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PH1600: Introductory AstronomyLecture 25: UFOs and Pseudoscience

PH1600: Introductory AstronomyLecture 25: UFOs and PseudoscienceStudy: Chapter 20 in The Cosmos book Next Lecture: None: Please take Online Final Exam

School: Michigan Technological UniversityProfessor: Robert Nemiroff

Book: The Cosmos by Pasachoff & FilippenkoOnline Course WebCT pages:

http://courses.mtu.edu/

This class can be taken online ONLY, class attendance is not required!

You are responsible for…

Reading the book One chapter per “quiz period” Anything from that chapter can appear on

quizzes or tests, even if I never mention them during my lecture(s)

This quiz period covers Chapters 18 APODs posted during the semester

APOD review every week during lecture Completing the Quizzes and Final

Chapter 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18 & 19 quizzes already due

Chapter 20 Quiz incorporated into Final Exam See WebCT at http://courses.mtu.edu/ for

details

UFOs

Unidentified Flying Objects Never yet confirmed to be

intelligent aliens from another planet

“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”

A Lenticular Cloud Over New HampshireCredit & Copyright: J. D. Rufo, J. Koermer, Plymouth State College

APOD: 2003 April 30

A Lenticular Cloud Over Hawai'iCredit & Copyright: Peter Michaud (Gemini Obs.)APOD: 2005 August 21

Pseudoscience

Why is pseudoscience popular? Scientists are unpopular authority

figures Unelected Self-proclaimed, unavailable “Not like you and me” It is cool to say “they” are wrong

Urban Legends Eggs stand on end at equinoxes?

Egging On the Autumnal EquinoxCredit: Phil Plait (Bad Astronomy)APOD: 2003 September 23

Examples of Pseudoscience

Astrology UFO-logy Moon landing “hoax” Creationism

Intelligent design, etc. Ask: Why don’t most universities teach

creationism? Ask: Why does the Pope believe in evolution?

“Face on Mars” Many recent criticisms of global warming

Goals of Pseudoscientists

Create doubt Everything is “only” a theory “My theory is just as good as yours” “Scientists are trying to undermine religion” Practiced sound bites Hard data “is there,” will be presented “later”

Furthers own political agenda

Science: Predictability and Reproducibility

A scientific theory Makes testable predictions Based on reproducible results Passes “peer review”

Occam’s Razor A scientific theory should be no more

complicated than it needs to be

Mars Then and NowCredit & Copyright: Tom Ruen, Eugene Antoniadi,

Lowell Hess, Roy A. Gallant, HST, NASAAPOD: 2003 November 12

A Face On MarsCredit: The Viking Project, NASA APOD: 1998 April 6

The Face on MarsCredit: NASA,Viking Project,

APOD: 1995 July 22

Mars Express Close-Up of the Face on MarsAPOD: 2006 September 25

Mars Express: Return to CydoniaCredit: G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et al., Mars Express, DLR APOD: 2006 September 26

A Waterspout off the Florida KeysCredit: Joseph Golden, NOAA

APOD: 2005 January 20

A Strange Streak Imaged in AustraliaCredit & Copyright: Wayne Pryde

APOD: 2004 December 7

An Unusual Event Over South WalesCredit & Copyright: Jon Burnett

APOD: 2003 October 1