When I realised that GCSE Astronomy has coursework, I had to lock in less than 3 months before the deadline to make sure that I can submit it. As an external student, I really did not know what I was doing – which was a struggle considering I had to get everything done in the middle of a winter storm.
This is all of the advice and tips I wish I had when completing my observational tasks.
Coursework??
Yes, in GCSE Astronomy (Pearson Edexcel), there is coursework that has to be marked by a qualified teacher/tutor and sent to the exam board for review. This is to prove that you can put your Astronomy skills to use. It is submitted in the academic year that you have to do your GCSE. Of course, preparation and carrying out the tasks can be done earlier – which I highly recommend.
It consists of two observational tasks; one unaided (i.e. with the naked eye) and aided (using equipment such as a telescope or camera). You need lots of time to be able to do these. Not only is UK weather terribly annoying for this, some tasks need to be repeated or can only be done on a specific date/dates.’
To all external students: MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THIS. I had to rush it in January when 100% cloud coverage was almost every day and needed to sign up to an online course to submit it.
For the unaided task, I highly recommend to do A9 Finding Longitude with a Shadow Stick. Many 6 markers have previously come up on this and it is a part of Topic 4. Doing the practical is the best way to learn the method in my opinion.
For the aided task, I recommend to do something that you will enjoy. I don’t have a telescope so I did B11 Demonstrate the range of objects in the Messier Catalogue where I photographed M31, M42 and M45 which my magnification allowed. Some tasks require special conditions. B6 requires a solar filter to safely observe the Sun. B2 needs low light pollution to produce good results.
Edexcel created this PDF with more information about each task:
Design
First, identify the object that you are observing (if applicable) and add relevant information such as Right Ascension, Declination and time of culmination for a particular date. For Messier Objects, I also added the angle that they subtended in the sky and apparent magnitude. Mention any equipment you plan to use, planned location with alternative location (add coordinates and Bortle light pollution scale to this) and the planned time. You may have to state if you are doing repeats and why.
Additionally, you will have to add details about the weather, such as a description. I added screenshots from BBC Weather for the forecast on that day and predicted cloud coverage from the MET Office Cloud Coverage map.
Make sure to show clearly what you are actually investigating.
Observations
Create a step-by-step instruction on how to carry out the procedure. Additionally, add atmospheric stability on that night (Antoniadi scale), exact time of the experiment, moonlight, limiting magnitude of location and RAW images if applicable.
This just shows whoever is marking your coursework that you understand how to carry out the task and why you take certain steps.
Analysis
Analysis is where you process your results with additional instructions and draw any needed conclusions from it. I don’t have much tips for this so instead, this is what I did for the analysis of my tasks:
A9: After obtaining all of my measurements, I used different equations such as EoT = AST – MST in order to calculate my longitude. I repeated it twice but if you repeat at least 3 times, I recommend taking the average value for your conclusion (excluding anomalies).
B11: I stacked my RAW images in Siril and further edited them to produce my final images. I added comments and additional information such as the range of altitudes my RAW images were taken in as this can affect the quality of the final image.
Evaluation
The final step for any practical is evaluation. This is where you should comment on your final results/conclusion. For A9, I compared my final result to my actual longitude to assess the accuracy and for B11, I compared my images to those made by Hubble Space Telescope. Here, you should also comment on how was the weather/location/time/moonlight and if it worked well.
Furthermore, add any improvements you could make and how to extend the task. For A9, I suggested to repeat on every month of the year at a set day. For B11, I explained how using a star tracker and telescope would be beneficial to the final result.
Finally, good luck with your coursework and please don’t try to rush it during winter…
Star Hunters 