Project template for Astronomy Projects & Project Ideas

In order to document your research on your portfolio pages, consider the following outline as a template you might use to report your efforts.  A well presented web-based report can also serve as a term paper.

1. PURPOSE AND GOAL STATEMENT

What I am / we are trying to accomplish, prove, investigate, discover...

2. SELECTION OF OBSERVING TARGETS TO MEET THIS GOAL

Indicate which astronomical objects are included in your observing plan, and why they have been selected. Give RA & Dec coordinates and short descriptor for each object. Need ideas? Try a search or index look at site http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html 

3. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Here you describe your observing efforts and details of date, time, telescope, camera, settings (exposure, filter, flatfields and dark frames obtained, etc). Describe how you examined your data, software used, what works best, etc.

4. ANCILLARY DATA

Here you can add information obtained from catalogs or other library or web sources that provide information about your targets, theory, etc.

5. RESULTS

Clearly state what you conclude, in the context of your goals and data. Compare with text or web published results. Also, discuss HOW YOU COULD DO THIS PROJECT BETTER, e.g. more flatfields or whatever.

6. REFERENCES

Bibliography of sources, text and web in origin. CITE YOUR SOURCES!
Let me know any ideas you'd like to share on this outline. I'll be looking at your portfolio.du.edu pages with great expectations. --Dr.Bob