Olivia Panzarella-Tracking Motions Worksheet.docx

Tracking Motions Worksheet These lab activities have evolved over many years of use in Clemson University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy general astronomy laboratory. Contributors include, in chronological order, Tom Collins, Mark Leising, Neil Miller, Peter Milne, Grant Williams, Donna Mullenax, Jessica Crist, Keith Davis, Amber Porter, Steven Bromley, and David Connick. Please direct all questions, complaints, and corrections to David Connick (dconnic@clemson.edu) who is responsible for all errors and omissions. Student Name: __Olivia Panzarella_______ Section: __1_____ The Sun's Yearly Motion Table 1. Month Constellation Rises (am) (Hour:minute) Sets (pm) (Hour:minute) Daylight Length (hours) Altitude (above horizon) (degrees Minutes) January Sagittarius 7:39 AM 5:35 PM 10 hrs +32º 52' 49.4" February Capricornus 7:25 AM 6:05 PM 11 hrs +39º 44' 14.2" March Aquarius 6:53 AM 6:31 PM 11 hrs +49º 44' 46.0" April Pisces 7:11 AM 7:56 PM 12 hrs +61º 57' 04.4" May Aries 6:36 AM 8:20 PM 13 hrs +71º 59' 35.8" June Taurus 6:18 AM 8:42 PM 15 hrs +78º 01' 20.8" July Gemini 6:24 AM 8:47 PM 15 hrs +77º 52' 36.6" August Cancer 6:45 AM 8:28 PM 13 hrs +71º 48' 09.9" September Leo 7:07 AM 7:50 PM 13 hrs +61º 34' 28.3" October Virgo 7:29 AM 7:08 PM 12 hrs +49º 56' 35.4" November Libra 6:56 AM 5:32 PM 11 hrs +39º 05' 09.4" December Scorpius 7:24 AM 5:20 PM 10 hrs +32º 46' 00.3" 1. What month is the Sun's altitude a maximum? __ June ___________________ 2. What month is the Sun's altitude a minimum? __ December ___________________ 3. In which month is the length of the day the shortest? _ December ____________________ 4. In which month is the length of the day the longest? __ June ____________________ 5. Describe the relationship between the altitude and the length of the day. ___ When altitude is higher, length of day is longer ____________________________

6. During the longest day of the year, what is the distance from the Earth to the Sun in AU? (You will need to set the date based on your table and look at the info panel for the Sun) ___ 1.016214 AU ________________ 7. During the shortest day of the year, what is the distance from the Earth to the Sun in AU? (You will need to set the date based on your table and look at the info panel for the Sun) __ 0.983784 AU __________________ 8. During lunch, you overhear a group of friends claiming that the cold weather in winter is due to the Earth being furthest from the Sun in its orbit. From your data above, is this claim true? Explain. This claim is not true. From the data, we can see that June has the longest daylight hours in the summer. In the winter, the daylight hours are shorter, and the energy from the sun cannot be absorbed by the earth as much. 9. What is the true cause of the Seasons? (Use the information in your table and your knowledge from ASTR1010, you should mention the sun’s altitude in your answer) The cause of the seasons is the earth’s tilt on its axis, affecting the altitude. When the altitude of the sun changes, the length of day does, and so do the seasons. For example, summer has the highest, and winter has the lowest. 10. Does the Sun spend an equal amount of time in every Zodiacal constellation? Why or why not? (Give examples) (Look at the path of the sun through the constellations, remember the sun moves along the ecliptic at a constant rate.) The path of the sun is different for each constellation, since the boundaries are different. (less time in Scorpio, more time in Taurus) Return to the instruction document to set up the next simulation before answering the next set of questions. Tracking Planets Table 2. Date: 2/012023 Date: 4/01/2023 Object RA DEC Dec DEC RA Dec Venus RA 22 h 36 min 26.85s DEC -10º 24' 20.7" RA 03h 03m 49.30s DEC +18º 20' 19.5"

28 days (this is called the sidereal period) 18. How long does it take for the moon to get close to the sun again? (this is called the synodic period) One month 19. What is the difference in time for the moon to return to the same grid line (background stars) to the time it takes to return close to the sun? 2 days 20. When viewed from above the north pole, which direction does the Earth orbit the sun, and which direction does the moon orbit the earth? (think back to ASTR1010) Earth is orbiting from counterclockwise around the sun, and the moon orbits the earth counterclockwise when you are looking at it from the north pole. 21. Do your best to explain the connection between the orbit directions as viewed from above and how we see the sun and moon move in the sky relative to the background stars (grid lines) from the surface of the Earth. The earth moves west to east, allowing us to see that the stars will move opposite, east to west.