Motion of the Sun Lab - AGH
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School
Evergreen Valley College *
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Course
010L
Subject
Astronomy
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
Pages
3
Uploaded by CoachSandpiperMaster669
Gonzalez 1
Abraham Gonzalez Herrera
Professor Masuda
Astronomy 010L
12 December 2023
Motion of the Sun Lab
Purpose:
The purpose of this lab is to gather as much data on the Sun, so we can compare and
predict the position of the Sun over the weeks that follow the last class, the upcoming Spring
semester, the winter solace of 2021, and the summer solstice of 2021.
Procedure:
Construct the simple astrolabe out of the provided materials (the paper cutout, magnets,
yarn, tape, hot glue, and a washer).
Once assembled, collect a compass and stand, and head outside.
Place the assembled astrolabe on the stand in a way that faces the Sun.
Tilt the rig in a way so the light of the Sun passes through the straw and creates a full-
hollow circle.
Place the compass in front of the rig, and make sure it faces North.
Write down the data from the compass and the angle of the Sun (the yarn with the tied-up
washer is the indication of the angle).
Repeat the last four steps every time you go out to measure the position of the Sun.
This should occur only once a week, on the day you began measuring, and must
occur at the same time.
Gonzalez 2
Data:
Analysis of Data:
This graph displays nine weeks of Sun positioning data collected for
The Motion of the
Sun Lab
. The y-axis of the graph tracks the Sun's altitude in degrees, which appear in increments
of 10 degrees. The x-axis of the graph tracks azimuth in degrees, which appear in increments of
2 degrees. The points on the graph are labeled, displaying the recorded date of the data.
One noticeable observation that the data reflects is the decline in altitude and azimuth.
The percentage difference in altitude between the first recorded point (9/7/23, 56°) and the last
(11/2/23, 33°) is -41%. The percent difference in azimuth between the first recorded point
(9/7/23, 186°) and the last (11/2/23, 175°) is -6%. Thus, the position of the Sun decreases every
week due to the tilt of the Earth, causing it to have an even greater angle than the week before.
9/7/2023
9/14/2023
9/21/2023
9/28/2023
10/5/2023
10/12/2023
10/19/2023
10/26/2023
11/2/2023
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
174
176
178
180
182
184
186
188
190
192
ALTITUDE (DEGREES)
AZIMUTH (DEGREES)
Gonzalez 3
Therefore, the Sun's altitude and azimuth in December will decrease even more as the
Earth's rotation period reaches Winter. However, the altitude and azimuth will rise as more time
passes and the data is recorded in the Spring semester.
But my expectation for the Sun in the
Winter Solstice, or December 21, is that the light of the Sun will be more challenging to reach
the recording destination as North America will be at its furthest point from the Sun.
Nonetheless, with the Sun entering the Summer Solstice, the altitude and azimuth would rise as it
would be the easiest time for the Sun's rays to reach the recording destination. As a result, my
prediction for the position of the Sun coincides with the data I collected and the data I collected
from my peers.
Conclusion:
Overall, this lab experiment was successful since the information we gathered allowed us
to compare and predict the position of the Sun. The ability to validate the ability to predict the
path of the Sun with our data was highly beneficial, as it gave me a fine, detailed explanation of
why the altitude and azimuth are affected by time. However, one of the main issues that occurred
when completing the experiment was getting over the daylight savings hump, as it hindered the
number of times we were able to record data for the lab. Nonetheless, the nine times we went out
to record the data on the Sun were sufficient since they still gave a fair depiction of the Sun's
altitude and azimuth declining as more time passed. One workaround for this lab is to make the
students gather information at a time when they can do it on their own. Other than that, the lab
went well, as we successfully proved that the Sun's motion can be predicted with the data we
collected.
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