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 Astronomy
Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 2007 Edition

McGraw-Hill
=>?
McGraw−Hill Primis

ISBN: 0−390−81392−3

Text:

Astronomy Notes, 2007 Edition

Strobel
 This book was printed on recycled paper.

Astronomy

http://www.primisonline.com
Copyright ©2008 by The McGraw−Hill Companies, Inc. All rights
reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as
permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part
of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form
or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system,
without prior written permission of the publisher.

This McGraw−Hill Primis text may include materials submitted to

McGraw−Hill for publication by the instructor of this course. The
instructor is solely responsible for the editorial content of such
materials.

111 ASTYGEN ISBN: 0−390−81392−3

 Astronomy

Contents

Strobel • Astronomy Notes, 2007 Edition

Frontmatter 1
Preface 1

Chapters 5
1. Introduction to Astronomy 5
2. Method for Finding Scientific Truth 19
3. Astronomy Without a Telescope 29
4. History of Astronomy 69
5. Newton’s Law of Gravity 91
6. Einstein’s Relativity 115
7. Electromagnetic Radiation (Light) 125
8. Telescopes 145
9. Planetary Science 163
10. Solar System Fluff 223
11. Stellar Properties 255
12. Our Sun and Stellar Structure 287
13. Lives and Deaths of Stars 311
14. The Interstellar Medium and the Milky Way 345
15. Other Galaxies and Active Galaxies 373
16. Cosmology 413
17. Life Beyond the Earth 439

Appendices 449
Appendix A: Angular Momentum 449
Appendix B: Mathematics Review 453
Appendix C: Tables 459
Appendix D: Glossary 465

Backmatter 479
Index 479
Illustration Credits 490

iii
Strobel: Astronomy Notes, Preface © The McGraw−Hill 1
2007 Edition Companies, 2007

viii Preface

Preface
I wrote this textbook for the introductory astronomy course at Bakersfield Col-
lege, a community college in southern California. The course is a one-semester
general education class primarily intended for non-science majors. A general edu-
cation science course gives a survey of a particular field of science with the main goal
of showing how science works. Therefore, the book covers just the primary concepts
at a basic level with a minimum of mathematics. I focus on how astronomers figure
out how the universe and its numerous parts work. I strive to show the student
the thinking process behind the scientific discoveries. Astronomy is the oldest of
the sciences and it provides a fascinating way to show the process of science to the
non-scientist.
The text will probably present a new way of thinking and viewing the world to
the non-science major student. That is the main goal of a college general education
science course. Throughout the text, I draw connections between different parts of
astronomy to show how one process of understanding or technique of measurement
is used in a variety of seemingly very different areas of astronomy. If after studying
this textbook, the reader has an understanding of the scientific method and is able
to take a recent news item about something in astronomy and see how it connects
with other parts of astronomy, then I will consider the text successful.
The main content is in the central 5-inch wide block of text on the page. I
use the remaining outermost 3 inches of the page for brief notes—pointers to the
first usage of vocabulary terms or to the introduction of a particular concept. You
are encouraged to make additional notes in the margins that will help you under-
stand the material such as brief summaries, marks flagging a topic that you need
clarification, or whatever else your heart desires!

Text Website
This hardcopy version of Astronomy Notes has black-and-white versions of the
illustrations. The nice color photographs and animations are found in the web
version of the text. The text website’s URL (the address you type in your web
browser) is:
http://www.astronomynotes.com
I recommend that you save yourself the trouble of typing in the long address by
adding it to the “bookmark” or “favorites” database of your web browser. I also
recommend that you start your use of the text’s website by selecting the top link
called “How to Navigate in this website” in the top left of the homepage. That will
introduce you to the setup of the website. The bottom half of the homepage gives
a brief overview of the website and links to each of the chapters.
The web version also has links to other astronomy sites embedded within the
text material. Sometimes a set of links is also placed at the end of a section.
Unfortunately, information on the internet is not ranked by quality or accuracy.
Bad or junk material looks the same as the good, respectable stuff. The other
websites I have chosen are of excellent quality and from reputable sources. However,
sites on the web will frequently change addresses. I tried to select stable sites,
but if you find a link does not work, please let me know. My email address is
[email protected].

New Edition
There have been significant discoveries that by themselves would warrant an
updated edition since the last update in 2004, but there were also some corrections
and clarifications that needed to be made. In the wake of the Intelligent Design
controversy, I have expanded upon the features of a scientific theory and the scien-
tific process, including its purposeful limitation to a materialistic methodology (not
philosophy). The discussion of plate tectonics has been greatly expanded because
2 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, Preface © The McGraw−Hill
2007 Edition Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes ix

of its essential role in making a habitable planet. Of course, there is new discussion
on the status of Pluto and what is meant by a “dwarf planet”. I have included
the expected updates in the two usual “hot” areas of astronomy:exoplanets and
cosmology and the astronomy in the other “hot” area, astrobiology, has a bit more
discussion.
I have added illustrations in my never-ending quest to improve the explanation
of the key concepts. Those extra illustrations are responsible for most of the increase
in the page count, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, then I guess the extra
illustrations would be better than pages and pages of text. There are even more
additional illustrations on the website.
We have learned new things since the previous update, but the methods we use
and the reasons for finding about those things has not changed. Since this book
focusses on the “how we know” and “why it matters” (concepts) rather than the
“what we know” (facts), I have been able to keep the textbook from becoming a
huge encyclopedia.

How to Read the Textbook

Reading a science textbook requires a different method than the usual sequential
page-by-page method you use for a novel or other book! Your mind will need to
have some sort of framework or place holders to store the information presented
in a chapter. So you need to create that framework first before you get to the
meat of the material. Read the “headlines” first—the chapter title and the section
titles. Scan the notes in the outermost column and look up the definitions of the
vocabulary terms in boldface type in the glossary. Then read the Review Questions
at the end of each section.
Note that all of this is done before you even read the chapter material! Only
after you have built the framework will your mind be ready for the substance of the
textbook. After you have read a section, then answer the Review Questions at the
end. If you cannot answer a question, then read through the section again to get
the answer.
At first glance this technique may seem to take longer than simply reading the
text page-by-page. However, it vastly improves comprehension of the material and
actually saves time in the long run. Rather than having to read the chapter several
times and memorizing the wrong things, you can get the correct understanding of
the material by reading the chapter once. Your study time is much more efficient
with this method and you will do better on the exams. No need to cram for an
exam (and fail it!) if you “study read” the chapters.

