Astronomy & the Process of Science

1
Astronomy the Process of Science

• What makes something scientific?
• What makes Astronomy a science?
• Why is Astrology not science?

2
Science or Non-Science?

• Could these be evaluated scientifically?
• The Yankees are the best baseball team of all
  time.
• Several kilometers below its surface, Jupiters
  moon Europa has an ocean of liquid water
• My house is haunted by ghosts who make creaking
  noises only I hear every night.
• Dogs are smarter than cats.

3
Hallmarks of Science

• Seek explanations from natural causes
• Progresses through creation and testing of models
  of nature that explain observations as simply as
  possible.
• Makes testable predictions, and revises or
  abandons models if predictions dont agree with
  observations.

4
Science or Non-Science?

• The Yankees are the best baseball team of all
  time. testable, but depends upon definition of
  Best that is subjective
• Several kilometers below its surface, Jupiters
  moon Europa has an ocean of liquid
  watertestable, but we dont have technology yet
• My house is haunted by ghosts who make creaking
  noises only I hear every night.testable, but
  supernatural is not scientific
• Dogs are smarter than cats. testable, but depends
  upon definition of smarter that is subjective

5
Science or Non-Science?

• Could these be evaluated scientifically?
• There is no liquid water on the surface of Mars
  today.
• Children born when Jupiter is in front of Taurus
  are more likely to be musicians than other
  children.
• Aliens can manipulate time so that they can
  abduct people and perform experiments on them
  without people every realizing they were taken.

6
Science or Non-Science?

• Could these be evaluated scientifically?
• Newtons law of gravity works as well for
  explaining orbits of planets around other stars
  as it does for planets in our own solar system.
• God created the laws of motion that were
  discovered by Newton.
• A huge fleet of alien spacecraft will land on
  Earth on January 1, 2020.

7
The process of science

• Observe things in nature
• Patterns (seasons repeat every year)
• Motions (planets move across the sky)
• Events (eclipses!)
• What isnt there! (feeling like we are moving)
• Ask Questions
• What? When? Where? How? and WHY?
• Research prior explanations models
• Requires imagination to tell what is important

8
The process of science

• Create Explanations (Theories)
• Consistent with what is already known
• Able to predict events, observations, trends
• Develop TESTABLE hypotheses
• Educated Guess
• Specific, narrow focus
• Do the experiment
• Feynman How not to be fooled.

9
The Scientific Method

• Analyze Results
• Most likely result you cant tell
• Next most likely hypothesis is wrong!
• And if you are right?
• Why arent you certain??
• Always uncertainty in every measurement, and in
  every result.
• Experiment itself might not be able to tell.

10
The Scientific Method

• Develop Conclusions based on data
• Anticipate sources of error
• Refine or Discard Hypothesis
• Develop further tests Repeat!
• Compare results w/ existing theories
• Share preliminary results
• Submit a paper to peer-reviewed journal
• Ask colleagues for input
• Present at conferences
• Discuss, Debate, Defend results

11
The Scientific Method

• Seek independent confirmationthen
• Revise Theories
• Do new experiments
• Develop new techniques, equipment,
• Publish again

12
Astrology

• Consider your sunsign

13
The process of science

• OK, so why isnt Astrology a science???
• Observe behavior trends
• Categorize into signs
• Create a theory the planets and stars are
  responsible
• Test read your horoscope! Thats ME!!
• Publish

14
The process of science

• Consider the following
• Heres the pitch and Bonds hits it high, hits
  it deepits outta here! Barry Bonds is the best
  home run hitter in history.
• From this one pitch, could you predict that on
  the next pitch he will hit a home run?

15
The process of science

• No. You cannot make a valid conclusion from one
  instance where a theory does coincide with a
  prediction.
• Science demands continual testing.
• Science requires that if the prediction DOESNT
  match the result, the theory must be modified!

16
The process of science

• Consider the followingThe planet is getting
  warmer and warmer. Volcanoes are responsible, not
  people.
• The first part can be true.
• The second part might not be the whole story!

17
The process of science

• AstrologyPersonalities and actions of people
  can be studied, and similarities between people
  can be identified.
• The planets and stars are responsible.

18
The process of science

• AstrologyPersonalities and actions of people
  can be studied, and similarities between people
  can be identified.
• The planets and stars are responsible.
• The first part can be true! Psychology!
• The second part is not.

19
SummaryThe Process of Science

• observation of data, developing questions about
  trends, differences, unique occurrences seen
• research into previous work on similar questions
• building models creating testable hypotheses
• designing, gathering new data through,
  experiments
• testing refining the models based on the
  analysis of new data collected

20
Summary The Process of Science

• modifying or discarding incorrect hypotheses
• developing interconnected hypotheses into
  theories
• sharing results with peers for independent
  evaluation and testing
• publishing findings in peer-reviewed journals so
  that the community of science can advance.