Astronomy Project Ideas: Star Collision & More!

[BlackJack]

I've got a question about astronomy and star collision :

I have to make a project about a topic (in astronomy) which takes about half a year. Now one point is that you can't just collect data and write a a text about that. You also have to do some practical work. No first I wanted to choose star collision but I don't know what i could do for that (practical work ) ? Or do you guys know any good but not to complicated topics for a project in astronomy ?

thx

 

[Adrian Baker]

If it includes practical work, then many areas of astronomy are no good to you. Also, replications of 'Stellar events' can't simply be done in a lab.

How about building a telescope yourself? Loads of good Physics there..

Or devising a good way to view the transit of Venus acros the Sun in June? (I think it is in June)

 

[Nereid]

Measuring the rotation rates of the Sun? Seeing how they change over the period of a year? There's a link in another post on this board (or is it somewhere else in PF).

Calculating the speed of light from timing of Jovian satellite phenomena?

Statistics on cosmic rays (build a cloud chamber first)?

Lunar and asteroid occultations (working out how to make unbiassed determinations of the time of the event is not at all trivial)?

Meteor shower rates (build an all-sky camera, attach a webcam, record the results, do the analyses)?

 

[BlackJack]

Well the topic was given by the teacher. Star collision.

We know that we can't make a good reconstruction of the real thing, but shooting a balloon with a air gun should be okay ^^.

My question was more if you know any good links about star collision or what could I else do for this topic


just saw there is also a topic in the stellar part was that really me ?

 

[Deeviant]

Originally posted by BlackJack
Well the topic was given by the teacher. Star collision.

We know that we can't make a good reconstruction of the real thing, but shooting a balloon with a air gun should be okay ^^.

My question was more if you know any good links about star collision or what could I else do for this topic


just saw there is also a topic in the stellar part was that really me ?

Shooting a balloon with an airgun may be fun, but it has not a thing to do with star collision.

The "practical work" could be in the form of a presentation(perhaps an animation if you are computer savvy.)

Personally, I haven't heard much about star collisions but there a couple things you could easily infer.

A. The mass of the combined stars will be much greater and thus, if a stable star is in fact formed out of their union, the life cycle and eventual fate of the new star will be different from either of the two that formed it.

B. The energy released from such a collision would no doubt be enormous. All life within many lightyears would be devastated.

C. If a stable star is formed it could now have enough mass to go supernova at the end of its lifecycle and leave a black hole behind.