Final Word
Give yourself extra time to learn this material. I suspect you will find there is
much more material to learn in your astronomy class and more study time required
than what you thought it would take when you signed up for it (just about every
student has said that to me). In California, students learn about astronomy in a
small unit (perhaps up to two or three weeks) in the third and/or fifth grade. If
they are lucky, they review the material and learn a little more in junior high in
another one-to-three week unit of a general science class. The order of the planets,
a few facts about them, and a few of the famous constellations are memorized. I
suspect it is pretty much the same in other states.
In college you have a full term (quarter or semester) or two devoted to the
subject! It is also at a deeper, more abstract level. Ideas and concepts are more
important than facts. If you have not had a science course for a while, it will take
your mind some time to “switch gears” from the elementary astronomy exposure
you had long ago. Finally, talk with your astronomy instructor frequently, even if
you just need to double-check your understanding of the concepts. Most astronomy
Strobel: Astronomy Notes, Preface © The McGraw−Hill 3
2007 Edition Companies, 2007

x Preface

instructors (including myself) are lonely during their office hours and would be
happy to have an inquisitive student to talk to!

Nick Strobel
Bakersfield, CA
June 2007
4 Notes
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 1. Introduction to © The McGraw−Hill 5
2007 Edition Astronomy Companies, 2007

Chapter 1

Introduction to Astronomy

Hello, explorer! You are about to start a journey that will take you to the farthest
reaches of space and the innermost depths of matter and from the earliest beginning
of time to the future billions of years from now. Introductory astronomy classes
have the daunting task of introducing students to the wonders of the entire universe
in one short course, often just one semester or one quarter long. Though the places
and events you will encounter will sometimes be mind-boggling, I hope you will find
it such a fascinating experience that you will want to learn more about those places
in another course or in your own free time in the library or in your backyard with
binoculars or telescope (or even better, at star parties on a mountain far from the
city lights with your local astronomy club).
The first part of this chapter takes you on a tour of the universe in space and
time to give you some context—“set the stage and introduce the characters”, some
familiar and others quite obscure but still vital to the play. It is like a travel brochure
you read before your vacation trip. One word of warning: a lot of numbers and
facts are presented in the first section but do not try to memorize them. What is
important is to get a sense of the relative scale of things.
In grade school you probably memorized a lot of facts about the planets and
stars and when you were older you wondered, “but how do they know that?” In the
following chapters you will learn how astronomers measure the distances, sizes, and
ages of these objects and determine what they are like and what makes them appear
the way they do. This textbook emphasizes the techniques and process astronomers
use to find out about the universe around us and the unifying principles operating
“behind the scenes”. Facts will be given as examples of what is found when those
techniques are used or as examples of a particular effect of a physical principle in
operation.
The second part of the chapter presents a brief description of the philosophy and
method of science and the role astronomy plays in our attempts to understand the
universe scientifically. At the end is a discussion of the non-science often confused
with astronomy called astrology. The vocabulary terms are in boldface.

1.1 A Sense of Scale

1.1.1 Size
You probably already know that the universe is big but most people do not realize
how B I G it really is. Many astronomy classes start off with a tour of the universe
based on the excellent short film called Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames.
The film starts with a man and woman in a city park and then expands the field of
view by ten times every ten seconds until it reaches the bounds of the observable

1
 6 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 1. Introduction to © The McGraw−Hill
2007 Edition Astronomy Companies, 2007

2 Introduction

universe. After zooming back to the man and woman in the park, the field of view
is reduced by ten times every ten seconds until one proton in a carbon atom in
the man’s hand fills the screen. The film is longer than one might first expect
because of all of those powers of ten that must be counted to include all of the
things astronomy covers.

Sun

Mercury
Venus Saturn
Earth
Mars Neptune

Pluto
Uranus
Jupiter

The Sun and planets to the same scale.

Pluto is the tiny dot above the “P” in its name.

Another way to give you a sense of the distances between things is to use a
proportional (“scaled”) model. In such a model, everything is reduced by the same
amount, so all parts of the model relative to each other are of the same proportional
size. (In the same way a good trail map you use for hiking or the road map you
solar system scale model use for driving is a flat scaled model of the terrain you are moving over.) To create
a scale model, divide all of the actual distances or sizes by the same scale factor
(in the example below the scale factor is 8,431,254,000), so the scaled distance =
(actual distance)/(scale factor).
For our scale model, let us use a yellow mini-basketball about 16.51 centimeters
(6.5 inches) across to represent the Sun and then pace out how far the tiny planets
would be in this scale model. Since the real Sun is 1,392,000 kilometers (865,000
miles) across, the scale model has all of the planets and distances reduced by an
amount equal to (139,200,000,000 / 16.51) = 8,431,254,000 times. The largest
planet, Jupiter, would be only 1.7 centimeters across (a dime) and about 92.3
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 1. Introduction to © The McGraw−Hill 7
2007 Edition Astronomy Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 3

meters away. Our little Earth (a grain of sand) would be closer: “only” 17.7 meters
(about 18 big steps) away. Our Sun is much larger than the planets, and, yet, it is
just a typical star! Here is a scaled model of our solar system:

