AST_101_Lab_2_Exercise_R
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Arizona State University, Tempe *
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101
Subject
Astronomy
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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Uploaded by ProfessorSheep4002
AST 101 Lab 2 Exercise
Student Name:
Question 1 (15 points): Set Starry Night
to your location
and the current date
, then move the viewing direction until you are looking North. Then do the following:
Type Polaris into the Search magnifier, then click the bullseye to center on Polaris.
Using the animation speed control shown here, set to “minutes” and “1”.
On the Animation Toolbar, click the [forward] arrow to run the sky animation forward.
Now answer the following questions:
A)
What is the name of the imaginary point in the sky around which the stars appear to move during the night?
The imaginary point in the sky around which the stars appear to move during the night is
called the celestial pole. There are two celestial poles, one for each hemisphere the sky. They are the projections of the Earths north and south poles onto the celestial sphere. The celestial sphere is an imaginary sphere that surrounds earth and has the same radius as Earth's orbit. B)
What is the name of the constellation that has a star very close to this imaginary point?
The constellation that has a star very close to the north pole is Ursa Minor, also known as the Little Bear. C)
Do the constellations and stars appear to rotate clockwise
or counterclockwise
around this imaginary point in the sky?
It would appear counterclockwise D)
Locate the Big Dipper
in the northern sky. Is the Big Dipper circumpolar
from your location?
The big dipper is circumpolar from my location. Question 2 (15 points): For this question, you will set the Starry Night
location to 3 different latitudes on Earth and observe changes in the altitude of the pole star, Polaris. Polaris is not located exactly on the north celestial pole but is close enough for drawing valid conclusions for this question.
For each location (A), (B), and (C) in the table, set the latitude of your observing location to the value in the right-hand column.
To see Polaris, adjust the sky up or down using the Move 9(“hand”) control.
To estimate the altitude of Polaris, click on the star and select “Show Info”.
For each location (A), (B), and (C), enter your results in the table below. Using these results, answer question (D), following the table.
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AST 101 Lab 2 Exercise
(A)
Latitude of your “home” location (see question 1)
33°06’
The altitude of Polaris at your home location
33°07’12.6”
(B)
Latitude of Oslo, Norway
59˚ 55’
The altitude of Polaris at Oslo, Norway
59°46
(C)
Latitude of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
22˚ 53’
The altitude of Polaris at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
22°53’
D) From your measurements, how do you think latitude
on Earth and the altitude of the north celestial pole
are related? (Remember, Polaris is not exactly on the North celestial pole.)
The altitude of the NCP = latitude over the observer Question 3 (15 points) For this question, you will determine the properties of objects in the southern sky as viewed from your home location (see question 1). You will complete 2 tables and answer the question following the second table.
In Starry Night
, enable constellation “stick figures”.
Select “Move” mode and adjust the sky to facing south.
Locate a constellation close to the southern horizon. Choose a star in this constellation.
Right-click on the star, select “Show Info”, and copy its information to the table below.
Repeat
steps 2 and 3 for a constellation near the celestial equator
(declination of 0˚).
Sky Location
Constellation
Star
Declination
Rising Time
Setting Time
Very far south, near the southern horizon
Phoenix Ankaa -42°10’
9:20:00
PM
4:39:44
AM
Near the celestial equator
Pisces Alrischa 02°52’
8:24:09
PM
8:46:41
AM
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AST 101 Lab 2 Exercise
Using your results from the table above, complete the table below. Calculate “Time in the sky” as the (Setting Time) minus (Rising Time).
Sky Location
Declination
Time in the sky
Very far south, near the southern horizon
-42°10’
0:04:41
Near the celestial equator
00°12’
0:22:09
Using your results from the table above, what do you conclude about how a star’s “Time in the sky” changes as you look closer to the southern horizon?
The time in the sky increases the closer it is to the southern horizon. Question 4 (15 points): Set Starry Night
to the locations in the table below and face the directions indicated. Set the sky animation to a time step of 3000x and run time forward to complete the following table:
Location on Earth
Place in the Sky
Direction Stars appear to Move:
Your home location, facing North
Above (higher in altitude than) the Celestial Pole
Countrclockwise cirualr rotaion 60 degrees north latitude facing North
Below (lower in altitude than) the North Celestial Pole
Clockwise circualr rotaion
Your home location, facing South
Below the Celestial Equator, looking away from the Pole
Moving to the right rotation, not as tight of a circle NCP
North Pole, facing the Zenith
Directly Overhead
To the left rotation Equator, facing due East
Stars due East, low in the sky
Up with a tilt to the right rotation Question 5 (15 points): From your home
location, use the search feature in Starry Night
to find a date and time that each star in the following table is visible at night. For each star, complete the entries in the table below. If a star is not visible, include it in the table but state that it is not visible
.
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AST 101 Lab 2 Exercise
Star
Date & Time
Right Ascension
Declination
Altitude
Azimuth
Sirius
1/27/24 visible 06h 46m 13.22s
-16º 44' 24.9"
+33º 56' 59.0" above horizon
150º 21' 44.2" in the southeast
Vega
1/27/24 not visible 18h 37m 44.61s
+38º 48' 10.8"
-13º 28' 07.3" below horizon
341º 29' 44.6" in the north
Polaris
1/27/24 visble 03h 02m 13.68s
+89º 21' 56.0"
+34º 25' 25.5" above horizon
359º 36' 29.8" in the north
Alpha Centauri
1/27/24 not visble 14h 10m 06.01s
-59º 30' 51.0"
-50º 57' 53.0" below horizon
145º 35' 00.5" in the southeast
Question 6 (5 points): Set Starry night to your home location and choose one star in the sky. For
the two different times of night, use the “Show Info” tool to answer the following question: For this star, which pair of coordinates changes during the night: (Altitude and Azimuth), or (Right Ascension and Declination)?
Answer: Deneb Kaitos, at two different times its right ascension an declination stay the same wherethe azimuth and altitude change
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AST 101 Lab 2 Exercise
Question 7 (10 points): Consider the sky reference points in the left hand column of the table below. Set Starry Night to different locations and different times of night and determine whether the values in the left hand column change with location or time. Answer “yes” or “no” for each.
Reference Point
Changes only
with latitude on Earth
Changes only
with time during one night
Altitude of the natural Horizon (no foreground objects)
yes
no
Right Ascension on the Meridian
no
yes
Altitude of the Zenith
yes
no
Altitude of the Celestial Equator
yes
no
Declination of North Celestial Pole
no
no
Question 8 (10 points): For this question, set Starry Night to your home
location and face the direction of due south
at midnight (note: if your home is in the southern hemisphere, face due north
at midnight). Answer the following questions:
A)
In this direction, find an object as close to the horizon as you can see. What is the declination
of this object?
-29º 00' 13.8"
B)
What is the name of this object?
Adhara
Include a screenshot
of Starry Night showing this object in the southern (or northern) sky.
Page 5 of 6
AST 101 Lab 2 Exercise
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