COMPUTERS PUT STARS IN SKY-WATCHERS' EYES.Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer When Caitlin Dailey and Lorie Lewis signed up for an astronomy lab at California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an , they assumed they would be spending a lot of time outdoors, scanning the night sky. Instead, they spent one recent class in the university's new $125,000 ``smart lab,'' poring over computerized images of the moon and calculating the age of the lunar craters. Students say the small-screen preview helps them understand what they view later through a telescope. ``It makes it a lot easier,'' said Dailey, 21, of Northridge, who plans to go into public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most . ``When you look at the night sky, you know what you're looking at.'' The smart lab that debuted this semester in Eucalyptus eucalyptus (y  'kəlĭp`təs): see myrtle. eucalyptus Hall features 24 computer stations, with 24 more on order. TheSky6 software lets students simulate the astronomical sky anywhere in the world and also provides access to other kinds of data - such as 25 years worth of information on the sun's magnetic fields magnetic fields, n.pl the spaces in which magnetic forces are detectable; created by magnetostrictive ultrasonic scalers to cause the tips of instruments such as ultrasonic scalers to vibrate. . ``It's an astronomer's dream,'' said J. David Osorio, 27, of Sylmar, a graduate teaching assistant. Students can study the role of errors in astronomical measurements and even how to convert telescope observations to physical quantities, such as wavelength and velocity. They also do field observations, in addition to the in-class assignments. About 1,000 students take astronomy courses each semester at CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge . For some, it's the first steps toward a doctorate and careers as astronomers or astrophysicists An astrophysicist is a person who professionally studies and conducts research in astrophysics. Famous astrophysicists
But even if the students don't go on to work for NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. , officials say the class can serve as a good introduction to the sciences, since astronomy combines physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology and techniques from engineering and computer science. ``I'm not a science person,'' said Lewis, who plans to go into marketing and apparel design. ``I thought you would have to know something (about science beforehand), but I'm doing OK. I couldn't even find the Big Dipper Big Dipper, familiar configuration of stars visible in the constellation Ursa Major (see Ursa Major and Ursa Minor). before this class.'' Lisa M. Sodders, (818) 713-3663 lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) CSUN student Fred Reba, a sophomore who has not picked a major, counts craters on a computer monitor in the school's new smart lab during an introductory astronomy class. (2) A computer model in the new smart lab during an astronomy class shows craters on a section of the moon. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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