Scaled Model of the Solar System

Object Diameter Distance Scaled Size Scaled Distance
(km) (million km) (cm) (m)
Sun 1,392,000 16.51
Mercury 4880 57.910 0.058 (tiny! grain of sand) 6.9 (7 big steps)
Venus 12,104 108.16 0.14 (grain of sand) 12.8 (13 big steps)
Earth 12,742 149.6 0.15 (grain of sand) 17.7 (18 big steps)
Mars 6780 228.0 0.08 (almost 1 mm) 27.0 (27 big steps)
Jupiter 139,822 778.4 1.7 (a dime) 92.3 (92 big steps)
Saturn 116,464 1,427.0 1.4 (a button) 169.3 (169 big steps)
Uranus 50,724 2,869.6 0.6 (button snap) 340.4 (340 big steps)
Neptune 49,248 4,496.6 0.6 (button snap) 533.3 (533 big steps)
Pluto 2274 5,913.5 0.03 (small piece of dust) 701.4 (701 big steps)
Oort Cloud 11,200,000 1,328,400 (1,328 km)
Proxima Centauri 375,840 40,493,000 4.5 (handball) 4,802,700 (4,803 km)

Pluto
Sun

Mercury
Neptune
Venus
Earth
Uranus
Mars
Saturn

Mars

Scale models of the orbits of the planets. Jupiter

The inner planet orbits and Sun are to the
same scale (top left). They would fit in
the smallest orbit of the outer planets
(bottom right).

I will usually use the metric system in this text. This system is used by every
major country in the world except the United States. The United States will even-
tually adopt this system. Readers in the U.S. can multiply the kilometer numbers
by 0.6 to get the number of miles and multiply the centimeter numbers by 0.4 to
 8 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 1. Introduction to © The McGraw−Hill
2007 Edition Astronomy Companies, 2007

4 Introduction

get the number of inches.

The Oort Cloud is a huge spherical cloud of trillions of comets surrounding the
Sun that is about 7.5 to 15 trillion kilometers across. In our scale model, the middle
of the Oort Cloud would be about the distance between Los Angeles and Denver.
the nearest star Proxima Centauri is the closest star to us outside of the solar system (remember
that the Sun is a star too!). Proxima Centauri would be from Los Angeles to beyond
the tip of the state of Maine on this scale model (from Los Angeles to New Glasgow,
Nova Scotia to be more precise!). In our fastest rocket ships (neglecting the Sun’s
gravity) it would take almost 70,000 years to reach Proxima Centauri!
Instead of using ridiculously small units like kilometers, astronomers use much
larger distance units like an astronomical unit to describe distances between the
planets and a light year to describe distances between the stars. An astronomical
astronomical unit unit = the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, or about 149.6 million
kilometers. For example, Jupiter is (778.4 million km)/(149.6 million km) = 5.203
astronomical units from the Sun. A light year is how far light will travel in one
light year year. The distance D something travels in a given time interval t is found by
multiplying the speed v by the time interval. In compact math notation this is:
D = v × t. You can find out how many kilometers a light year is by multiplying the
speed of light by a time interval of one year:

1 light year = (299,800 kilometers/second) × (31,560,000 seconds/year) =

9,461,000,000,000 kilometers (9.461 trillion kilometers—several tens of thousands
of times larger than even the astronomical unit!).

The nearest star is about 4.3 light years away which means that it takes light 4.3
years to travel from Proxima Centauri to Earth. The rest of the stars are further
away than that! The speed of light is the fastest speed possible for anything in the
universe to travel despite what you may see in science fiction movies or books. It
is because of the H-U-G-E distances and l-o-n-g times it would take extraterres-
trial spacecraft to travel to the Earth that many astronomers are skeptical about
extraterrestrial beings abducting humans.
the Galaxy The Sun is one star among over 200 billion stars gravitationally bound together
to make the Milky Way Galaxy. Below is an artist’s view of our galaxy with the
Sun’s position marked (note that our entire solar system would be smaller than
the smallest dot visible in the picture!). A galaxy is a very large cluster of billions
of stars held together by the force of their mutual gravity on each other. That

Milky Way Galaxy

X
Sun

Sun X
100,000 ly

Top View Side View

 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 1. Introduction to © The McGraw−Hill 9
2007 Edition Astronomy Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 5

definition is a loaded one that will be unpacked and examined in more detail in
later chapters, but for now let us continue on our brief tour of the universe. The
Milky Way is a flat galaxy shaped like a pancake with a bulge in the center. Stars
and gas are clumped in spiral arms in the flat disk part of the Galaxy. Many stars
are also found in between the spiral arms. Our solar system is in one of the spiral
arms of Milky Way and is about 26,000 light years from the center of the galaxy.
The entire Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across. In our scaled model
with the Sun 16.51 centimeters across, the Milky Way would be about 112 million
kilometers across or about 38% of the size of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
Recall that Pluto’s orbit is only 1.4 kilometers across on this scale—the Galaxy is galaxy is millions of
MUCH larger than our solar system! times the size of the
Let’s reduce our scale model even more so that our galaxy is the size of the solar system
mini-basketball. The closest other galaxy is a small irregularly-shaped one about
13 centimeters away from the Sun toward the direction of the Milky Way’s center.
It is about the size of a cooked, fat breakfast sausage link in our scale model. Ap-
propriately, the Milky Way is in the process of gobbling up this galaxy. Two famous
satellite galaxies of the Milky Way called the Large Magellanic Cloud and Small
Magellanic Cloud are about 30 centimeters and 35 centimeters away, respectively.
The Large Magellanic Cloud is about the size of a tennis ball and the Small Mag-
ellanic Cloud is about the size of a ping pong ball. The Andromeda Galaxy (M 31)

a. b. Z
Z

M 31

X Y
Milky Way

Milky Way is at
c. intersection of
axes lines.

is the closest large galaxy to the Milky Way: a ball 19 centimeters in diameter (a
volleyball) about 4.8 meters away. The Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy are
at either end of a group of about 30 galaxies gravitationally bound together in the
Local Group. The Local Group can be roughly divided into two clumps each with the Local Group
a large spiral galaxy and several satellite dwarf galaxies. Three views of the Local
Group, each viewed from a position 90 degrees different from the rest, are shown
above. The Milky Way is the large dot at the intersection of the x,y,z axes and the
 10 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 1. Introduction to © The McGraw−Hill
2007 Edition Astronomy Companies, 2007

6 Introduction

Andromeda Galaxy is the other large dot.

