a100 solar system today’s apodapod today: backyard astronomy review session in class on...
TRANSCRIPT
A100 Solar
System
Today’s APOD
Today: Backyard Astronomy Review session in class on Wednesday Review questions on Oncourse – Resource
tool 1st Exam on Friday
The Sun Today
Monday, Sept. 15
Backyard Astronomy
• Finding your way around the sky
• Planetarium software• Binocular astronomy• Small telescopes• Astronomy organizations• Astronomy magazines• Astronomy on the WEB• Light pollution • Participating in research
Finding your way around…
• Use prominent constellations to help find your way around the sky
• Line up two or more stars in constellations • They act as pointers to other stars and constellations
The Big Dipper in the evening sky
(but a complete circle each night!)
The BD points to more than Polaris!
• Note: they don’t always line up precisely because of the “curve” of the sky, while sky charts are flat
Orion works the same way
Stars within Orion (the Hunter)Orion’s belt – Three stars in a lineBetelgeuse – Upper left side
(shoulder)Rigel brightest star in Orion – Lower
right side (leg or foot)
Orion’s Belt points to the Pleiades
A beautiful star cluster (the Seven Sisters)
Right of Aldebaran about 15
www.apod.nasa.org
Sky Measures Measuring apparent
distances between stars at arms length 1 = width at the
end of little finger 5 = width of three
middle fingers10 = one fist width
15 = space between first and little finger spread out
25 = entire span of hand – thumb to little finger
Orion points to more
bright stars
Sirius (Canis Major – the Big Dog) – brightest star in the night sky – Left of Orion’s belt about 20
Aldebaran (Taurus, the Bull) – Right of Orion’s belt, about 20
Procyon and Capella, too!
Procyon (Canis Minor – the Little Dog) – Left of Betelgeuse about 30
Capella (Auriga, the Charioteer) – second brightest star in the night sky – Directly above Orion about 45
The Gemini
Twins
Pollux (Gemini, the Twins) – Above, on a line between the right side of Orion’s belt and Betelgeuse, about 40
Castor (Gemini, the Twins) – the same as above, right of Pollux
The Big Dipper is always up – Orion is a fall/winter constellation
p. 34
Online Star Charts
• www.skymaps.com• www.space.com • www.accuweather.com• www.weatherunderground.com• lots of others
Using Star Charts1. Determine which direction you are
looking (north, south, east or west).2. Rotate the star chart so that
direction is at the bottom of the chart.
3. Look at the lower curved quarter of the chart to identify the stars that you are seeing in the sky.
4. Zenith, or straight above, is in the center of a circular star chart = 90
Planetarium Software• The Sky• Starry Night (with your text)• Stellarium (freeware)• Skymap Pro• Lots of others
Double Stars!
Binocular Astronomy
Get the largest objective (front lens) you can affordGet the highest power that you can hold steady by hand (up to 10-power) Use tripods and stands for heavier ones Prices vary from relatively inexpensive to several $K for large astronomical binoculars
Meade and Celestron dealerstelescopes.com, Camera and sporting-goods stores
See the the lunar surface
See the Galilean Moons!
Double Stars!
Star Clusters –The Pleiades!
Check out the Orion Nebula!
Buying a Telescop
e• Aperture (diameter) is king. The larger the aperture,
the more light is collected and the brighter an object will appear
• Get advice from your local astronomy club• Refractors (lenses), Reflectors (mirrors), Catadioptics
(combined)• Prices – few x $102 to a few x $103
• Meade, Celestron, other manufacturers• New, computer controlled “goto” telescopes make it
easy
Astronomy Organizations
• Local – Indiana Astronomical Society www.iasindy.org– Stonebelt Stargazers– Finding clubs everywhere - Astronomical League
• National– Planetary Society planetary.org– Astronomical Society of the Pacific
www.astrosociety.org– American Association of Variable Star Observers
- www.aavso.org
Astronomy
Magazines StarDate Magazine
stardate.orgAstronomy Magazine
www.astronomy.comSky and Telescope
www.skyandtelescope.com
Astronomy on the WEB• Skymaps.com - FREE Sky Maps -- updated each
month • Astronomy Picture of the Day • StarTrak (also available in Spanish ) - Check out
upcoming celestial events in Hal Kibbey's monthly article
• Astronomy Now - Breaking news, night sky info• Satellite Visibility - Satellites viewable from
Bloomington• Space.com - News, photos from Hubble
Telescope and more..... • NASA Image Archive - NASA's central image
distribution page• Solar System Simulator - NASA's solar system
simulator page
Light Pollution
• International Dark-Sky Association– www.darksky.org– “To preserve and protect the nighttime environment and
our heritage of dark skies”
• Environmental effects– bird migration– sea turtle nesting– fireflies
• The beauty of the night sky
What to do…• Choose appropriate
lighting and fixtures• Avoid glare• Shield lights• Good lighting saves
energy!
Need Less
Participating in Research
• AAVSO• On the Web
– Find ET with SETI@home setiathome.berkeley.edu
– Find planets with Systemic - oklo.org– Find comet grains with Stardust@home
stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu
One question I’ve always had about astronomy is…
How can you tell the difference with your naked eye of different stars?What is the next time that a comet could be viewed?Why do some stars look like they are blinking?Where and when are the best times to see the northern lights?Why can you see planets in the sky on some nights but not on others?
ASSIGNMENTSthis week
Review Session on Wednesday
Review questions on Oncourse
1st Exam on Friday, Sept. 19
Dates to Remember