Basic Observations in Astronomy

1. Welcome to Basic Observations in Astronomy Classes without Quizzes -Alumni Weekend at Otterbein- June 8-10, 2007 Dr. Uwe Trittmann

2. Basic Astronomy • Possible topics: • Basic observations • Star Maps • Telescopes • The Night Sky in June • Eclipses

3. Basic Observations in Astronomy • Positions of objects (sun, moon, planets, stars …) • Motion of objects – with respect to you, the observer - with respect to other objectsin the sky • Changes (day/night, seasons, etc.) • Appearance of objects (phases of the moon, etc.) • Special events (eclipses, transitions, etc.)  All “in the sky”, i.e. on the Celestial Sphere

4. What’s up in the night sky? The Celestial Sphere • An imaginary sphere surrounding the earth, on which we picture the stars attached • Axis through earth’s north and south pole goes through celestial north and south pole • Earth’s equator Celestial equator

5. Celestial Coordinates Earth:latitude, longitude Sky: • declination (dec) [from equator,+/-90°] • right ascension (RA) [from vernal equinox, 0-24h; 6h=90°] Examples: • Westerville, OH 40.1°N, 83°W • Betelgeuse (α Orionis) dec = 7° 24’RA = 5h 52m

6. What’s up for you? Observer Coordinates • Horizon – the plane you stand on • Zenith– the point right above you • Meridian – the line from North to Zenith to south

7. …depends where you are! • Your local sky – your view depends on your location on earth

8. Look North in Westerville

9. Look North on Hawai’i

10. Daily Rising and Setting • Due to the rotation of the Earth around its axis • Period of rotation: 1 siderial day= 23h56m4.1s • 1 solar day (Noon to Noon) =24h • Stars rotate around the North Star – Polaris

11. Solar vs Siderial Day • Earth rotates in 23h56m • also rotates around sun  needs 4 min. to “catch up” • Consequence: stars rise 4 minutes earlier each night • after 1/2 year completely different sky at night!

12. Another Complication: Axis Tilt! • The Earth’s rotation axis is tilted 23½ degrees with respect to the plane of its orbit around the sun (the ecliptic) • It is fixed in space  sometimes we look “down” onto the ecliptic, sometimes “up” to it Rotation axis Path around sun

13. Position of Ecliptic on the Celestial Sphere • Earth axis is tilted w.r.t. ecliptic by 23 ½ degrees • Equivalent: ecliptic is tilted by 23 ½ degrees w.r.t. equator! •  Sun appears to be sometime above (e.g. summer solstice), sometimes below, and sometimes on the celestial equator

14. The Seasons • Change of seasons is a result of the tilt of the Earth’s rotation axis with respect to the plane of the ecliptic • Sun, moon, planets run along the ecliptic

15. The Zodiac throughout the Year Example: In Winter sun in Sagittarius, Gemini at night sky;in summer sun in Gemini, Sagittarius at night sky

16. Constellations of Stars • About 5000 stars visible with naked eye • About 3500 of them from the northern hemisphere • Stars that appear to be close are grouped together into constellations since antiquity • Officially 88 constellations (with strict boundaries for classification of objects) • Names range from mythological (Perseus, Cassiopeia) to technical (Air Pump, Compass)

17. Constellations of Stars (cont’d) Orion as seen at night Orion as imagined by men

18. Constellations (cont’d) Orion “from the side” Stars in a constellation are not connected in any real way; they aren’t even close together!

19. Understanding and using Star Maps • The night sky appears to us as the inside of a sphere which rotates • Problem: find a map of this curved surface onto a plane sheet of paper • Let’s explore our turning star map!