The closest large cluster of galaxies is called the Virgo cluster (toward the direc-
tion of the Virgo constellation). The Virgo cluster has over 1000 galaxies in it and
is roughly 50 meters away in our scale model. Notice that compared to their size,
the galaxies are relatively close to one another. Stars inside a galaxy are relatively
very far apart from one another compared to the sizes of the stars. You will see
that the relative closeness of the galaxies to each other has a significant effect on
the development of galaxies.
The Local Group and Virgo cluster are part of a larger long, narrow group called
the Local SuperCluster, sometimes called the Virgo Supercluster since the Virgo
cluster is close to the middle. The Local Group is close to one edge of the Local
SuperCluster. In our scale model with the Milky Way the size of a mini-basketball,
the Local Supercluster is about 190 meters long and the entire observable universe
is about 49.5 kilometers in diameter.

1.1.2 Time
Now let’s try to get a feel for the time scales. I will use another scale model, but
instead of reducing distances, I will shrink down time. The scale model is called
the “cosmic calendar” in which every second in the “cosmic calendar” corresponds
24 “cosmic days” = 1 bil- to 475 real years (so 24 cosmic calendar days = 1 billion real years). If you use
lion real years the classical number of 15 billion years for the age of the universe, you can squeeze
the universe’s entire history into one cosmic calendar year (recent measurements
place the age closer to 14 billion years). The universe starts in the early morning of
January 1 at midnight in the cosmic calendar and our present time is at December
31 at 11:59:59.99999 PM in the cosmic calendar. Here are some important dates in
this super-compressed cosmic calendar relevant to us humans:

Origin of the Origin of Oxygen

universe solar system atmosphere

December
November
September
January

March

October
February

August
June
April

July
May

Origin of Origin
Life on Earth of sex
our galaxy

Oxygen
atmosphere D e c e m b e r First land plants
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

First trees Dinosaurs wiped out, First

First dinosaurs
and reptiles mammals take over primates

last 10 minutes
Early Homo Sapiens Neanderthals
All of human
The cosmic calendar—the history of the universe history
compressed to one year. All of recorded history
(human civilization) occurs in last 21 seconds!
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 1. Introduction to © The McGraw−Hill 11
2007 Edition Astronomy Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 7

Origin of the universe—Jan. 1. Origin of our galaxy—Jan. 24.

Solar system origin—Sept. 9. Earth Solidifies—Sept. 14.
Life on Earth—Sept. 30. Sexual reproduction advent—Nov. 25.
Oxygen atmosphere—Dec. 1. Cambrian explosion (600 mil years ago
when most complex organisms
appear, fish, trilobites)—Dec 17.
Land plants & insects—Dec. 19, 20. First amphibians—Dec. 22.
First reptiles & trees—Dec. 23. First dinosaurs—Dec. 25.
KT impact, mammal age, birds—10:00 AM Dec 30. First primates—Dec. 30 late evening.
Australopithicenes (Lucy, etc.)—10:00 P.M. Dec. 31. Homo habilis—11:25 P.M. Dec. 31.
Homo erectus—11:40 P.M. Dec. 31. Early Homo sapiens—11:50 P.M.
Neanderthal man—11:57 P.M. Dec. 31. Cro-Magnon man—11:58:38 P.M.
Homo sapiens sapiens—11:58:57 P.M. Dec. 31. Human history—11:59:39
Ancient Greeks to now—last five seconds. Average human life span—0.15 second.

It is rather surprising that we have been able to discover so much about the long
term evolution of the universe and the things in it, especially when you consider
that we have only been seriously observing the universe for about 100 years, which
is only a very slight fraction of the universe’s lifetime. About 100 years ago is
when photography was first used in astronomy, making truly systematic observation
programs possible. How can astronomers say that the Sun will go through a red
giant phase in about 5 billion years from now with confidence? Is it hubris to
confidently talk about the Earth’s formation process 4.6 billion years ago?
To give you an idea of the difficulties in studying long timespans consider this
analogy: An alien comes to Earth to search for life and to understand how it evolved.
ET has a camera and has just 15 seconds to take as many photographs as possible.
Fifteen seconds is the same proportion of a human lifetime as the 100 years is to the
universe’s age (15 seconds/human lifetime = 100 years/universe age). ET returns
home and her colleagues try to understand Earth from this 15 second period of
snapshots. They won’t see any important evolutionary changes. How will they
determine the dominant life form? They could use a variety of criteria: 1) Size:
leads them to choose whales or elephants; 2) Numbers: choose insects; 3) amount
of land space controlled by one species: choose automobiles.
Suppose they somehow decide humans are dominant. They now have further
problems. There is considerable diversity among the humans (though to ET with
10 tentacles, 200 eyes, and a silicon outer shell, the humans all look alike!). ET and
colleagues try to systematically classify the humans. The humans come in a variety
of sizes. In a coarse classification scheme, they break the sizes down into small,
medium, and large. They also come in variety of optical colors for their outer shell:
red, black, brown, yellow, and white. There appears to be 2 separate sexes (ET is
both male and female). After some false starts with theories that used hair length
and eye color, they are ready to ask themselves, “Do small, brown, female humans
evolve into large, red, male humans?” “Do the small stay small and the large stay
large?” “Why is there a tendency for small humans to be with one or two large
humans?” With the three characteristics [size (3 divisions), color (5 divisions), and
sex (2 divisions)], ET has 3 × 5 × 2 different combinations and 30 × 30 possible
evolutionary schemes to consider! Well, the universe has a lot more characteristics
and, therefore, many more combinations to consider!

