Dhara Patel
Senior Manager for Astronomy Education at the Royal Observatory Greenwich
Location London
Activity
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Dhara Patel replied to Margaret Aitchison
Setting expectations with your students seems like a very helpful technique to ensure everyone gets the most out of the session and time isn't wasted with preparations that could be done beforehand!
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Dhara Patel replied to A.S.H Nawal Tanvir
The Earth's axis is always tilted, but the tilt with respect the the Sun changes throughout the year as the Earth orbits it.
When the tilt of the Earth is neither pointing towards or away from the Sun (i.e. when it is perpendicular) we have the equinoxes (twice a year) - and these points in time mark the beginning of astronomical spring and astronomical autumn. -
Dhara Patel replied to A.S.H Nawal Tanvir
Absolutely - Mercury the closest planet takes just 88 days to orbit the Sun so it has a pretty short year, whereas Neptune the most distant planet takes about 165 Earth years to go around the Sun once! I'm not sure anyone would live to celebrate their first birthday living on Neptune!
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I think the decision would be different for different people.
I believe studying any of the physical sciences gives you such a breadth of transferable skills that there are many career prospects that could open up as a result. The thing with astronomy now, is that it's expanding into lots of different branches like space exploration, astrobiology and... -
Dhara Patel replied to Sara Evans
While astrology is considered by many as a pseudoscience, it's interesting to note that astronomy grew out of astrology as a scientific field.
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Dhara Patel replied to Brandy Foreman
Thank you for participating and sharing your thoughts so enthusiastically throughout the entire course - we hope you've taken some useful things away from it!
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I think this is what drew me to astronomy especially - it's inconceivably big and I am just a small part of it - but there are such interesting ways of connecting everything together!
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Dhara Patel replied to Kevin B
All the videos and more can be found on our vimeo page: www.vimeo.com/royalobservatory, or you can find the videos and associated classroom activities on our museum website: https://www.rmg.co.uk/schools-communities/all-astronomy-science-resources - enjoy!
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Dhara Patel replied to Brandy Foreman
This is a very relevant analogy that you can use with students to help them understand! Though it should be noted that the distance of the object from you and the light source also affects the size of the shadow.
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Dhara Patel replied to Brandy Foreman
I think it's still hard to conceptualise the big sizes even as an adult!
Thanks for sharing the resource - another one I've found that I really like is: https://www.htwins.net/scale2/ -
Dhara Patel replied to Brandy Foreman
That's a really nice idea!
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Dhara Patel replied to Brandy Foreman
Nice! Tails of gas/dust are often associated with comets, whereas meteors (shooting stars) move across the sky so quickly that they appear as a streak of light!
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Great point - interest should be fostered and encouraged!
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Very nice!
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Dhara Patel replied to Joanne Noirit
Yes - some asteroids may travel alone, most are found in the asteroid belt, and others known as trojan asteroids actually follow the orbit of a planet (slightly ahead or behind the planet in its orbit)!
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The Moon definitely shines bright in the night sky!
But what many people forget is that we also see the Moon during the day! -
Nice summary! Though when you say 'in Earth's orbit', it implies that the Moon follows the Earth's orbit, which it doesn't... maybe a slight reword to 'The Moon is a rock that orbits the Earth...'.
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Dhara Patel replied to Charlotte Evans
Glad to hear the course has been helpful to you in many ways!
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Dhara Patel replied to Charlotte Evans
Very eye opening - thanks for sharing your insights and reflections.
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Dhara Patel replied to James O'Connell
If you'd like to use the videos in your classroom you can find them on our Vimeo channel (www.vimeo.com/royalobservatory) or check out the learning resources on our museum's website (https://www.rmg.co.uk/schools-communities/all-astronomy-science-resources).
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Very succinct - nice! To expand on your point about 'It [field] is always there but the force is not', we can take the Earth as an example. Around the Earth there is a gravitational field, but a force only comes into play when a mass (like a human) enters that field - that's when a force is experienced!
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Dhara Patel replied to Nicole S
Thanks for sharing this resource!
