Question

1)What are constellations, how many are there? 2) What and where is the zodiac? 2)Describe latitude, longitude, prime meridian, RA, Dec, Celestial Equator, and NCP? 3) What is meant by zenith? Altitude, meridian? 4)How do we name the stars? 5)Why is Polaris important? Name *3* things that Polaris can tell us if we find it in the sky! 6)What is the altitude of Polaris in San Mateo? 7)What is meant by circumpolar? 8)How many degrees does your fist span APPROXIMATELY? 9) Describe the Ecliptic, What objects would we find there? 11) Describe the daily(24 hrs), (yearly)and long term(26,000 yrs) motions of the stars 12) What causes the Seasons? Why doesn’t distance from the Sun cause seasons? Describe some evidence that distance doesnt! I put a SEASONS worksheet on Canvas to help you out. You do not need to turn this in! Please contact me for solutions if you have trouble with the questions! 13)What are the solstice, equinox? When do they occur? What special things happen on those dates? 14)How does the Sun move in the sky, where does it rise/set various times of year? 15) Describe precession and its cause 16) Which direction do planets Normally move with respect to the stars? 17) What does the word planet mean in ancient Greek? 18)What is the cause of retrograde motion? 19)Be able to draw and determine Moon phases Be able to determine the rise, transit, and set times for each phase. 20)How long does it take the Moon to go through a complete cycle of phases? 21) How long does it take the Moon to orbit the Earth? 22) Which direction do the planets move around the Sun? (CW or CCW?) 23) What is meant by synchronous rotation? 24) Which direction does the Earth rotate? 25) Why are Uranus’s Seasons so extreme? 26) Be able to identify each phase of the Moon and DRAW the orientation of the Earth Sun and Moon for each phase

Answer 1

1) A constellation is a group of stars that appears to form a pattern or picture like Orion the Great Hunter, Leo the Lion, or Taurus the Bull. Constellations are easily recognizable patterns that help people orient themselves using the night sky. There are 88 “official” constellations.

2) The zodiac is an area of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The paths of the Moon and visible planets are also within the belt of the zodiac

2) Latitude is a measurement on a globe or map of location north or south of the Equator.

Longitude is a measurement of location east or west of the prime meridian at Greenwich, the specially designated imaginary north-south line that passes through both geographic poles and Greenwich, London.

A prime meridian is the meridian in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°.

RA (right ascension) and Dec (declination) are the coordinates on the sky that correspond to longitude and latitude on Earth. RA measures east and west on the celestial sphere and is like longitude on the Earth. Dec measures north and south on the celestial sphere and is like latitude on the Earth.

celestial equator is the projection into space of the earth's equator; an imaginary circle equidistant from the celestial poles

NCP - The north and south celestial poles are the two imaginary points in the sky where the Earth's axis of rotation, indefinitely extended, intersects the celestial sphere.

3) The zenith is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the imaginary celestial sphere

altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object.

meridian is the half of an imaginary great circle on the Earth's surface, terminated by the North Pole and the South Pole, connecting points of equal longitude, as measured in angular degrees east or west of the Prime Meridian.

4) Each star is given a greek letter (alpha being assigned to the brightest, beta to the second brightest, etc.) and then a modified version of the constellation name. So the brightest star in Cepheus, for instance, became Alpha Cephei, and the third brightest is Gamma Cephei. Very rarely named on person name.

5) The reason Polaris is so important is because the axis of Earth is pointed almost directly at it. During the course of the night, Polaris does not rise or set, but remains in very nearly the same spot above the northern horizon year-round while the other stars circle around it.

7) A circumpolar star is a star, as viewed from a given latitude on Earth, that never sets below the horizon due to its apparent proximity to one of the celestial poles. Circumpolar stars are therefore visible from said location toward the nearest pole for the entire night on every night of the year.

