This story would make a great assignment to a class about the nature of
experimentation, or a story of how scientists are thought of. My thought on
this is that the nature of an experiment is changed simply by examining it
no matter how unobtrusive we try to be. I would like to see what students
would come up with to relate this story to science.
I also gave my seniors an assignment to review an article in the New
Scientist about the need to redefine the AU due to the changing mass of the
sun. I am hoping they get a better idea of the impermanence of science and
that science has a certain place but doesnt answer it all or last forever.
The article is Astronomical Unit May Need to be Redefined. http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn13286-astronomical-unit-may-need-to-be-redefined.html