Vocabulary
astronomical unit light year

Review Questions

1. The fastest plane can travel at about 4400 kilometers/hour. How long would
 12 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 1. Introduction to © The McGraw−Hill
2007 Edition Astronomy Companies, 2007

8 Introduction

it take to travel to the Sun? Convert your answer to the number of days and
then the number of years. (The time it takes to travel a given distance =
(distance travelled)/speed, or in the notation used in the chapter: t = D/v.)
2. Compared to the distances between the planets in the solar system, how far
apart are the stars from each other? For this comparison find out how many
astronomical units there are between two typical stars (e.g., the Sun and
Proxima Centauri). Is the answer closer to 10, 100, 1000, 10000, 100,000,
500,000, or 1,000,000?
3. How far away is the nearest star outside of the solar system in kilometer units
and light year units?
4. In a manner similar to how the light year is defined, define a “car day” as
how far a car will travel in one day (24 hours) moving at a speed of 105
kilometers/hour (= 65 miles/hour). How far would a “car day” be in kilome-
ters? How many ”car days” across is your home state? (Specify if it is the
north-south size or the east-west size.)
5. How many kilometers would a light year be if it was discovered that the speed
of light was two times slower than previously thought?
6. Where is our solar system in the Milky Way Galaxy?
7. How old is the Earth compared to the age of the universe?
8. How many times older is the Earth than the first civilizations?

1.2 Science in General

Scientific knowledge is based on observations of nature. From observations of many
different events and situations, scientists try to find patterns and create generaliza-
tions as to the underlying fundamental processes involved. Then they experiment
again to see if the right guess was made of what the rule is that nature follows under
a given situation. Experiments determine scientific truth.
controlled experiments The scientist usually learns about nature by using controlled experiments in
which only one thing at a time is varied to determine whether or not a particular
situation, feature, or circumstance can be determined to be the cause of an ob-
served effect. The experiments can be repeated by anyone as many times as they
want to verify that the effect is reproducible. The astronomer cannot do controlled
experiments. They cannot even examine things from a variety of angles. What
astronomers do is collect light and other radiation from celestial objects and use all
of the information and their creativity to interpret the signals from afar. They look
for the experiments nature has set up and hone on a few basic characteristics at a
time.

1.2.1 Scientific Models and Scientific Theories

Scientists will create models (simplified views of reality) to help them focus on the
model basic fundamental processes. In this context a model is an abstract construct or
idea that is a simplified view of reality, not something made out of paper, wood, or
plastic (or some good-looking person). “Theory” in the scientific use of the word
is different than the everyday language usage today. Most people today use “the-
ory” as just a hunch, guess, belief, or proposal. Science uses the original meaning
theory of “theory”: a logical, systematic set of principles or explanation that has been
verified—has stood up against attempts to prove it false. Scientific models and
theories must make testable predictions. Like any scientist, the astronomer makes
observations, which suggest hypotheses. These speculations are made into predic-
tions of what may be observed under slightly different observing and/or analysis
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Astronomy Notes 9

circumstances. The astronomer returns to the telescope to see if the predictions

pan out or if some revision needs to be made in the theory. Theory and observation
play off each other.
Often the evidence for a particular hypothesis is indirect and will actually sup-
port other hypotheses as well. The goal is to make an observation that conclu-
sively disproves one or more of the competing theories. Currently unresolvable
questions may be resolved later with improved observations using more sophisti-
cated/accurate equipment. Sometimes new equipment shows that previously ac-
cepted theories/hypotheses are wrong!
Scientific models and theories must make testable predictions. If an explanation testable predictions
is offered that has no concrete test that could disprove the explanation in principle,
it is not a scientific one. This characteristic of scientific explanations is often the
distinguishing one between scientific and other types of theories or beliefs (religious,
astrological, conventional wisdom, etc.). Do understand that a scientific theory can
be incorrect but still be considered a good scientific theory because it makes a
testable prediction of what will happen under a given set of observing or analysis
circumstances.

1.2.2 A Definition of Scientific Truth

Explanations and theories that correctly predict new results from new observations
or experiments bring us closer to a true understanding of nature and the rules by
which it operates. This true understanding of nature is what I call “scientific truth” finding the rules
in this text to distinguish it from other definitions of truth as in religious truth, for
example. Scientific truths are based on clear observations of physical reality and observations are the key
can be tested through observation. Certain religious truths are held to be true no
matter what. That is okay as long as it is not considered to be a scientific truth.
Some things like love, honor, honesty, and compassion are known to be right or
true without the test of experiments. Confusion between the religious and scientific
types of explanation has been, and still continues to be, a major source of a huge
amount of conflict between some people.
Another source of friction between science and religion is when science propo-
nents confuse “absence of evidence” with “evidence of absence”. The process or
methodology of science restricts itself to natural causes. Scientists limit themselves self-imposed restriction
to just matter, energy, and their interactions. This does not necessarily mean that of science
scientists deny the existence of God or of things beyond the physical realm be-
cause they understand the self-imposed limitation of the scientific method. Science
can never prove the existence of God nor can science ever disprove the existence
of God. Yes, it is possible to be a scientist and a devout member of a spiritual science not prove or dis-
faith—I know of many scientists who are serious practitioners of their religion. In prove existence of God
fact, several significant advancements in science were made by clergy. In chapter 4
you will find several examples of scientists who were guided by their spiritual faith.
A couple of other examples not mentioned in that chapter are Gregor Mendel (the
Austrian monk whose research with pea plants became the foundation of genetics)
and Georges Lemaitre (the Belgian Roman Catholic priest who developed the Big
Bang theory from Einstein’s General Relativity). Not all scientists are believers
in a spiritual faith just as not all non-scientists are believers in a spiritual faith.
For more on the compatibility of science and religion, see the textbook’s website
supplementary material for chapter 1.
Since this is a science textbook, I will focus on the scientific type of explanations.
Whether or not you, the reader, chooses to believe what is discussed here is up to
you. However, I want you to understand the physical principles discussed here
and be able to apply them to various situations. The scientific method for finding
scientific truth is discussed in more depth in chapter 2.
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10 Introduction

