This is the first of two creative assignments for this course. The last assignment of this kind will the final project, replacing the finals exam.

The assignment involves either a reflective essay or a creative submission, such as a video, illustration, website, slide deck, or an art piece. See Q &A. The total time spent, including research and planning, should be about 15 hours.

Pick either of following related to modern-day astronomy controversies. For any of the options provide a 3-4 page long (typed, single spaced, 12-pt font, uploaded as a PDF to Canvas; including any illustrations or graphic items within page limits) or a creative submission (see below) answering the  questions phrased. It should include a description of scientific context or scientific facts, but this is a free form assignment allowing opinions not just scientific facts alone. There are no wrong or right answers but you are free to take a side. It does not have to be for science (and what is for science might not be easily clear).

I.         Option 1: Who owns the mountain top?

In class when discussing Chapter 6 on telescopes and observatories we will soon discuss an issue related to the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and Mauna Kea, Hawaii where TMT is aiming to be located at. This is not addressed in the class textbook (thought a table in Chapter 6 lists TMT as under construction). TMT is led by the University of California system, which UCI is one of the campuses, and Caltech in     Pasadena with a few foreign partners from Japan, India and China. The telescope was to have begun construction in 2010 but still no stone has been laid on the ground on    Mauna Kea due to protests in Hawaii against the construction. Do as much research    as you can, both for and against the telescope. What specific science in astronomy is   aimed with the telescope? Why are there protests against the telescope? Do protestors have a valid claim? There is no wrong or right answer here. State facts and feel free to state your opinions in your submission.

II.       Option 2: Who owns the near-Earth orbits and night sky?

Again, when discussing Chapter 6, we will discuss an issue related to astronomical  observations from Earth where streaks of satellites show up on night sky images and photographs, ruining the data or observations. The issue does not just impact astronomy at the professional level but also amateur astronomers who use small telescopes for night viewing and astrophotography as a hobby. The satellites are mostly a part of the mega satellite constellations, one of which is Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink network. Starlink, for example, once fully deployed in 2025 will be close to 30,000 satellites in low Earth orbits (around 200 km) providing internet coverage worldwide, connecting areas that do not have wired broadband access. SpaceX justifies a mega constellation as a commercial need to raise funds for their goal of human travel to Mars and starting a human colony there. There are other        companies aiming at the same business model of mega constellations for internet and communications (e.g., Kuiper network by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon), Do as much research as you can on this controversy. What kind of astronomy science is      impacted by mega constellations? Do we need these constellations? Is there a middle ground? Again, there is no wrong or right answer here. State facts and feel free to state your opinions in your submission.

III.      Option 3: Should US tax payers support big astronomy?

With issues on the ground (above two controversies, for example), astronomy has mostly moved to space with orbital spacecrafts as observatories and telescopes. Hubble Space Telescope is a good example of this that most Americans know and have heard of. Last year, NASA, with European Space Agency ESA as a partner,        successfully launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The issue with JWST,   and upcoming space telescopes, is the cost to build and launch large telescopes to space. NASA took close to 20 years to build JWST for a total cost around $10B. With science operations over 20 years, the total cost will be upwards of $15B. It is expected that ideas for replacement space telescopes for Hubble and JWST – to be launched in 2030s – will cost around $20B for each telescope. As NASA is a government agency (and not a for-profit company) all of the funds are paid for US tax payers. Almost all of basic scientific research is paid for by tax payers.

US and the world as a whole are facing many problems, from climate change to issues of poverty and many others. Is it justified to spend large sums of money for a scientific pursuit involving big telescopes like JWST when we need funds for more practical issues on Earth? You might want to compare the historical context here; In Chapter 3, the Danish King that hired Tycho Brahe spent 1% of GDP of Denmark   then to convert an island to an observatory, Uraniborg, for Brahe. Did that King get what he wanted from Brahe?  Are the US tax payers getting a justified return for big science projects in astronomy? Again, there is no right or wrong answer here. State  facts and feel free to state your opinions in your submission.

PS. If you look up JWST controversies you might see another one, which is not what this assignment is asking but you may want to read about.  James Webb was the NASA administrator from mid 1960s for whom the telescope is named after, His       name or person is now considered controversial due to  claims that he supported        administrative efforts in the mid 1960s against LGBTQs working within the US Government. NASA has declined to rename the telescope.

Instructions

While the preference is for submissions that are based on science and scientific       statements, due to the nature of two options and reflectiveness, submissions that     involve personal opinions or spiritual/religious statements where necessary will be acceptable for this assignment.  The work must be based on your own words and    statements (you will find similar essays for sale on websites, but Canvas will check for plagiarism – I am tolerant of many things including delayed homework or replacing exams with simpler assignments, but not plagiarism).