8) Hold your hand at arm's length and close one eye. Make a fist, with the back of your hand facing you. The width of your fist will approximately be 10 degrees. This means that any two objects that are on the opposite ends of your fist will be 10 degrees apart

9) Hold your hand at arm's length and close one eye. Make a fist, with the back of your hand facing you. The width of your fist will approximately be 10 degrees. This means that any two objects that are on the opposite ends of your fist will be 10 degrees apart

12) The seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth's rotational axis away or toward the sun as it travels through its year-long path around the sun.

The Earth's orbit is very nearly circular so the change in distance from the Sun doesn't have much effect.

13) The days are longer around the summer solstice and shorter around the winter solstice. When the Sun's path crosses the equator, the length of the nights at latitudes +L° and −L° are of equal length. This is known as an equinox. There are two solstices and two equinoxes in a tropical year.

Vernal equinox(about March 21): day and night of equal length, marking the start of spring. Summer solstice (June 20 or 21): longest day of the year, marking the start of summer. Autumnal equinox(about September 23): day and night of equal length, marking the start of autumn.

14) In general, all across the Earth, the Sun appears to rise in the Eastern portion of the sky, rise up high overhead towards the equatorial direction, and then lower down and set in the West.

Each day the rising and setting points change slightly. At the summer solstice, the Sun rises as far to the northeast as it ever does, and sets as far to the northwest. Every day after that, the Sun rises a tiny bit further south. At the fall equinox, the Sun rises due east and sets due west

15) The Earth's axis rotates (precesses) just as a spinning top does. The period of precession is about 26,000 years. Therefore, the North Celestial Pole will not always be point towards the same starfield. Precession is caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon on the Earth.

16) All eight planets in the Solar System orbit the Sun in the direction of the Sun's rotation, which is counterclockwise when viewed from above the Sun's north pole. Six of the planets also rotate about their axis in this same direction. The exceptions the planets with retrograde rotation are Venus and Uranus.

17) Most of the stars seem to have fixed positions when they are compared to other stars. There are some heavenly bodies, however, that clearly change their positions in relation to the stars and to each other. They seem to wander about among the fixed stars. The ancient Greek name for such a heavenly body was planemacrons, which means "wanderer." The English word planet comes from the Greek planemacrons. Unlike the ancient Greeks, we now know that the planets "wander" across the sky because they, like the planet Earth, are revolving around the sun.

21) The sidereal month is the time it takes to make one complete orbit around Earth with respect to the fixed stars. It is about 27.32 days. The synodic month is the time it takes the Moon to reach the same visual phase. This varies notably throughout the year, but averages around 29.53 days

22) All eight planets in the Solar System orbit the Sun in the direction of the Sun's rotation, which is counterclockwise when viewed from above the Sun's north pole.

23) The rotation of an orbiting body on its axis in the same amount of time as it takes to complete a full orbit, with the result that the same face is always turned toward the body it is orbiting. Earth's moon exhibits synchronous rotation.

24) Earth rotates eastward, in prograde motion. As viewed from the north pole star Polaris, Earth turns counterclockwise.

25) Uranus lies nearly sideways with respect to the plane of its orbit around the sun. That sideways tilt makes a huge difference between winter-summer on Uranus, and autumn-spring. Uranus, like Earth, has four seasons. But the seasons on Earth and Uranus are very different. For starters, the length of Uranus’ seasons are different from ours. It takes Earth 365 days to orbit around the sun, but it takes Uranus 84 Earth-years, more or less. So Uranus’ year is 84 Earth-years along, and each season on Uranus lasts 21 earthly years.Uranus, like Earth, has a nearly circular orbit, so it remains at the same distance from the sun throughout its long year. It’s the planet’s tilt that gives Uranus its seasons, just as Earth’s seasons are caused by our world’s tilt on its axis. But the tilts of our planets are different. While Earth orbits nearly upright, Uranus is lying down nearly sideways with respect to its orbit around the sun.

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