1.3 Value of Astronomy in the Scientific Endeavor

Even though astronomers cannot do controlled experiments and they are confined
to observing the universe from locations near the Earth, the universe gives us a vast
number of different phenomena to observe. Many of these things cannot be repro-
duced in Earth laboratories. There are gas clouds in such a rarefied state that they
give off radiation not seen on Earth. Some objects are so dense that their gravita-
tional fields bend light so much that it is prevented from leaving the object! Many
things that are unlikely or impossible on Earth are routinely observed in the cos-
mos. Many of the scientific theories in other fields make predictions of what would
happen under very extreme circumstances. Sometimes those extreme circumstances
testing theories are the only situations distinguishing two or more contradictory theories. Unfor-
tunately, the scientists of those other disciplines cannot test their “wild” ideas—is
it hogwash or reality? Astronomy allows those theories to be tested. Very subtle
and easily missed but crucial processes may be missed by observers focussing on the
Earth, but the astronomer can see those processes magnified to easily noticeable
levels in some other celestial object.
In addition you will see later that the light coming from far-away objects in
all parts of the universe tells us about the laws of physics (the rules of nature
universality of physical governing how physical things interact with each other) there. Astronomers find
laws that the laws of physics discovered here on the Earth are the same throughout the
cosmos. The fact that nature makes nearly an infinite variety of things from the
same types of material here on the Earth and has those things interact with each
other in so many different ways using the same rules we see followed here on the
Earth is awe-inspiring.
Now back to the long term evolution side of the coin. We actually have a time
machine! Not the H.G. Wells variety or G. Roddenberry’s Guardian of Forever but
something much simpler due to the large distances and finite speed of light (300,000
kilometers/second!). It takes time for radiation from a celestial object to reach the
Earth. Therefore, when you examine an object at a large distance from us, you
see it as it was. The farther away the object is, the longer it took the radiation to
reach the Earth, and the further back in time you observe it. The Sun is 150 million
kilometers from us, so you see the Sun as it was 8-1/3 minutes ago. The farthest
object you can see without a telescope is the Andromeda galaxy about 2.8 × 1019
kilometers from the Earth, so you see it as it was almost 3 million years ago. Recall
that a light year is how far light travels in one year (about 9.46 × 1012 kilometers).
Therefore, the Andromeda galaxy is almost 3 million light years away from us. (The
speed of light is the key in the relationship between space and time, a fact used by
Albert Einstein in developing his Relativity theories that are described later in this
text.)
To study the evolution of long-lived objects like stars (with lifetimes of millions to
billions of years) or galaxies, astronomers observe the objects of interest at different
distances from the Earth so the objects are seen at different epochs. Therefore, the
objects are seen at various different ages or evolutionary stages. Since light from
remote objects can take millions to billions of years to reach the Earth, astronomers
same laws followed find out about the laws of physics at different times. What they find is that the
throughout all time universe has used the same laws of physics throughout its 14-billion year lifetime
(and presumably will continue using those same rules). Pretty amazing!

1.4 Astrology
Many astronomy students take the class believing they are going to “learn about
the stars and planets.” You will learn about these things! However, quite often
when I probe a little more what people mean by that phrase “learn about the stars
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Astronomy Notes 11

and planets”, I find out that many people are thinking about astrology—a belief
system in which the positions of the planets among the stars are thought to hold astrology
the key to understanding what you can expect from life. I find that even many of
those who have a four-year college degree (including some college professors!) are
thinking this when I tell them that I teach astroNOMY. Astronomy is a science,
astrology is NOT. Today the two subjects are very different from one another, but
hundreds of years ago astronomy and astrology were very similar to one another.

1.4.1 History of Astrology

Astrology began about 4000 years ago in the religions of Babylonia that believed
the future of the nation and ruling class depended on the planets, Sun, and Moon
and their motions. Astrology spread through most of the western world when the
Greeks became the world power and incorporated the Babylonian culture into their
own. The application of astrology expanded to all social classes—the planets were
believed to influence every person, not just the ruling class. Eventually, people
came to believe that the position of the Sun, Moon, and planets at a person’s birth
was especially significant.
While most astrologers were developing ways to predict the future of human
events by careful observations of the sky, early astronomers were developing ways
to predict the motions of the planets, Sun, and Moon. Most early astronomers were
motivated by the idea that if they could accurately predict the motions of the planets
then they would be able to accurately predict the future of persons. Astronomy
broke away from astrology and became a science when astronomers became more
interested in explaining what made the planets move the way they do and not in
divining the future and interactions of individuals.

1.4.2 The Horoscope

The horoscope is a chart showing the positions of the planets, Sun, and Moon in
the sky at a person’s birth. Their positions are located in the zodiac—a narrow
belt of constellations centered on the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the path the Sun zodiac
takes through the stars throughout the year (as opposed to the arc it travels from ecliptic
sunrise to sunset). The zodiac is divided into 12 signs named after the constellations
through which the Sun, Moon, and planets passes. Your “sign” is the zodiac sign
which the Sun was in at your birth.
Right away you run into a problem with the zodiac constellations—some are
large (like Scorpio or Virgo) and others are small (like Aries and Cancer). Because different constellation
the rate that the Sun moves along the ecliptic is nearly constant, the Sun spends sizes
more time in the large zodiac constellations than in the small ones. It does not mat-
ter whether you use the ancient constellation boundaries or the modern boundaries
recognized by the International Astronomical Union (though, the IAU boundaries
have the Sun spending part of its time in the non-zodiac constellation Ophiuchus!).
However, the dates listed in the newspaper for the horoscope signs are all 30 or 31 Ophiuchus ignored
days long (even for tiny Aries) and the horoscopes do not include the constellation
Ophiuchus.
Because of an effect called precession, the zodiac constellations slide westward zodiac sign one month off
along the ecliptic, making a complete circuit in about 26,000 years. Since the zodiac
signs were named over 2000 years ago, the stars have moved by about 1/12 of the
zodiac (about one sign’s worth). Your “sign” is about one month off! (The different
sizes of the constellations prevents me from making a more definite statement.) For
example, if your sign is a Sagittarius, then the Sun was actually located in the
constellation Scorpio when you were born. Actually, for part of the Sagittarius
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12 Introduction

timeframe, the Sun is in Ophiuchus, so perhaps that is not a good example (what
do you think?).
The horoscope includes the position of each planets in the zodiac and where
they are with respect to the person on the Earth at the time of his/her birth. Be-
cause of this, creating a horoscope is a bit complicated. There are some standard
rules (most of which have not changed for thousands of years despite the dramatic
improvements in our understanding of how the planets and stars move), but how
much emphasis an astrologer will give to each rule in developing the horoscope, de-
pends on the creativity of the astrologer. This lack of objectivity is one reason why
astrologers cannot agree on the right prediction for any given person. Unlike astron-
omy, astrology does not have clear objective observations of nature (experiments)
determine the truth.

