Lesson plan

Arthur Code

Arthur Dodd Code (August 13, 1923 – March 11, 2009) was an astronomer who designed orbiting observatories. Code served as an electronics technician in the Navy during World War II. Arthur Code was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and developed an early interest in astronomy when he was young. After military service, Code received a master's degree and doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Chicago (without having received a bachelor's degree) advised by Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. He spent the majority of his career at the University of Wisconsin, where he was also director of the Washburn Observatory. He had previously taught at the University of Virginia and the California Institute of Technology. Code was one of the leaders of the OAO-2 project, an orbiting satellite that had light sensors, spectrometers, and various other radiation detectors. Data from OAO-2 demonstrated that young stars were hotter than previously believed, and also showed the existence of ozone in Mars's atmosphere. OAO-2 continued to operate until 1973 and supported Dr. Code's contention, stating “a fully automated observatory like this is a good idea; we know it works.” Code did a number of projects for NASA throughout the years, with himself claiming that he has been involved in "Space Astronomy" since the formation of the governmental space organization.…

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Article summary

Arthur Dodd Code (August 13, 1923 – March 11, 2009) was an astronomer who designed orbiting observatories. Code served as an electronics technician in the Navy during World War II. Arthur Code was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and developed an early interest in astronomy when he was young. After military service, Code received a master's degree and doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Chicago (without having received a bachelor's degree) advised by Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. He spent the majority of his career at the University of Wisconsin, where he was also director of the Washburn Observatory. He had previously taught at the University of Virginia and the California Institute of Technology. Code was one of the leaders of the OAO-2 project, an orbiting satellite that had light sensors, spectrometers, and various other radiation detectors. Data from OAO-2 demonstrated that young stars were hotter than previously believed, and also showed the existence of ozone in Mars's atmosphere. OAO-2 continued to operate until 1973 and supported Dr. Code's contention, stating “a fully automated observatory like this is a good idea; we know it works.” Code did a number of projects for NASA throughout the years, with himself claiming that he has been involved in "Space Astronomy" since the formation of the governmental space organization.…

Key claims

  1. date of foundation: 1982 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of foundation is "1982". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378824526

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.