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Dhara Patel replied to Giles Turner
We encourage teachers to use our videos in the most suitable way for their audience. And many educators on our teacher forum have fed back that they do just what you've suggested, and often pause the video at certain points!
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Dhara Patel replied to Tamara Talakesh
You can find this video along with many other on our Vimeo channel (www.vimeo.com/royalobservatory) or by checking out the learning resources on our museum's website (https://www.rmg.co.uk/schools-communities/all-astronomy-science-resources) - enjoy!
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Absolutely!
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Some really interesting points - thanks for sharing!
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Dhara Patel replied to Tafheem Saniya
I really like that notion!
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Dhara Patel made a comment
There's some really great ideas listed below - thank you all for sharing!
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From a students perspective - other than learning about different science topics, what else (skills or values) do you hope being taught science can help you develop? It would be interesting to know your thoughts!
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Dhara Patel replied to Tamara Talakesh
I case you're interested, we also have a training course for primary school science teachers: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/primary-science
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Thanks for sharing your perspectives as a current student!
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I think making science practical is something that many teachers struggle with due to resources and also the confines of the curriculum and how much needs to be covered.
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Dhara Patel replied to Ardee Donato
Many people might view science as a 'hard' subject so it's great to hear you were able to overcome that barrier to enjoy it!
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Dhara Patel made a comment
Hello all - we hope you're looking forward to going through Physics, Astronomy and Space: Teaching Secondary Science!
We were actively facilitating this course from 18 October - 7 November and enjoyed sharing our experiences in teaching astronomy and space science with you, and responding to your posts.
The next facilitated period will begin on Monday...
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Dhara Patel replied to Dhara Patel
@nazakatsherazi - I hope you find lots of help and guidance through this course and from there on I recommend trying to put into practice some of the tips and tricks you've learnt. Personally, I've found my presenting has improved by just doing and trying and then getting feedback to help me up my game!
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Dhara Patel replied to Christian Bowyer
It's easy to get mixed up with all the science jargon for space rocks!
The smaller rocks are actually called METEOROIDS and when the enter the Earth's atmosphere they are called METEORS.
And if they reach the Earth's surface without completely disintegrating, then they are called METEORITES!
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Dhara Patel replied to Edmund McKennall
Absolutely!
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Dhara Patel made a comment
Hello all - we hope you're looking forward to going through Physics, Astronomy and Space: Teaching Secondary Science!
The course educators will be back to facilitate the course between 18th October and 7th November 2021.
However, we're confident that you'll find support in the comments from other participants taking the course, so you can get started...
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That's a really good point you bring up about the fact that when we have night, on the opposite side of the Earth, it's actually daytime for those living there!
And although we typically see the Moon during the night (as it can be easier to spot then), the Moon DOES appear in the sky during the day when the Sun is up! During the day, you'll most likely spot...
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Dhara Patel replied to Kelly Claro
There are - aren't there!
Once you're on the Padlet board - in the top right corner, if you click 'share', you should be able to send or export the posts to wherever is convenient for you :) -
Dhara Patel replied to Paul Sutton
Giving students the responsibility to drive the learning forward, such as by giving then control of the whiteboard, can be really powerful :)
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Dhara Patel replied to Paul Sutton
Thanks for sharing this!
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Dhara Patel replied to Edmund McKennall
I often find myself in the same position as you!
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Yes - gravity waves can be generated in fluids as a result of the force of gravity and it's important to note that these are different to gravitational waves which have stolen headlines in the past few years!
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Agreed!
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Dhara Patel replied to Cormac Jaffari
The second part about it being detected from behind a black hole is also puzzling but it's possible due to an effect known as gravitational lensing.
- just like we are pulled to the Earth by gravity and just like the Earth is pulled around the Sun by gravity - light can also be "pulled" or bent by gravity when the central object has an incredible amount of...
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Dhara Patel replied to Cormac Jaffari
Black holes are fascinating, aren't they?!
There's a few different aspects to the article you may have recently read but in essence:- there are charged particles moving incredibly quickly around a black hole and they create a magnetic field.
