Copyright © Michael Richmond.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
This project must be done by individuals.
Your job in this assignment is to make a graph showing how our estimate of the distance to M31 has changed with time.
The starting date should be 1900 and the ending date should be this year. You must find at least 15 independent measurements of the distance to M31 over this time period, spaced as evenly as possible. One measurement per decade would be ideal, though you may not be able to find sufficient research before 1950. More than 15 measurements may gain you extra extra credit.
Create a list or table showing four items for each measurement:
The "method" may be summarized in a few words in some cases ("photographic measurements of 5 Cepheids"), but might require a few sentences in others. Provide enough information in each case that one of your fellow students could understand it well enough to explain it to a curious high-school student.
You may include your own comments on the various efforts.
All your values must be shown in a single graph; you may submit additional graphs if you wish.
This page maintained by Michael Richmond. Last modified Mar 5, 2011.
Copyright © Michael Richmond.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.