You can do this activity with friends or classmates, or especially with members of your family. Start by simply picturing in your mind an "astronomer". Make a detailed mental image of, and then describe in words:

1. What does the astronomer look like? Include a description of the clothes, hair, and personal characteristics of your image.

2. How does your mental image of the astronomer act; that is, what behavioral and academic characteristics do you associate with someone who is an astronomer?

3. Where does this mental image come from, in your opinion? What influenced you to create this image? It could be that you know an astronomer, or you have seen astronomers on TV or movies, or you have a sense of what they might be like from books or magazine articles.

Your responses to this activity will be emailed directly to me once you hit the submit button. You don't need to write a long essay -- 50 words or so should suffice. And there are no right or wrong answers here -- only insufficient ones if you don't make a sincere effort to describe the person in detail.

Your submission will serve 3 purposes:

• It notifies me that you have started this unit, verifying your "virtual attendance".

• I'll collect the email responses from everyone and post them anonymously for the class to review at the conclusion of this unit.

• It provides you with a glimpse of your own expectations about the science of astronomy and who "does" science.

Once you have submitted your thoughts, you will automatically be taken to the next part of this assignment. Do not continue unless you have completed this survey -- you cannot get credit for the assignment without starting here!