Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 82 views

    The 88 Official Constellations Cover The Celestial Sphere

    Uploaded by

    Jeus Bencio
    The document discusses celestial coordinates and how they are used to locate objects in the sky. It explains that right ascension and declination are analogous to longitude and latitude, respectively, on the celestial sphere. It also summarizes that the paths of stars through the local sky depend on the observer's latitude and the star's declination, and that the Sun moves similarly to a star except its declination changes over the course of the year.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    The 88 Official Constellations Cover The Celestial Sphere

    Uploaded by

    Jeus Bencio
    82 views29 pages
    The document discusses celestial coordinates and how they are used to locate objects in the sky. It explains that right ascension and declination are analogous to longitude and latitude, respectively, on the celestial sphere. It also summarizes that the paths of stars through the local sky depend on the observer's latitude and the star's declination, and that the Sun moves similarly to a star except its declination changes over the course of the year.

    Original Title

    Celestial sphere

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document discusses celestial coordinates and how they are used to locate objects in the sky. It explains that right ascension and declination are analogous to longitude and latitude, respectively, on the celestial sphere. It also summarizes that the paths of stars through the local sky depend on the observer's latitude and the star's declination, and that the Sun moves similarly to a star except its declination changes over the course of the year.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    82 views29 pages

    The 88 Official Constellations Cover The Celestial Sphere

    Uploaded by

    Jeus Bencio
    The document discusses celestial coordinates and how they are used to locate objects in the sky. It explains that right ascension and declination are analogous to longitude and latitude, respectively, on the celestial sphere. It also summarizes that the paths of stars through the local sky depend on the observer's latitude and the star's declination, and that the Sun moves similarly to a star except its declination changes over the course of the year.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    of 29

    The Celestial Sphere

    The 88 official
    constellations
    cover the celestial
    sphere.
    Constellations
    A constellation is a
    region of the sky.

    88 constellations
    fill the entire sky.
    The Local Sky
    An object’s altitude (above horizon) and direction
    (along horizon) specifies its location in your local
    sky
    The Local Sky
    Zenith: The point
    directly overhead

    Horizon: All points


    90° away from zenith

    Meridian: Line
    passing through zenith
    and connecting N and
    S points on horizon
    Celestial Coordinates

    • Right ascension: Like longitude on celestial sphere


    (measured in hours with respect to spring equinox).
    • Declination: Like latitude on celestial sphere (measured in
    degrees above celestial equator)
    Celestial Coordinates of Vega
    • Right ascension: Vega’s
    RA of 18h35.2m (out of
    24h) places most of the
    way around celestial
    sphere from spring
    equinox.
    • Declination: Vega’s dec
    of +38°44’ puts it almost
    39° north of celestial
    equator (negative dec
    would be south of
    equator)
    Celestial Coordinates of Sun
    • The Sun’s RA and dec
    change along the
    ecliptic during the
    course of a year

    • Sun’s declination is
    negative in fall and
    winter and positive in
    spring and summer
    How do we define the day,
    month, year, and planetary
    time periods?
    Length of a Day

    • Sidereal day:
    Earth rotates
    once on its axis
    in 23 hrs, 56 min,
    and 4.07 sec.
    Length of a Day

    • Solar day: The


    Sun makes one
    circuit around the
    sky in 24 hours
    Length of a Month
    • Sidereal month: Moon
    orbits Earth in 27.3 days.
    • Earth & Moon travel 30°
    around Sun during that
    time (30°/360° = 1/12)
    • Synodic month: A cycle
    of lunar phases; therefore
    takes about 29.5 days,
    1/12 longer than a sidereal
    month
    The sky varies as Earth orbits the Sun
    • As the Earth orbits the Sun, the Sun appears to move
    eastward along the ecliptic.
    • At midnight, the stars on our meridian are opposite the
    Sun in the sky.
    Parallax and Distance
    p = parallax angle

    1
    d (in parsecs) =
    p (in arcseconds)

    1
    d (in light - years) = 3.26 ´
    p (in arcseconds)
    The Magnitude Scale
    m = apparent magnitude , M = absolute magnitude

    apparent brightness of Star 1


    =(1001/ 5 ) m1 - m 2
    apparent brightness of Star 2

    luminosity of Star 1
    =(1001/ 5 ) M 1 - M 2
    luminosity of Star 2
    Length of a Year
    • Sidereal year: Time for
    Earth to complete one
    orbit of Sun
    • Tropical year: Time for
    Earth to complete one
    cycle of seasons
    • Tropical year is about 20
    minutes (1/26,000)
    shorter than a sidereal
    year because of Earth’s
    precession.
    Mean Solar Time
    • Length of an apparent solar
    day changes during the year
    because Earth’s orbit is slightly
    elliptical.
    • Mean solar time is based on
    the average length of a day.
    • Noon is average time at which
    Sun crosses meridian
    • It is a local definition of time
    The Analemma

    • The analemma illustrates


    position of Sun with
    respect to mean solar time
    Universal Time
    • Universal time (UT) is defined to be the
    mean solar time at 0° longitude.
    • It is also known as Greenwich Mean Time
    (GMT) because 0° longitude is defined to
    pass through Greenwich, England
    • It is the standard time used for astronomy
    and navigation around the world
    Standard Time & Time Zones

    • Rapid train travel required time to be standardized


    into time zones (time no longer local)
    Time by the Stars
    • Sidereal time is equal to right ascension
    that is passing through the meridian
    • Thus, the local siderial time is 0h0m when the
    spring equinox passes through the meridian
    • A star’s hour angle is the time since it last
    passed through the meridian

    Local sidereal time = RA + hour angle


    Coming Next Week…! (and Stellarium Demos)

    How do stars move through


    the local sky?

    • A star’s path depends


    on your latitude and
    the star’s declination
    Star Paths in Northern
    Hemisphere

    • In north, stars with dec > 90° - (your latitude) are


    circumpolar
    • Celestial equator is in south part of sky
    How does the Sun move
    through the local sky?

    • Sun’s path is like that of a


    star, except that its
    declination changes over
    the course of a year
    Altitude of the celestial pole = your
    latitude
    How can you determine your
    latitude?
    • Latitude equals
    altitude of
    celestial pole
    • Altitude and
    declination of star
    crossing meridian
    also gives
    latitude.
    Latitude During Daytime
    • You can determine the
    Sun’s declination from
    the day of the year

    • Thus, measuring the


    Sun’s altitude when it
    crosses meridian can
    tell you latitude
    How can you determine your
    longitude?
    • In order to determine your longitude
    from the sky, you need to know time
    of day because of Earth’s rotation
    • You also need to know day of year
    because of Earth’s orbit
    • Accurate measurement of longitude
    requires an accurate clock.
    Summary:
    • How do we locate objects on the celestial sphere?
    – Each point on the celestial sphere has a particular right
    ascension (like longitude) and declination (like latitude).
    • How do stars move through the local sky?
    – Their paths depend on your latitude and the star’s
    declination.
    • How does the Sun move through the local sky?
    – Sun moves like a star except its declination depends on the
    time of year.

    You might also like