ASTR-3760 (Spring 2015), Solar and Space Physics
HOMEWORK 3 (Due Friday, February 27, 2015)


This assignment is slightly different from the others. (Hat-tip to Steve Bradshaw at Rice University for the idea for this kind of assignment!)

News stories about the Sun and space physics often appear in the media. This assignment is an opportunity for you to use a popular article as a "gateway" to learning more about the science behind the story.

Choose a recent article (see list of sites and examples below) that interests you, then write a brief report that describes the science upon which it is based. Some key questions that you may like to consider include:

Your report should be about 1000 words in length, which is roughly 4 double-spaced pages. It can also include images or equations, but those don't count toward the 1000 word total. Please also include a full copy of the news story (with URL) that you chose to analyze. You can submit the whole thing -- your report and the story it's based on -- either electronically (PDF preferred; see main course page for my email address) or on paper.

Your grade will be based on how well you convey your understanding of the topic (i.e., expressing what you have learned in your own words) and how you link the material to the topics that we're covering in class. Spelling and proper grammar will also be taken into account, since the ability to communicate your thoughts clearly in writing is a key skill to develop.

Science media news sites:

On the following sites, it will be helpful to search for keywords like "Sun", "solar flare", "solar wind", "plasma", "magnetosphere", or "aurora":

Below are a few recent example news articles that would fit the bill for this assignment. For your own report, please try to find other articles to use besides these (i.e., treat these only as a last resort): Your article doesn't have to be super-recent. If you have a question about whether or not a specific news story fits the bill for this assignment, please feel free to email me the link.

As you already know from the syllabus, the CU Boulder academic integrity policy needs to be obeyed at all times, and this includes plagiarism. Some other local online guides that go into more detail about plagiarism include those at CU Denver and Colorado State. It's definitely not worth the risk to your academic career to go down that road.


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