1.4.3 Testing Astrology

There is no known physical force from the planets that can have any effect on a
person at the moment of birth. The only possible force would be gravity but the
gravitational pull of the obstetrician delivering the baby is greater than the gravity
from any of the planets! The Earth’s gravity on the baby is tens of thousands of
times stronger than the gravity on the baby from the Sun or Moon. Astrologers are
forced to invoke mystical forces for which there is NO physical proof.
Many people read their horoscope in the newspaper not to get a prediction of
what will happen to them, but, rather, to get advice on what they should do in
the day (in the United States the horoscope columns focus on who to date and
how best to gain money). A person who is serious about using astrology to guide
their actions should consult several horoscope columns every day to be sure they
have the most accurate information. Unfortunately, that person would find out
that the horoscopes for him/her are not consistent with one another even though
the horoscopes are phrased as vaguely as they are. Astrology is not as systematic
as it claims to be.
Many tests comparing the birthdates of national or state leaders have found
the birthdates to be randomly distributed among the twelve signs. If astrology
could determine a person’s future or his/her personality, then the leaders should
have birthdates in one or two signs. Other tests on the birthdates of those who re-
enlist in the Marines have also found a completely random distribution of birthdates
among all of the signs. A recent episode of NOVA (on PBS) showed a researcher
testing astrology by giving each person in a college class of astrology believers their
own individual authentic horoscope. Not surprisingly, they found some event in
their day that fitted their horoscope. The students then gave their horoscope to the
person sitting behind them. To their surprise or dismay, the students discovered
the substituted horoscopes were just as good! (Yes, the students had birthdays
spread throughout the year.) There are numerous cases of twins or triplets having
different personalities and life events even though their birth times and places were
very close to one another.
Usually, those who seek out astrologers just want some guidance of any kind. If
they feel the horoscope interpretation was prepared just for them, then they will
find agreement with reality. To test this, Michel Gaugelin (a French researcher) sent
a horoscope of a mass murderer to 150 people but told each one that the horoscope
was prepared just for him or her. Over ninety percent of them said they could see
themselves in that horoscope. If a person is already convinced ahead of time of the
validity of something like a horoscope or a psychic’s prediction, then he or she will
be easily able to use his or her natural problem-solving capabilities and creativity to
make sense of the vague, even contradictory statements. The Australian researcher
Geoffrey Dean substituted phrases in the horoscopes of 22 people that were opposite
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Astronomy Notes 13

of the original phrases in the horoscopes. Ninety-five percent of time they said the
horoscope readings applied to them just as well as to the people to whom the original
phrases were given. An astrologer relies on her client’s ability to create meaning in
even random data and to fill in the gaps of incomplete information if some context
is given (or if the creative client makes up a context himself). The astrologer’s
predictions will always be “correct”, not testable as a scientific theory or prediction
must be.

1.4.4 Further Testing of Astrology

What other tests of astrology can you come up with? Perhaps you might try
setting up a study of astrology predictions with your classmates and friends. Ask
them about what happened to them yesterday and then compare that to what
the horoscope in the newspaper said should have happened. Should you look at
their horoscope before you ask them what happened? Would that bias how you
interpret what they tell you or would it help you ask appropriate questions to jog
their memory? If your astronomy class is large enough and everyone in the class
is involved in the study, you will probably have several people sharing the same
zodiac sign and comparisons can be made. Be sure to keep track of both positive
and negative results. You will need to decide how much of the horoscope prediction
should be valid (the whole thing or at least one point?). Your astronomy professor
may have other suggestions for possible tests.

Further Reading
Articles I recommend you read about astrology and fortune telling are given below.
They were originally published in the magazines Skeptical Inquirer and The Zetetic
and are reprinted in the book The Outer Edge published by the Committee for the
Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal in 1996.

• Hyman, Ray. “‘Cold Reading’: How to Convince Strangers That You Know
All About Them,” The Outer Edge, p. 70. (Originally in The Zetetic, Spring/Summer
1977.)

• Frazier, Kendrick. “Double-Blind Test of Astrology Avoids Bias, Still Refutes

the Astrological Hypothesis,” The Outer Edge, p. 40. (Originally in Skeptical
Inquirer, Spring 1986.)

• Kurtz, Paul and Fraknoi, Andrew. “Scientific Tests of Astrology Do Not

Support Its Claims,” The Outer Edge, p. 36. (Originally in Skeptical Inquirer,
Spring 1985.

