Brooke Masterson
AST 115 H
Baker Lab #1 – Constellations
Introduction:
Constellations are groupings of stars in the night
sky. The constellations that are
used by modern astronomers are based off of the Greek tradition. They have retained the ancient
constellations because it is a convenient way to group stars. These stars are usually not in the same
area of space – the stars in a constellation have large distances of space
between them. Constellations
are useful when determining the time of year it is in the northern and southern
hemispheres (in relation to season changes), because different constellations
are visible during different times in the year depending on location. In conclusion, not only have
constellations been useful in determining the time of year it is, they are
useful because they help organize the night sky, which is studded with millions
of stars.
Procedure:
Honors
astronomy students were asked to learn more about the constellations in an
outdoor laboratory at Baker observatory.
There were asked to use star charts and a star/planet locator to find
various constellations. They were
also asked to use the locator to find the constellations in which the bright
planets are currently located, if they were visible that night. The supplies that are needed for this
lab are
1)
a free app for your
phone like StarChart for Android and iPhones
2)
a constellation
chart tool
3)
paper to take notes
to type up later
These students were then asked
to report their findings and post it on the blog in a well-written lab report
form.
Results and Discussion
Below
are …
1) the questions Honors astronomy
students were asked
2) the information they were
provided
3) the answers I found to these
questions
A)
Using a free app on your phone like StarChart
for iPhones and Androids:
a.
Identify as many constellations as you can that
are currently visible. Mark them
on your constellation chart for later reference.
b.
Find the constellations of the Zodiac.
The constellations that I identified the night of February
17th, 2016, were Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Cassiopeia, Andromeda,
Triangulum, Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Taurs and Gemini. I had difficulty identifying these
constellations with the StarChart app because the app had distracting displays
– the constellations would take on the shape of what they were (for example, if
Hercules had been visible that night, I would’ve seen a man on the StarChart
app more so than the distinct grouping of stars. To me, it was distracting, and also the calibrating tool
wasn’t very dependable in an area without wifi). Instead, I used the constellation chart included in our lab
booklet. That was much more
helpful. Another disadvantage to
the particular night we did this lab was that the Moon was very bright. It’s luminosity dimmed the stars
surrounding the Moon, which made identification hard. Then there was the cloud cover in the beginning of the
lab.
B)
Locate the moon, if it is visible. If it is visible:
a.
What is the phase of the Moon?
b.
What is its approximate altitude and azimuth?
c.
Can you cover it up with the tip of your finger
at arm’s length with one eye closed?
d.
Knowing that the width of your fiber is
approximately two degrees when held at arm’s length, what is the approximate
angular diameter of the Moon?
e.
Is it easier or harder to see stars next to the
Moon? Why might that be?
f.
What craters can you identify?
g.
What maria can you identify?
The phase of the Moon was waxing gibbous. The Moon’s approximate altitude was 60
degrees at 8:58pm. The Moon’s
approximate azimuth was 180 degrees at 8:58pm. The Moon can be
covered up with the tip of my finger at arm’s length with one eye closed. According to the information given in
B, question d, I would say that the approximate angular diameter of the Moon is
.60 degrees.
Unfortunately, it is not easier to identify the stars
next to the Moon because of its brilliant light. The Moon’s luminosity pales the stars’ light. I predict this is so because the Moon
is much closer to the Earth than the stars are, so its light will be brighter
than theirs. Also, the Moon takes
up more space in the sky than a single star does! Therefore, if the Moon is lit in the sky and there are stars
around it, the Moon’s large amount of light will overpower any stars’ single,
small beam of light (in comparison – according to distance). The craters that I could identify on
the Moon were Theophilus, Catharina, and Aristoteles. The maria I could identify on the Moon were Serenitatis,
Tranquilitatis, Fecunditatis, Asperitatis, Nectaris, to name a few.
C)
Locate as many planets are you can and identify
the constellations they are in.
a.
At approximately what altitude and azimuth
angles are they located at? What
is the time of your observations?
