Stellarium lab for astronomy(1) (3)

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University of Arkansas *

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2003

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Astronomy

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Feb 20, 2024

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Viewing the Night Sky with Stellarium Reference: This lab was adapted from Paul Robinson with the GNU General Public License for Stellarium. Purpose : The purpose of this lab is to become familiar with the night sky and be able to locate and identify several objects in the night sky using the free computer program, Stellarium. Background: We have been talking about some of the laws that govern the sky, and how star groupings and other objects are used to navigate the night sky. But what do those tiny dots of light really look like and what do they mean for us? Many of the planets, stars, etc. are visible with the naked eye- if you know where to look. Stellarium is a free GPL software which renders realistic skies in real time with OpenGL. With this software, you really see what you can see with your eyes, binoculars, or a small telescope. Apparatus Computer Stellarium download Part 1 Procedure: 1. Watch this YouTube video showing you how to use Stellarium. It is linked for you in BlackBoard. https://youtu.be/SW1KctKxLtg 2. If it has not already been done, download the Stellarium program onto your laptop using the following URL. https://stellarium.org 3. Familiarize yourself with the controls and landscape. Look to the user manual in Stellarium for this information. 4. Now you will go through the steps to find the galaxy M31, the Andromeda galaxy. This is the farthest object visible from earth with the naked eye. 5. Change the location to Hope, AR by using the location tab on the lower left side of the screen or by using the keystrokes listed on the handout. UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204 LAB UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204

6. Change the time to a night screen by using the time tab on the lower left side of the screen. Change the time to 10 pm (that is 2200 hours). And the time of year for anytime in the fall 2020 (September – December). Comment as to why we can’t use April. 7. Turn on the constellation line drawings, pictures, and names using the commands at the bottom of the screen. What planet is clearly visible? Mars 8. Practice finding M31 (the Andromeda Galaxy) from the bright stars in Cassiopeia and the constellation of Andromeda. To do this find the brightest stars in the Andromeda constellation and follow them as they are “pointing” toward the Cassiopeia constellation. When you find it (you may choose to turn on the Deep sky locators from the menu at the bottom of the screen) left click on the galaxy to highlight it and then use the mouse or arrow keys to zoom in. You may also choose to use the search feature to find M31. 9. Use the telescope feature at the top right of the screen to see what the galaxy looks like through a telescope lens. 10. Once you have found M31 spend time becoming familiar with the program and locating other interesting items in the sky. Look for the constellation of your birthday and record any special features, planets, especially bright stars, or other phenomena associated with it. On this particular night October 31, 2020, Mars was right underneath Pieces, my birthday constellation. The moon was directly to the left of it. Analysis- 1. What were the ecliptic latitude and longitude of M31? +28degree08’24.7”/+33degree21’02.4” 2. What was the most visible thing at the center of this galaxy(M31)? Two stars UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204 LAB UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204

3. List at least two other deep sky features you see in the same vicinity of M31. M110 galaxy and M32 galaxy 4. Let’s look at a very important day. Set the date to July 20, 2021 and the city to Syracuse, NY (that is where I was born) and the time to 2200. What planet(s) are clearly visible? What are the names of the three brightest stars in the sky at this place and time? List at least one other significant thing in the sky at this date and time. Saturn and Jupiter Arcturus, Vega, Altair Four meteor showers 5. Now do the same for your own birthday. You may choose to use the day/month of your birthday and 2021, or, if you prefer, you may choose to use the actual year of your birth. What were the location/date/time settings used for your settings? Make sure to list AT LEAST three significant objects you see at this date and location. Texarkana, Tx/ March 5, 2021/22:00 Mars Antihelion meteor shower Sirius, Capella, and Rigel were the brightest stars Part 2- Often, I have been asked to have a time of constellation viewing. For many reasons, this is not feasible in this crazy time and with an Online format; however, we can explore with Stellarium and then hopefully, you can then explore in the night sky on a clear night with little light pollution on your own or with a group of family and friends. I also strongly recommend to you a free app called SkyView Lite which will help you find constellations and other UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204 LAB UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204

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interesting night time objects. Just download the app on your smartphone and go outside, point at the sky and it will tell you what you are looking at. In part 2 of this lab, we will define some terms and use Stellarium to find some constellations and explore more about the night sky. We will start with the definitions. Use your text or the Internet to look up and write definitions for the following terms: Altitude- height or elevation of something above a reference point, often the Earth's surface or sea level. Azimuth- the direction of a celestial object or point in the sky, typically measured in degrees clockwise from the north direction Cardinal points- the four primary compass directions: north, south, east, and west. Constellations- patterns of stars that people have identified and named over time. These star groupings are often based on the way they appear to form shapes or figures when viewed from Earth Ecliptic- imaginary line or path in the sky that the Sun appears to follow as it travels through space over the course of a year Zenith- point in the sky directly above an observer, where the celestial sphere or sky dome appears to meet. UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204 LAB UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204

