Lab 7 - Coordinates & Seasons - Worksheet

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Harrisburg Area Community College *

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Astronomy

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Apr 27, 2024

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Name: Basic Coordinates & Seasons – Student Guide There are three main sections to this module: terrestrial coordinates, celestial equatorial coordinates, and understanding how the ecliptic is related to seasons on the Earth. Each of these sections has its own simulator(s). The background material necessary to utilize these tools is contained in each section. Terrestrial Coordinates Work through the explanatory material on units of longitude and latitude , finding longitude and latitude , and a bit of history (optional). Open the flat map explorer . Familiarize yourself with the cursor and how it prints out the longitude and latitude of the active map location. Note that you can vary the central meridian of the map (i.e. change its longitude). Use the “shift map” arrows at the top of the simulator to affect large rapid changes. Use the shift-click feature of the cursor for finer control. Note what information is accessible through the show cities and show map features check boxes. Center the cursor on your present location. Click the open Google Maps button to launch the Google Map tool focused on this location. Experiment until you get a good feeling for the Google Map’s capabilities and then close this window. (Note that you must be connected to the Internet to make use of this feature.) Question 1: Use the flat map explorer to complete the following table. You are encouraged to try and predict the answers and then use the map’s cursor and other features to check the accuracy of your estimates. Location Longitude Latitude The center of the island of Madagascar. 46.5º E 18.2º S Hawaiian Islands, United States 157.5º W 21.2º N Esneye, England Prime Meridian 51.8º N Havana, Cuba 82.1º W Tropic of Cancer Sao Paulo, Brazil 46.3º W Tropic of Capricorn Diomede, Alaska, United States International Date Line Arctic Circle New Orleans, Luisiana, United States 90º W Meridian 30º N Parallel NAAP – Basic Coordinates & Motions 1/8
Latitude- 38º 53’ N Longitude- 77º 2’ W Question 2: Determine which of the 50 states defines the farthest extent of the United States in each of the 4 map directions. Direction State North Alaska South Texas East (there are two ways of thinking about this) Maine West Hawaii Question 3: The exact coordinates of the white house in Washington D.C., are 77.0365º W and 38.897º N. What are these exact coordinates in sexagesimal notation? Show your calculation in the box below. (You can use the Google Map tool to check your answer.) Open the globe explorer. You are encouraged to use the Terrestrial Coordinate Explorers link which opens both simulators at the same time for the following two questions. Familiarize yourself with the features noting that they are very similar to those in the flat map explorer. Question 4: A) Where is the north pole on the flat map explorer ? What is its shape? 90º N, 0º E. North pole is by the black and white bar on the explorer It doesn’t look like anything B) Where is the north pole on the globe explorer ? What is its shape? 90º N, 0º E. the north pole is at the top with ocean all around it looks like a period NAAP – Basic Coordinates & Motions 2/8
C) Your answers to parts A and B should be different. Explain why. There is nothing there but a flat map. When you look at online maps it looks like thefre is but nothing is actually there. Question 5: Compare the relative sizes of Greenland and Australia in the two maps? The true values of the surface areas for these countries are Greenland (2.2 million km 2 ) and Australia (7.7 million km 2 ). Does each map demonstrate these true values? Greenland looks small and Australia looks larger on the globe map No one seems off Celestial Equatorial Coordinates Work through the introductory material on the page entitled Celestial Equator, Declination, Right Ascension . Open either the Flat Sky Map Explorer or the Sky Map Explorer . Familiarize yourself with the same set of features (cursor movement, shifting the map, decimal/sexagesimal) that were available on the previous maps. Make sure that you understand what each check box does. Where is the star Polaris located on this map? What are its coordinates? Dec: 89.2º, RA 1.4h. North celestial pole on sky map Question 6: Find the constellation of Orion shown in the box below and measure the right ascension and declination of its brightest stars Betelgeuse and Rigel. Note that Orion is located on the celestial equator. NAAP – Basic Coordinates & Motions 3/8 RA 5.9 h DEC 7.7 º RA 5.2h DEC -8.1 º
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