

At ETHOS, we work to support STEM efforts in the schools in our Region, and are excited by the move of local schools to meet the State push for Pathways schools.  For more information, contact johnt@ethosinc.org.