• Choice of question: (20%)
  Pick something that excites you, or, failing that, something that you think the class would want to hear about. Possible questions are "How can they measure such-and-such?" or "Is it possible to do such-and-such?" Be prepared to discuss your intentions in class. This part of the project should consist of a one paragraph email to me describing the question, why it's of interest to you, and how you'll answer it. Also, if working in a group, of course list those involved.
• Preliminary Results and Outline: (30%)
  At most two pages, you should explain the progress you've made and the sources you've consulted in addressing your question. In addition, you should provide a rough outline of what you'll present and write up. Turn this in to me by emailing me (in plain text; no Microsoft Word documents!). Except in unusual circumstances, you should have at least three legitimate references sited. If any of your references are available online, please include links for me.
• Presentation:(40%)
  If you want to do something a bit more unusual that does not involve an oral presentation (e.g. a webpage), you must turn it in to me the class before the scheduled presentations so that students can view/experience it before presentations. You should then be available for questions during the presentations.

Sample Project Ideas

Straight Astronomy

• How do quasars form and what powers them?
• What was the significance of person (so-and-so e.g. Zwicky, Hubble) on the field of Astronomy?
• Is space travel beyond the Moon feasible (e.g. cosmic rays, time dilation, fuel, etc)?
• What progress can we expect in astronomy in the next ten years?

Interdisciplinary Astronomy

• To what extent has astronomy influenced the world of art?
• What do art and science have in common?
• Does the moon really affect biological cycles?
• What role have women played in the development of Astronomy?
• How has astronomy affected sci-fi and vice versa?
• What is the current and future role of computing in astronomy and in science in general?
• What organization funds astronomical research and who does it?
• How does current astronomical research compare to ancient observations? Did ancient governments fund such research?
• What progress in astronomy will come from future particle detectors (e.g. LHC, ILC)?

Cosmology

• What's the fate of Earth? Which is more likely, that a GRB or an asteroid destroys Earth?
• Is interstellar travel feasible? Faster than light travel?

Public Policy and Astronomy/Science

• Is there sufficient return on our NASA budget to justify the expense?
• Is science under attack? Or instead, is science doing better than at other times?
• Has space travel and research benefited health policy?
• Does space exploration benefit or hurt international relations?

Science in General

• What specific criteria can be used to establish whether something is science or not?
• Are anthropic arguments about the cosmological constant really science?

Good References

• Wikipedia is generally a fine place to start, but it's generally not authoritative. So if you want to argue that there are lots of planets out there, fine, you can use Wikipedia as a reference. It's not controversial. On the other hand, if you want to argue that intelligent life proliferates in the Universe, then you need a more authoritative reference than Wikipedia.
• Peer-reviewed articles in reputable journals are the best reference. If your project is mostly biographical though, you probably won't find much. Depending on your topic, you might look at either Spires or ADS.
• The more controversial a statement you make, the more important it is to have a reference, and a good one at that. If you get up in front of class and say the Moon's phases affect who wins the World Series, I'm going to want to see who says that, how they back it up, and where it's been published.