Lab_2_Celestial Sphere(1)
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Tri-County Technical College *
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101
Subject
Astronomy
Date
Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by ChancellorWillpower12072
Modified Lab 2
Exercise 1
1)
Click on the below link.
https://in-the-sky.org/skymap2.php
You will be shown a star chart of what the night sky looks like in your area. This is the
northern celestial sphere from your vantage point.
2)
First, make sure that Stars, Deep Sky, and Planets are selected to be shown in the Display menu below the chart, as well as Names and Stick figures under the constellation menu. The correct date should already be displayed. Set the time for 10:00 pm (in EDT this is 22:00). 3)
Write down Ten of the constellations that are visible @21:00 hours tonight (9pm). List any planets that are visible during this time. Constellations
Constellations
Cygnus
Ursa Major
Draco
Serpens
Hercules
Virgo
Cepheus
Capricornus
Ursa Minor
Scorpius
List any planets visible @21:00 hours
Saturn
Moon
4)
Now change the date for three nights later, but keep the time set at 22:00 hours (10:00 pm). Now move ahead to three more nights. What are some changes in the night sky that you observed when switching dates?
Saturn is the only planet visible
5)
How are these changes in the night sky explained, given that they were all made at the same time every night?
- As the earth revolves around the sun, the position of the earth changes and this creates the different views of the night sky
6)
Go to the “show” menu (found underneath the star chart) and check ecliptic. A yellow line should appear on the chart. This represents the path taken by the sun on the celestial sphere throughout the year. What constellations does the ecliptic pass through? There should be Thirteen in all that the ecliptic passes through. Press the fast-forward button under “Animate” to see all twelve. List these constellations (starting with Pisces
) in the space below. These may be familiar to you. What are these constellations called?
Constellations along the ecliptic
Pisces
Aquarius
Capricornus
Sagittarius
Scorpius
Libra
Taurus
Cancer
Gemini
Leo
Virgo
Aries
Ophiuchus 7)
Now locate Polaris, the north star. You can do this by checking the RA/Dec grid on the “show” menu. Lines of right ascension and declination should now be displayed on the chart. The lines of right ascension converge on the north star. Again, hit the fast-forward button an observe
how the sky changes from night to night. Note that the north star is the only object in the night sky that doesn’t move. This is because it is situated at the north celestial pole. Also note that at our latitude the north celestial pole is low in the sky. This is seen in the chart by its close proximity to the northern horizon. What is the RA of Polaris? 02h 31m 47s
8)
What declination coordinate would you expect the north star to have?
+89 degrees 15’50”
9)
Check your answer by moving your cursor over the north star and reading the declination that is displayed above the chart.
02h 31m 47s
+89 degrees 15’50”
Exercise 2
The below diagram shows a section of the night sky, with stars and constellations labeled.
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Use the star chart to identify the stars with the following right ascension and declination coordinates.
Star 1
RA: 5 h 55 m 10 s
Dec: +
7
o
24’ 26’’
Star 2
RA: 5 h 14 m 32.3 s
Dec: -
8
o
12 min 6 s
Star 3
RA: 5 h 32 m 0 s
Dec: 0
o
17’ 57’’
Star 4
RA: 5 h 47 m 45 s
Dec: -
9
o
40’ 10’’
Recall that 60’’ = 1’ and 60’ = 1
o
.
Identity of Star 1 Betelgeuse
Identity of Star 2 Rigel
Identity of Star 3 Mintaka
Identity of Star 4 Saiph