ACP Astronomy Discovering the Universe for Yourself

1. ACP AstronomyDiscovering the Universe for Yourself

2. 2.1 Patterns in the Night Sky Our goals for learning: • What does the universe look like from Earth? • Why do stars rise and set? • Why do the constellations we see depend on latitude and time of year?

3. What does the universe look like from Earth? • With the naked eye, we can see more than 2,000 stars as well as the Milky Way.

4. Rotation - Apparent Apparent motion = Sun, Moon, stars appear to move counter-clockwise East to West Rise in East Set in West 4

5. Why do stars rise and set? Earth rotates west to east, so stars appear to circle from east to west. 5

6. Earth orbits the Sun (revolves) once every year: • at an average distance of 1 AU ≈ 150 million km. • with Earth’s axis tilted by 23.5º (pointing to Polaris) • and rotating in the same direction it orbits, counter-clockwise as viewed from above the North Pole.

7. Constellations • A constellation is a region of the sky. 88 constellations fill the entire sky. ~12 constellations along the ecliptic (Zodiac, and technically 13)

8. Thought QuestionThe brightest stars in a constellation • all belong to the same star cluster. • all lie at about the same distance from Earth. • may actually be quite far away from each other.

9. The brightest stars in a constellation • all belong to the same star cluster. • all lie at about the same distance from Earth. • may actually be quite far away from each other.

10. Annual Motion – Apparent As the Earth orbits the Sun, the Sun appears to move eastward along the ecliptic. At midnight, the stars overhead are opposite the Sun in the sky.

11. The Milky Way A band of light making a circle around the celestial sphere. What is it? Our view into the plane of our galaxy.

12. The Milky Way

13. The Local Sky An object’saltitude (above horizon) and direction(along horizon) specifies its location in your local sky

14. We measure the sky using angles • Full circle = 360º • 1º = 60 (arcminutes) • 1 = 60 (arcseconds)

15. Thought QuestionThe angular size of your finger at arm’s length is about 1°. How many arcseconds is this? • 60 arcseconds • 600 arcseconds • 60  60 = 3,600 arcseconds

16. The angular size of your finger at arm’s length is about 1°. How many arcseconds is this? • 60 arcseconds • 600 arcseconds • 60  60 = 3,600 arcseconds

17. 2.2 The Reason for the Seasons

18. CLOSER means MORE right?

19. CLOSER means MORE right? • Heat • The closer you are the hotter it is

20. CLOSER means MORE right? • Heat • The closer you are the hotter it is • Sound • The closer you get, the louder it is

21. CLOSER means MORE right? • Heat • The closer you are the hotter it is • Sound • The closer you get, the louder it is • Light • The closer you get, the brighter it is

22. Complete this statement! When the Sun is ______ it is summer, and when the Sun is _______ it is winter.

23. Complete this statement! When the Sun is CLOSER it is summer, and when the Sun is FARTHER it is winter.

24. When the Sun is high in the sky, the amount of direct sunlight received is greater. This results in SUMMER

25. When the Sun is low in the sky, the amount of direct sunlight received is less. This results in WINTER

26. When the Sun is high in the sky, the amount of direct sunlight received is greater. This results in SUMMER When the Sun is low in the sky, the amount of direct sunlight received is less. This results in WINTER

27. What causes the seasons?

28. Summary: The Real Reason for Seasons • Earth’s axis points in the same direction (to Polaris) all year round, so its orientation relative to the Sunchanges as Earth orbits the Sun. • Summer occurs in your hemisphere when sunlight hits it more directly; winter occurs when the sunlight is less direct. • AXIS TILT is the key to the seasons; without it, we would not have seasons on Earth.

29. Why doesn’t distance matter? • Variation of Earth-Sun distance is small — about 3%; this small variation is overwhelmed by the effects of axis tilt.

30. How do we mark the progression of the seasons? • We define four special points: • summer solstice • winter solstice • spring (vernal) equinox • fall (autumnal) equinox

31. We can recognize solstices and equinoxes by Sun’s path across sky: Summer solstice: Highest path, rise and set at most extreme north of due east. Winter solstice: Lowest path, rise and set at most extreme south of due east. Equinoxes: Sun rises precisely due east and sets precisely due west.

32. Seasonal changes are more extreme at high latitudes Path of the Sun on the summer solstice at the Arctic Circle

33. 2.3 The Moon, Our Constant Companion Our goals for learning: • Why do we see phases of the Moon? • What causes eclipses?

34. The changing phases of the Moon inspired the concept of the month

35. Phases of the Moon: 29.5-day cycle • Waxing • Moon visible in afternoon/evening • Gets “fuller” and rises later each day • Waning • Moon visible in late night/morning • Gets “less full” and sets later each day

36. Although the Moon is always ½ lit by the Sun, we see different amounts of the lit portion from Earth depending on where the Moon is located in its orbit.

37. Moon is illuminated (always ½) by Sun • We see a changing combination of the bright and dark faces as Moon orbits the Earth Animations at links from our website

38. The full moon rises at approximately: • Midnight • Sunset • Sunrise • 9 or 10 p.m. • 3 or 4 a.m.

39. If you were on the Moon, would the Earth, • Show no phases • Show phases the same as the moon (when it is full Moon it is full Earth, etc.) • Show phases opposite to the Moon (when it is full Moon it is new Earth, etc.) Make a sketch to decide!

40. We see only one side of Moon Synchronous rotation: the Moon rotates exactly once with each orbit That is why only one side is visible from Earth

41. Eclipses

42. What causes eclipses? • The Earth and Moon cast shadows. • When either passes through the other’s shadow, we have an eclipse.

43. When can eclipses occur? • Lunar eclipses can occur only at full moon. • Lunar eclipses can be penumbral, partial, or total.

44. Solar eclipses can occur only at new moon. • Solar eclipses can be partial, total, or annular.

45. Why don’t we have an eclipse at every new and full moon? • The Moon’s orbit is tilted 5° to ecliptic plane… • So we have about two eclipse seasons each year, with a lunar eclipse at new moon and solar eclipse at full moon.

46. Summary: Two conditions must be met to have an eclipse: • It must be full moon (for a lunar eclipse) or new moon (for a solar eclipse). AND 2. The Moon must be at or near one of the two points in its orbit where it crosses the ecliptic plane (its nodes).

47. Predicting Eclipses • Eclipses recur with the 18 yr, 11 1/3 day saros cycle, but type (e.g., partial, total) and location may vary.

48. 2.4 The Ancient Mystery of the Planets What was once so mysterious about planetary motion in our sky? Why did the ancient Greeks reject the real explanation for planetary motion? Our goals for learning:

49. Planets Known in Ancient Times • Mercury • difficult to see; always close to Sun in sky • Venus • very bright when visible; morning or evening “star” • Mars • noticeably red • Jupiter • very bright • Saturn • moderately bright

50. What was once so mysterious about planetary motion in our sky? Planets usually move slightly eastwardfrom night to night relative to the stars. But sometimes they go westward relative to the stars for a few weeks: apparent retrograde