- but because of the spinning, those magnetic fields get tied up and snap - when they do, particles called...
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Dhara Patel replied to Kelly Claro
I really like your comments about the fact that science is something that is part of our everyday lives!
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You're absolutely correct that all the planets circle or orbit around the Sun but all the stars we see at night are actually just like our Sun - huge balls of very very hot gas! They are not part of our solar system (they don't go around our Sun), though they can have planets going around them just like our Sun does!
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Dhara Patel replied to Cormac Jaffari
A really nice description :)
There are lots of different types of space rocks - asteroids and meteorites that you mention are a few but in the next step we'll introduce other types and hopefully you'll see the subtle differences between a meteorite and a meteor for example. -
Dhara Patel replied to Cormac Jaffari
This is a lovely idea - thanks for sharing!
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That's great to hear!
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Dhara Patel replied to Christian Maskey
As you say, technically the content is correct but the visuals may lead to a misunderstanding. A valid point - thanks for highlighting this.
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Dhara Patel replied to Christian Maskey
I second the final comment you make whole heartedly!
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Dhara Patel replied to Paul Sutton
This is such a valid point to raise @PaulSutton and I totally agree that people should be encouraged to question things!
Typically astronomers will use life on Earth as a benchmark because we know that life is possible in that way, but it's important not to rule out that other types of life could exist. Right now though, we don't really know what could...
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Dhara Patel replied to Paul Sutton
Spot on!
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Nicely differentiated!
However, the gravitational field strength 'g' of each planet does differ and is not the same. I assume you mean the Universal Gravitational Constant 'G' is the number that stays the same? -
Good point - the gravitational field strength on Earth (at the surface) is taken as 9.81 m/s^2. But this value does vary over the planet because the Earth isn't a perfect sphere and the value of 'g' depends on the distance from the centre of Mass - in this case, the Earth's centre of mass. Because the equator bulges out a bit more and the poles are slightly...
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Dhara Patel replied to Paul Sutton
Generally the whole 'opposite direction down a plughole' is a misconception - though due to something known as the Coriolis Effect, it could be possible to see this manifest with a larger, slower moving system.
It's usually the design of the plug hole, any currents already in the water and the direction the water was travelling in before the plug was pulled,... -
Even as someone who has studied physics and now communicates astronomy regularly, I still find myself in situations where I don't know the answer to a question someone asks me. That itself is not an issue - it's how you deal with the scenario that I find is more important!
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Thanks for sharing this @SamuelShute - it's great to have a student's perspective on what makes an engaging lesson.
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Dhara Patel replied to Samuel Shute
Nice idea!
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Dhara Patel replied to Maurane Gisiger
Nice idea!
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Educators use these videos in different ways - sometimes chunking it and watching in small sections can help you and also students who might be shown it. There's a lot of information jam-packed into 2-3 minutes, so a second watch is totally understandable and expected!
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This is a great explanation with nice size comparisons!
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Dhara Patel replied to Katarzyna Krawczak
Indeed - asteroids are made of rock and metal but so are rocky planets like Earth, so when you say they are 'the biggest chunks', don't forget to clarify what you mean. For example: they are the biggest chunks of non-spherical-shaped space rocks!
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Dhara Patel replied to Fiona D
Great job - remember the smaller ones are called meteoroids and when they fall through our atmosphere they become meteors!
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That's right - the Moon doesn't make its own light, the Sun's light is reflected off its surface, allowing us to see it.
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A great start Alexandra! Funnily enough, although the Sun can be observed through a special telescope, the reactions happening inside the Sun happen on an atomic level, so are actually too small to be perceived. Instead scientists have worked like crime scene investigators and have pieced together the other evidence to indicate the process of nuclear fusion...
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Dhara Patel made a comment
Welcome everyone! We'll be facilitating this course `Our Solar System and Beyond: Teaching Primary Science' for the next 3 weeks - we're looking forward to joining you as you delve into the course!
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Dhara Patel replied to N Yasmin
All really nice ides!
