Watch the BBC 2 Jungle Episode. Answer these questions. This will replace any single problem set from the semester.

tPOL Rubric

Reflection Questions

Reflection on the semester.

Write a one page reflection the year (300 words minimum) focused on showing your readiness to move to 10th or 11th grade. How did you grow in science, math, Spanish, and humanities? How about growth outside of school during the semester? Where are your strengths? Where do you need to improve? What are your goals for the coming years? Use evidence in the form of work from class to show the growth.

Focus on reflection. Summarization is not reflection.  This one pager will help form the basis for your tPOL – a 7 – 10 minute reflection in front of your teachers and a peer panel on the growth you experienced this year and why you are ready for the next grade level.

For blog post twelve, please post your final products. See the list below:

• When you have completed your page(s) for the book, and it is ready for publishing (approved by Brian/Adam with page number, etc), upload the page onto your blog. Include a brief comment on what you learned from creating a publishable piece.
• Choose your best photo from the past semester. Process it to bring out detail, contrast, composition. Save the file as a 300 dpi, 13″x9″ jpg or psd. You have to use the original file that has not been emailed or put on social media, etc. You want the largest possible file for the best detail. We will begin printing these next week. Include a brief description of how you captured the shot, what equipment you’ve used, settings (etc)
• We are going out on May 23rd for an evening astronomy class. Post the processed image of the solar object you and your partner(s) imaged. Include a reflection on what you learned camping and looking at the stars.

What struck you about the June and Cassini missions to Jupiter and Saturn, respectively? What does it mean for humanity that we have managed to send a probes to observe Saturn’s moons and rings as well as look at the clues of Jupiter’s origin? What questions does it raise for you?

Juno Mission 

Cassini Mission

Brightness refers to how lit up the photo is. You want your photo brighter for print because it book pages aren’t back lit. Contrast refers to the level of color difference between corresponding parts of the photo.  To adjust brightness and contrast follow these tips.

Levels refer to the range of tone and color in the photo. Typically, photo data has information in specific ranges. You want the levels of your photo to reflect where the data is. To adjust levels check out this page. 

Image sharpness refers to how in focus parts of your image are. This is a major issue with many of the images set to go in our book. To learn to adjust image sharpness, watch this short video.

Your assignment is to process an image in photo shop that you are planning to put in the book. Get it checked with Brian this afternoon. Show him the before and after. Also, post the before and after to Blog Post 11. Once Brian checks it off, put it into your page.

Read the following texts on wide field astrophotography:

• Shooting Night Landscapes
• Wide Field Astrophotography 
• Star Trails

Finally sign up for a time on a telescope or for wide field photography on this spreadsheet for our May 23rd camping trip.

This weeks blog post will be a little different than usual. In the link below is a series of questions for you to answer about the article you’ve read. Your response to these questions will be the first part of your blog post this week.

ARE Description

Only three or four more to go before the end of the semester! Woohoooo! This week post the following:

• For the three objects you plan to image during our May 23rd astronomy night, post the following:
  • The name, Messier number of NGC number of the object
  • The magnitude (brightness)
  • The size in arcminutes
  • The constellation it’s located in
  • The time it rises
  • Who your partner is for this imaging endeavor
• Post what struck you about Alan Watt’s Secret to Life video. Remember you wrote this in class and shared it.
• After reading the article, Elon Musk is Really Boring, post your thoughts on his claim that tunnels are going to be the solution to future traffic congestion in urban environments. Keep the following questions in mind when answering:
  • What dangers might be present in using tunnels to solve traffic?
  • What are the positives in using tunnels?
  • Do you think more roads, tunnels, or flying vehicles are the long term solution? Is there some other solution to urban traffic that you think would work better?
  • What solution would be best for the San Diego community we have been visiting over the past semester?
• Post at least three beautiful photos of animals from our zoo trip on Friday.

Post the following for post 9

• An image of the Ideal City Problem Set (Brian has those if you need your copy) along with a written description of the image.
• Choose one of the segments of Planet Earth II Cities – languars in Jodhpur, peregrines in NYC, leopards in Mumbai, birds building homes, hyenas in Kenya, catfish eating pigeons, etc – and write about how that piece struck you. What analogies do you see between the animal behavior and human behavior? What surprised you? What questions do you have?
• What struck you about the scales of the universe website? What questions does it raise for you?
• What are your thoughts on the size of the solar system? Where should humans focus future exploration?
• Post 6 photos (three from downtown and three from Barrio Logan). If you missed either get out and do photography. Post pics!