Miaplacidus

GUIDELINES FOR THE STAR REPORT (ASTR 203 – Spring 2020; Fleming/Litke)
1. First draft must be submitted to the D2L “Dropbox” by 5:00pm on March 6. Feel free
to submit it earlier if you are done. Your first draft will be submitted to the website
TurnItIn.com!
2. When you submit your first draft, we will give you feedback on your writing style, point
out what is missing from the report, and tell you how to make the report better. We do
ask that you submit a substantial first draft which represents your best effort, so that
we can supply you with meaningful feedback! If you follow our advice on your first
draft, then you should receive a perfect score on your final report. The reason for the
March 6 deadline is to allow us to give you feedback in time for your final version.

However, if you choose not to submit a first draft, you are taking a big risk. You will
not have the benefit of our feedback concerning what is wrong with your report, so you
risk getting a low score on the final report!
3. Our librarians have posted information literacy and other reference information on D2L
which will assist you in researching and writing your Star Report. Look for the “Library
Tools” link on the right side of the lower Nav-Bar of our D2L course homepage.
4. The general format of the paper should be:
Cover page (Your Title = Star name, your name)
Abstract (a brief summary that advertises what is of interest in your report)
Main Body: introduce your topic
present data and information
develop your topic
summarize and conclude
(NOTE: It would be a good idea to organize your content into sections and subsections.)
Reference List (from reference citations made in the Main Body)
(NOTE: You must cite the original reference; citations such as Wikipedia are not allowed!
You may use any citation style, e.g. MLA, if you wish; just be consistent!)
Any Figures or Tables you may have (or they could be imbedded in the Main Body)
Be concise and direct in communicating the information. Follow any guidelines you
find on the Information Literacy pages.
5. Length of report: As many pages as you need to communicate the information that
you have. However, it would be difficult to discuss everything we know about any star
in under 10 double-spaced pages. However, if you can do it, fine. We are grading
quality, not quantity. We want a sense of how well you understand your star.
6. The first draft and final report must be in digital format; you may use any MS WORD
[*.doc or *.docx] or Adobe PDF format. Please double-space the first draft so that we
can easily edit it. You will submit your reports to the D2L website DROPBOX before
the appropriate deadlines. NO HANDWRITTEN REPORTS WILL BE ACCEPTED!
7. Content of the report: Describe everything that is known about your star! Show us that
you are an expert on your star! The report should cover information on your star such
as:
1) What is its position in the HR Diagram?
2) List all properties of your star like parallax, proper motion, color, magnitude,
spectral type, luminosity class, R.A., Dec., etc.
3) Where is it in its own life cycle?
4) How does it generate energy? or does it generate any new energy?
5) Describe how your star will end its life.
6) What is its location with respect to our Sun?
7) How was your star named?
8) What is the story behind the constellation in which your star resides?
9) Is your star a binary? If so, what is its period and mass?

Do not discuss astrology or use astrological references except in an historical
context, please!!
8. Finally, remember that you are not graded on the first draft. You may add new
information in April to the final report, which is due at 5:00pm (Arizona time!!) on
April 17. Your grade for the Star Report (100 pts), which is 12.5% of your final course
grade, will be based solely on your final report.
Suggested Star Report Structure
I. Writing the Abstract
The abstract goes at the beginning of your report, right after the title page, but it is the
last section of your report which you will write. The abstract is the first thing someone will
read after the title of the report. The purpose of the abstract is to summarize and
advertise your report. The abstract must convince the reader to read the entire report.
Look over your entire report. Revisit your analysis of the star and the arguments you
have made to explain its nature. Based on what you have learned about all stars in this
course, what makes your star stand out? Why is your star interesting? Why should
anyone take the time to read your report? These are the questions which you must
address in your abstract.
II. Write an Introduction
Introduce your topic by bringing the reader into the story of your star.
III. Origin of Name and Constellation Myth or History
The star name will be one of four types:
1. Proper
2. Bayer
3. Flamsteed
4. Catalog
Where did it come from? If a proper name, from which language is it derived? Proper
names are sometimes connected to the story/myth behind the constellation in which the
star resides. Is it? What is the story or myth behind the naming of the constellation?
IV. Properties of the Star
Use the SIMBAD database, Catalogue of Bright Stars, or other stellar database to
compile the properties of your star. Stellar data is best presented in a report as a table.
You may refer to the table when discussing your star’s properties in the text. The
following properties should be included:
1. coordinates: R.A. & Dec. 5. spectral type & luminosity class
2. distance and/or parallax angle 6. surface temperature
3. proper motion 7. mass (if known)
4. radial velocity 8. if binary: separation & period of orbit
How can you judge the accuracy of these properties? When conflicting values are found,
which value do you choose? [HINT: Why is the year contained in the bibliography
reference for the data very important?] V. Life Cycle of the Star
Locate your star on the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram. What does your star’s
location on the H-R Diagram tell you about where it is in its life cycle? How does your star
generate energy? or does it? Describe the nuclear fusion reaction(s) responsible for
energy generation.
Use this information, combined with mass, to determine how your star will die in the
future? Or is your star already “dead”? Which stellar remnant will your star leave behind
after its death? There are only three possibilities:
1. white dwarf
2. neutron star
3. black hole
VI. Other Information of Interest
Be sure to describe anything else that you have learned about you star that is
interesting. For example: Have extrasolar planets been discovered to orbit your star?
Does your star have unusual chemical abundances in its atmosphere? Is your star a
variable star?
VII. Conclusion
Summarize all of the information which you have just presented and make some
concluding remarks about your star.
VIII. Reference List
List the bibliographic references for all source material that you used to write this report.
Be sure to list the original source…not an encyclopedia like Wikipedia. You must also
cite your references within the body of the report wherever you present or discuss
information that came from a given reference.
IX. Figures or Tables
Figures and tables go here unless they are embedded in the text