20. Fixed and unfixed Stuff • The stars are “fixed” to the rotating sky globe They move from East to West and also from near to the horizon to higher up in the sky • The Solar System bodies (Sun, Moon, Planets, Asteroids, Comets) move with respect to the fixed stars • SSB’s have complicated paths: their own motion is added to the overall motion of the celestial sphere

21. Motion of Sun, Moon and other Planets • All major bodies in the Solar System move around ecliptic • Slow drift (from W to E) against the background of stars

22. Reason: All planets move in same plane!

23. Motion of the Moon • Moon shines not by its own light but by reflected light of Sun  Origin of the phases of the moon • Moon revolves around the Earth • period of revolution = 1 month

24. Phases of the Moon

25. Phases of the Moon (cont’d) • Moon rotates around earth in one month • Moon rotates around itself in the same time •  always shows us the same side! •  “dark side of the moon”(not dark at all!)

26. Motion of the Planets • Along the ecliptic as Sun and Moon • But: exhibit weird, “retrograde” motion at times

27. “Strange” motion of the Planets Planets usually move from W to E relative to the stars, but sometimes strangely turn around in a loop, the so called retrograde motion.

28. The heliocentric Explanation of retrograde planetary motion See also: SkyGazer

29. SkyGazer • A computer program that simulates the vision of the sky during day and night Things to observe: • Set your position on Earth: observe how view of sky changes as you move E,W, N,S • Note the distribution of sunlight on Earth! • Rotation is around Polaris which is not in zenith

30. SkyGazer Things to observe (cont’d): • Sun, moon, planets, stars rise (E) and set (W) • In the southern hemisphere the sun is highest in the north • Planets sometimes move backward • Moon phases • Planets have phases, too!

31. Telescopes • Light collectors • Two types: • Reflectors (Mirrors) • Refractors (Lenses)

32. Refraction • Lenses use refraction to focus light to a single spot

33. Reflection • Light that hits a mirror is reflected at the same angle it was incident from • Proper design of a mirror (the shape of a parabola) can focus all rays incident on the mirror to a single place

34. Newtonian Telescope • Long tubes (approx. focal length) • Open at front • Eyepiece on side

35. Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope (CAT) • Very compact & easy to use • Closed (Corrector plate) • Resonably priced

36. Refractor • Two lenses -> inverted image • Long tube (approx. focal length of objective) • Usually pretty expensive

37. Binoculars • Erect image -> good for terrestrial viewing • Prisms needed to produce erect image • Typical specs: 8x60, means magnifies 8x and objective lens is 60 mm in diameter

38. A good starting point • A pair of binoculars and a star map will keep you busy for a long time – anywhere! • constellations • Planets • Moon • Orion nebula • Andromeda Galaxy • star clusters • …

39. The Night Sky in June • The sun is at its highest -> shortest nights! • Summer constellations are coming up: Hercules, Scorpius, Ophiuchus (Snake Bearer), Snake  lots of globular star clusters! • Center of the Milky Way in Sagittarius • Jupiter, Saturn & Venus are easily seen

40. Moon Phases • 6 / 8 (Last Quarter Moon) • 6 / 14 (New Moon) • 6 / 22 (First Quarter Moon) • 6/ 30 (Full Moon)

41. Today at Noon • Sun at meridian, i.e. exactly south

42. Venus 10 PM Typical observing hour, early June • no Moon • Jupiter • Pluto (experts only) Saturn

43. South-West Virgo and Coma with the Virgo-Coma galaxy cluster

44. Virgo-Coma Cluster • Lots of galaxies within a few degrees

45. M87, M88 and M91

46. Zenith • Big Dipper points to the north pole

47. South • Canes Venatici • Corona Borealis • Bootes • Serpens • Globular Star • Clusters: • M 3 • M 5 • M 13 • Galaxies: • M 51 • M 101 • M 64 (Bl. Eye) M 5

48. South-East • Hercules • Ophiuchus • Serpens • Globular Star • Clusters: • M 13 • M 92 • M 12 • M 10 … Summer is Globular Cluster time! M 5

49. M13: Globular Cluster

50. South-East • Ophiuchus • Serpens • Scorpius • Globular Star • Clusters: • M 4 • M 19 • M 62 • M 80 … Summer is Globular Cluster time! M 5