Now let’s get back into Stellarium. For a refresher, I have made a short (about 5 minutes) video for how to navigate in Stellarium for the rest of the lab. Click here to access the video. Procedures: 1. In Stellarium, set the location to Hope, Arkansas, and the time to 2200. Stellarium should default to a cardinal setting of south ( S ). Remember, this represents you standing in a field, on ground level and facing south. You should see a very bright star in the sky. This is Sirius and it is the brightest star in our hemisphere. It is in the constellation Canis Major, the Large dog. 2. If you have not already done so, use the menu at the bottom of the screen to turn on the constellation lines, names, and, if desired, constellation art. 3. From the same menu, turn on the azimuthal grid. 4. Now use the mouse to move the screen so you are facing due North. To do this, left click and hold while dragging the mouse until due north is in the bottom center of your screen. 5. What constellations do you see in this view of the sky? List at least three. Cepheus, Lacerta, Draco 6. One of the constellations you should see to the far right of your screen is Ursa Major, or the Big Bear. There are two bright stars in this constellation. The two stars are named Dubhe and Merak. Find these two stars and give the azimuthal coordinates for Dubhe. 70 degrees above horizon 30 degrees vertically 7. These two stars in the Big Bear are called pointer stars because they “point” to an important star in our northern hemisphere sky. Use the UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204 LAB UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204

two stars as pointers left and down a little and find a star in the tip of the tail of Ursa Major’s cub, Ursa Minor or “Little Bear”. 8. This star, called Polaris, is significant in the northern hemisphere and can be used to locate many constellations and interesting objects in the night sky. It is not the brightest star by any means, but it is still important. What are the azimuthal coordinates of Polaris? 80 degrees above horizon, 0 degrees vertically 9. Now use the fast forward button on the menu to speed up the time and watch what happens to Polaris as you go forward in time through a full day. What happened to the star? Explain why this would be useful and even critical for sailors. The star began to move in a small circle but stayed mostly in the same spot in the north of the sky. This would be useful for sailors because they could follow this star and continue going in north direction. 10. We can use Polaris to help us find other constellations in the night sky as well. We already mentioned the Big Bear and used her pointer stars to locate Polaris. Now let’s set our date and time back to a set day. Set your location for Hope, AR and the day for 1 Feb 2022 at 2200. From Polaris, you should be able to pick out the Little Dipper, which is part of Ursa Minor. Hopefully, you can also find the Big Dipper, which is part of mama bear, Ursa Major. Next, let’s find another constellation and one of my favorites, Cassiopeia. To find this constellation look due west (left) from Polaris and find the sideways W which are the stars that make up the constellation Cassiopeia. Use the space below to describe how you might explain to someone how you would use Polaris to help someone find Draco. Do this in the same manner I explained how to find Cassiopeia to you. Look south of Polaris and find the cursive looking “U” which are the stars that make up Draco 11. I urge you now to turn off all the grids, names, and lines and just see if you can find these constellations without the hints of the lines and names. 12. Now use the mouse to scroll back to the South Cardinal point and UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204 LAB UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204

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explore the night sky in this direction. Look and find bright or significant groupings (like the three stars that make up Orion’s belt) and spend some time using these to locate constellations in this direction like we used Polaris when facing North. Describe what you see (at least two constellations) and explain how you can use it to find other things in this direction of the sky. The brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is in the neck of the dog which is how to find the constellation, Canis Major. If you look to the north and left, you will see another bright star, Procycon, which is in the leg of the dog, constellation canis minor. 13. Now, I implore you to find a place outside on a clear night away from light and look in the beautiful night sky and see if you can pick out some of the constellations, stars, and clusters you have explored in this part of the lab. Describe your success. Who was with you? Were you able to see any/all the constellations and identify them? List at least three you saw clearly and could identify. I did not have much success finding the constellations on my own. I did download the SkyView app to help though. I believe I saw Capricornus, Aquarius, and Sagittarius, along with Saturn. I was by myself in my backyard. 14. Finally, let’s explore some of the sky in the Southern hemisphere. Some of the constellations in this sky will never be visible to us in the US simply because we do not live in the southern hemisphere and the earth literally gets in our way. Set your location to Auckland, New Zealand, and the direction to South. 15. Now, find what is known as the Southern Cross and give the azimuthal coordinates for the brightest star in this formation. 40 degrees above the horizon, +50 degrees vertically 16. I will always try to ask you how each lab can be improved. This is especially important for this particular lab as you are the first class UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204 LAB UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204

with the Part 2 addition. How can the lab be modified? Were the instructions easy to follow? What can be added to help make the lab easier to follow? Give specific dates and times on each part. When looking for the southern cross I did not know a date or time so I just sort of guessed. The southern cross was hard to find. Also, when looking on our own into the real sky, it would have been nice to be given a day and time to do it that way we all can be looking at sort of the same things. UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204 LAB UAHT INTRO TO ASTRONOMY 1204

Stellarium lab for astronomy(1) (3)

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