Hint #1: Use these web pages for
help in finding the planets:
Hint#2: the only planets visible
without aid of a telescope are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Hint #3: Venus and Mercury are only
visible right after sunset or right before sunrise, depending on where they are
in their orbits. Hint #4: Mercury
is much harder to find than Venus.
Venus is often referred to as the Evening or Morning Star, depending on
where it is in its orbit.
The
only planet that my lab partner (Megan) and I located on February 17th,
2016 was Jupiter. Jupiter had an
approximate altitude of 8 degrees and azimuth of 98 degrees at 9:00pm.
D)
If they were visible, find the Orion Nebula
(Orion’s sword) and the Andromeda Galaxy.
a.
Were you able to see that they are fuzzy and not
“star like” single points of light?
YES, we were able to see the blurry image of
those stars in the Andromeda Galaxy.
b.
At approximately what altitude and azimuth
angles are they located at? What
is the time of your observation?
The time of our observation was at 8:38pm.
c.
When you looked at the Andromeda Galaxy, you
were seeing the light of a 100 billion stars! Could you tell?
Was it really bright? If
not, why not?
The
light of the Andromeda Galaxy was faint.
I predict it was faint because of 1) the Moon’s brightness that night,
which made everything else dimmer and 2) the Andromeda Galaxy is light years
away from Earth. The light
traveling from that distant point in space to Earth is fainter than closer
stars and closer galaxies. The
distance between Earth and Andromeda Galaxy also explains why the stars are not
clear – you cannot focus on one because the image is blurry. That makes sense because those stars
are so far away from Earth that instead of seeing the spaces between the stars
in that Galaxy, people on Earth see the stars all squishes together (when they
aren’t in reality).
E)
Find the Milky Way.
a.
At approximately what azimuth angle does it
start and end?
b.
At approximately what altitude angle does it
reach a maximum?
c.
What is a constellation in the Milky Way?
Unfortunately, the night we did this lab at Baker Observatory,
the Milky Way could not be found.
The reason for that was because of the Moon’s brightness (it was almost
blinding in the darkness) and because of clouds.
However,
I do have an answer for part c of question E. Some constellations in the Milky Way are Scorpius,
Cassiopeia (which we saw), the Summer Triangle, and parts of Orion.
F)
Names of Stars:
a.
Identify five of the brightest stars in the sky
right now by name. Keep in mind
the brightest star in any one constellation can still be fainter than the
second or even third brightest star in another constellation.
The
five brightest stars in the sky on February 17th were (in my
opinion) Sirius, Pollux, Castor, Rigel and Procyon.
b.
What are their approximate altitudes and azimuth
angles and what time did you make the observations?
Below
is a graph of the information I gathered!
Hint: Use Wikipedia!
G)
Find Polaris.
a.
To the nearest two degrees, how many degrees
above the horizon is it (altitude)?
b.
What is the azimuth angle of Polaris?
c.
How does that compare to the latitude of
Springfield – 37.1950 degrees North?
Polaris’
altitude was 28 degrees at 9:12pm.
Polaris’
azimuth was due North (zero degrees) at 9:12pm.
I think
the altitude compares to the latitude of Springfield because the numbers are
similar to each other. Maybe the
altitude is supposed to be similar to the latitude of the location you are at
when observing the stars/constellations.
H)
Extra Credit: Now that at least an hour has
passed, re-measure the altitude and azimuth for Polaris and other stars in the
sky.
a.
Have the values changed?
b.
By how much, if so?
c.
Approximately how many degrees per hour did the
objects move?
Conclusion:
This lab’s purpose was to make participants more aware of
the constellations in the night sky.
It was supposed to increase a person’s knowledge of where those
constellations were, what they looked like, how they moved in the sky, and how
the Moon might affect the visibility of those stars. I learned about the constellations and where many of them there
were on February 17th. In
this lab, we learned the names, shapes, and general locations of the
constellations, especially in regard to one another. This lab was meant to teach us how to manually find the
altitude and azimuth of objects in the sky. In general, it was supposed to make us more aware of what is
in the night sky with our naked eyes.
It succeeded for
me.
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