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Dhara Patel replied to Amanda Oliver
Haha - a great question and maybe something that could be discussed with students! At present, even getting astronauts to Mars isn't really feasible, but even if we could get them to Mars in the very near future, getting them back will be the bigger challenge.
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This is such a good point - I definitely fell into the 'rote learning' category when preparing for exams in secondary school - in my personal experience it's not the way to build a good foundation of knowledge and understanding!
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Really good points - it is a relatively small sample size and precise details about the data collection aren't given, but hopefully it gives learners on this course a chance to reflect on their own experiences and compare it to what's shared here!
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Dhara Patel made a comment
Welcome everyone! We'll be facilitating this course `Physics, Astronomy and Space: Teaching Secondary Science' for the next 3 weeks - we're looking forward to joining you as you delve into the course!
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This is what I love about science too - all the questions and answers (and answers yet to be discovered)!
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Dhara Patel replied to Kimberley Cowell
I agree that's really important - to demonstrate to students that we are continuously learning and it doesn't stop at a certain age!
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That's a shame to hear but it's great to know that despite your experiences, your passion for the subject has not been subdued!
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Dhara Patel made a comment
Hello everyone! The previous facilitated run of `Astronomy and Space Physics: Teaching Secondary Science' has ended. So we (the course educators) won't be about but we encourage you to still go through the course and learn with other participants!
Our next facilitated run will be between 9 August - 29 August - we'll be back then.
We hope that you enjoy...
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Nice!
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Dhara Patel replied to Elise Mann
Thanks for taking part and for all your valuable and insightful comments! Love the quote :)
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Dhara Patel replied to Elise Mann
Hahaha - that's a brilliant idea!
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Time can certainly prevent educators from being able to use such projects with their students in the class, but sharing these as ideas for students to explore in their own time can be useful, even if not all of them decide to try it!
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It's a shame and I think these struggles are also experienced by other educators too.
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Feel free to share how you approach teaching science here in the chat instead, if you wish!
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Dhara Patel replied to Elise Mann
Thanks for sharing!
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Dhara Patel replied to Elise Mann
Great ideas on the physical, chemical and biological aspects we need to consider when thinking about the question - are their aliens!
As for the idea of 'twinkling stars' it's been used in this video as a descriptor and a potential talking point.
Many students ask why stars twinkle and it's a prime opportunity to talk about the idea that these stars are... -
Dhara Patel replied to Elise Mann
That's a lovely idea!
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Dhara Patel replied to Elise Mann
Thanks for your honest feedback - we encourage educators to use the resources as appropriate for their class and that might mean only showing part of the video, showing in it small segments / pausing it, using it as an introduction or a summary and then getting students to explore some of the new ideas from there...
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Dhara Patel replied to Elise Mann
You're correct that the temperatures does change at the equator throughout the year and thank you for your articulate explanation about what people living there would actually experience.
For the sake of simplicity in this short video, we say that the temperatures are fairly constant in the sense that they don't vary as much - as you put it 'Not as big a...
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Dhara Patel replied to Elise Mann
We'd encourage educators to use the videos in whatever way works for them and their students. Teachers have suggested they would pause the video at certain parts.
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Dhara Patel replied to Kimberley Cowell
This sounds like a really beneficial practice!
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Dhara Patel replied to Elise Mann
A really valid point!
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I assume 'fidget' was a typo! and you meant to type 'digest' :)
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Dhara Patel replied to Zardie Ettaqar
Out of interest, are there any sticking points / questions you have yourself, having watched the video and read through the summary points?
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Dhara Patel replied to James Morrell
These are some really useful tips - thanks for sharing!
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I really like the analogies you use to help students understand the concept of gravity, using something they may already be familiar with e.g. magnets!
Analogies can be super useful but what I've found is that you have to also share the limitations of the analogy, else students can end up with misconceptions.
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Dhara Patel replied to vania aasir
I assume you yourself are a student - what are your views on how science is taught at your school?
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Dhara Patel replied to Lynn D
Stories are a fantastic tool to engage your audience - whether they are students or adults you're speaking to!
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Dhara Patel replied to Ave Marie Recluta
Perfectly summarised :)
