science fair astronomy ideas?

Question

any1 no any good ideas for a science fair project based on astronomy? i need one for tm and i cant think of anything that i can do. and i cant switch my subject.

o and im in high school. sophomore

i need a question. none of this project stuff. i can do that myself.

i need a question by tm not a project

Answer 1

Here's a quick and easy project, since it's due tomorrow:

The topic is: Earth's Dynamo

Take a sphere and insert a bar magnet into the center. Attach a label to the North pole labeled "Dynamo".

In the narrative, write:

Earth has a molten iron/nickel Dynamo in the center of the globe. You can envision it as a bar magnet in the center of a sphere. When the Earth spins on its axis, "eddy currents" are generated in the molten iron/nickel Dynamo. This results in the creation of magnetic fields which affect Surface Gravity.

It's the surface gravity that keeps you held down to a planet, otherwise you would free float. Surface gravity is what keeps the atmosphere and the water held to a planet too. On Earth, the surface gravity is 0.5 to 2.0 Gauss. Which means the molten dynamo in the center of earth (again, think of it as a long bar magnet in a sphere) is at least 5,000 Gauss (1/2 Tesla) to 20,000 Gauss (2 Tesla). So if you landed on Mars or Ganymede, you would have to drill a shaft 1/2 way down and insert a stacked NeBFe Bar Magnet or Superconducting Magnet to increase the surface gravity. Then measure the surface gravity with a Gaussmeter and if it equals 0.5 to 2.0 Gauss, you could start pumping oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen into this man made bubble. You wouldn't have to worry about floating away, or not having oxygen to breathe (of course you will need grass seeds and some soil).

In our Milky Way Galaxy there are 235 planetary bodies, of which 169 moons are in our Solar System. These 169 moons are the well documented satellite moons of the 9 planets. Jupiter alone has 63 moons. The challenge lies in how we can build atmospheres on them to support human life and all other living things. Also, we have to weed out the ones that are inhospitable.

Venus=0, Earth=1, Mars=2, Jupiter=63, Saturn=60, Uranus=27, Neptune=13, Pluto=3

The trick is to categorize them into planets/moons that either spin on their axis, or don't. Then, increase the surface gravity by inserting a Superconducting Magnet into the core. The magnet would range from 2 Tesla to 15 Tesla, depending on the amount of iron/nickel that is present in the core.

Finally, you would have to introduce atmospheric gases (nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide) into the man made electromagnetic bubble. Armed with this knowledge, we can build restaurants throughout our Milky Way Galaxy.

Answer 2

Maybe a little basic for high school, but if done well it can still be good. A scale model of the solar system. I am not talking about the cheapo foam ball kits you buy at the store, but a true scale model, where the ball representing the Sun has a diameter 100 times the ball representing Earth, and the distances between the planets is in the same scale as the planets, which always requires an outdoor setup, sometimes miles long. One good scale has the Sun the size of a basketball, the Earth the size of a pinhead, and the distance between them is 90 feet. Then Pluto is almost a mile away. See the sources.

Answer 3

campbelb2002 has an excellent idea but keep in mind if you make the solar system to scale it is going to take up a lot of room. Even if you make the sun the size of a bb then Neptune will still be about 12 feet away. And poor Earth would be about the size of a pixel on your screen. You could to the solar system to scale as far as the size of the sun and planets, but you can forget about distances between.

Astronomers can find other planets in distant solar systems by locating stars that wobble due to the gravitational effects that their planets have on them. Maybe this is something you can use.
Astronomers also use spectrometers that measure wavelengths of light to find out the composition of stars, planets, or anything else that emits light. You could possibly use this too.
These two ideas are pretty advanced and if you want a project that is going to stand out you could try them
Goodluck with your project. Have fun!

Answer 4

Take a series of photos of Perseus night after night. You will eventually catch Algol in eclipse (its period is about 2.87 days). And, since we are in the time when Perseid meteors appear, you should pick up a couple of those also. Use a combination of exposure times: 10, 15 and 20 seconds. A series of photos of the Moon showing the advancing terminator and how it affects the appearance of surface features such as craters, hills, rilles, etc.

Answer 5

I like the Dynamo project that was posted here. The question for this project would be, "How does the Earth's internal dynamo create surface gravity to hold down its atmosphere and water?"

Answer 6

You can make a model of Saturn and it's rings with ordinary household items. Fill a large mixing bowl up two inches from the top with water, stir the water in one direction until a vortex forms, place a sponge ball into the vortex and then sprinkle black pepper into the water, the pepper will form rings around the ball, just like those of Saturn.

Answer 7

create a new law of physics, that should get em excited.

Otherwise u cant go wrong with the basics. create an in depth model of our solar system, go into detail on each layer of the planets. dont forget to mention the asteriod belt, the kuiper belt, pluto, eris and other dwarf planets (and why they arent planets). and definately tell how the sun works and the different layers.

Answer 8

How about building your own solar viewing device similar to a sunspotter?

http://www.space.com/SpaceReportersNetworkAmateurAstronomy/Ward_SunspotterResubphotofix_101502.html

That would be easier to do, fun to see sunspots at your fair, and you could use it later for eclipses too.

My club owns a Sunspotter and it is a great tool.

Answer 9

Make the moon Io and put dry ice in the sphere with little pin holes all over it to represent the volcanic activity.

http://www.faktabanken.nu/solsyst/jupiter_io3r.jpg