Vocabulary
astrology ecliptic model
theory zodiac

Review Questions

1. What is the scientific method? Give a description of each of its parts. (See
chapter 2 for more on this).
2. How are controlled experiments helpful in understanding the rules of nature?
3. What is a scientific model and what must the model be able to do to be
useful?
4. How can an incorrect scientific theory still be considered a good scientific
theory?
18 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 1. Introduction to © The McGraw−Hill
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14 Introduction

5. What distinguishes a scientific truth from a religious truth?

6. In what way can scientists use astronomical observations to find the correct
explanations for physical events here on the Earth?
7. How do we know that the laws of physics on the Earth are the same throughout
the rest of the universe?
8. How do we know that the laws of physics are the same throughout time?
9. How is astrology different from astronomy?
10. Why is astrology not considered a science?
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 2. Method for Finding © The McGraw−Hill 19
2007 Edition Scientific Truth Companies, 2007

Chapter 2

Method for Finding Scientific

Truth

In your astronomy course, you will cover a lot of explanations as to how the universe
and its constituent parts work. All of these explanations were arrived at by using
the scientific method in one form or another. One goal of this text is to give you
some familiarity with the process of science and how its tools are used to find out
about the physical reality around us. Hopefully you will find the method of science
a useful one to use in your future to understand the physical universe. The scientific
method and the tools of science are powerful tools of knowledge, but there are limits
to its applicability and certainty.
There is confusion of what is “scientific” and what is “non-scientific” in the pop-
ular media today and undoubtedly you’ve heard testimonies of one science expert
or group contradicting the testimony of another science expert or group. What is
the truth? How do we know? How do we tell the difference between mere opinions
and real accurately predictive explanations? We will use astronomy as a vehicle to
arrive at an answer to these important questions. With all the material we cover
in this course, it will help to keep the approach of the two-year-old (or rebellious
teenager) in mind. Ask yourself, “How do you know that’s right?” and “Why
does that happen that way?” What follows is a close adaptation of a chapter from
Ronald Pine’s book Science and the Human Prospect. I recommend that this book
be a part of your personal library.

2.1 A Scientific Theory Is...

What distinguishes a scientific theory from a non-scientific theory is that a scientific
theory must be refutable in principle; a set of circumstances must potentially exist
such that if observed it would logically prove the theory wrong.
Here is a simplified version of the logic of the scientific method: we begin the
encounter with nature by making observations and then through some creative
process a hypothesis (a model or idea) is generated about how some process of hypothesis
nature works. On the basis of this hypothesis, an experiment is logically deduced
that will result in a set of particular observations that should occur, under particular
conditions, if the hypothesis true. If those particular observations do not occur,
then we are faced with several possibilities: our hypothesis needs to be revised,
the experiment was carried out incorrectly, or the analysis of the results from that
experiment was in error.
The actual process often involves a great deal of insight and creativity. Keep
in mind, though, that this interpretive process may have biased the outcome or

15
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16 Finding Scientific Truth

conclusions. This point will be addressed later. For now, simply note that without
a disconfirmation being possible in principle, a belief is not acceptable as even a
potential scientific hypothesis. There must be a possible concrete test.
This refutability and the testable predictions of a “good” or useful scientific the-
ory should extend even further. A scientific theory must make testable or refutable
predictions of what should happen or be seen under a given set of new, independent,
observing or analysis circumstances from the particular problem or observation the
theory was originally designed to explain. For example, the seeming contradic-
tion between Uranus’ predicted position from Newton’s celestial mechanics was
explained by the presence of a previously unknown planet, Neptune, whose position
was predicted from Newton’s celestial mechanics. Astronomers found Neptune just
where the theory said it should be. Newton’s theory was not originally developed to
explain Uranus’ or Neptune’s motions and it was tested via telescopic observations.

Summary

• A scientific theory must be testable. It must be possible in principle to prove

it wrong.
• Experiments are the sole judge of scientific truth.
• Scientific method: observations →hypothesis/theory →experiment (test) →revision
of theory
• A “good” or useful scientific theory will make testable predictions of what
should happen under new circumstances that are independent of the original
problem or observation for which the theory was developed.

2.2 Other Features of a Successful Scientific The-

ory
This particular section draws from another philosopher of science, Philip Kitcher,
particularly his book titled Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism (see p.
46-48). Kitcher gives some other features of a scientific theory in addition to the
testability requirement already mentioned. A successful or useful scientific theory
will also be a unified theory, solving problems by using the same pattern of reasoning
or problem-solving strategy again and again You will see in this book that Newton’s
theories are applied in the same way to explain the motions and features of a wide
variety of celestial objects and physics students use them to understand an even
wider range of phenomena.
Finally, a good or successful theory will also be fruitful in opening up new and
profitable areas of research. Newtons theories led to improvements in our under-
standing of hydrodynamics, chemistry, optics, electricity and magnetism, thermo-
dynamics, etc. “A flourishing science is incomplete... A good theory should be
productive; it should raise new questions and presume that those questions can be
answered without giving up its problem-solving strategies” (Kitcher p. 48).

Summary

• A “good” or useful scientific theory solves problems by using the same pattern
of reasoning or problem-solving strategy again and again.
• A “good” or useful scientific theory is fruitful in opening up new and profitable
areas of research.
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Astronomy Notes 17

2.3 Correlations May Not Prove the Cause

Often the observation of a correlation (a mutual relationship) between two observ- correlation
ables is used to proclaim a cause-effect relationship between them. For example,
suppose that there was a possible correlation between sex education in schools and
a recent rise in venereal disease and teenage pregnancy. One could say that sex
education has caused the rise in VD and teen pregnancy, but the scientist cannot
say that without a more detailed investigation.
After all, there are many other factors that could be the real cause of this
problem. A rise in the population of teenagers is possible, causing every activity
related to teenagers to go up: automobile accidents or purchasing particular types
of clothing and albums. Few would claim that sex education in schools has been
the cause of increased purchases of acne lotion. There could be an increase in the
population of particular types of teenagers, those in an area of the country where
sex education is not taught or where early sexual experimentation is encouraged
by various social or family pressures. There are many variables possible to produce
that correlation. Correlation does not prove causation. A correlation between sex
education and teen sex problems does not prove a causal connection, and, by itself,
it does not give us a clear indication in which direction there may be a connection.
For all we know at this point, an increase in teen sex problems has led to an increase
in sex education classes!
Another example is the correlation between smoking and lung cancer occur-
rences. After a couple of decades of study the government decided in the 1970s that
there was a causal connection between smoking and lung cancer and changed the
warning label from “Caution, smoking may be hazardous to your health” to “Cau-
tion, smoking is hazardous to your health”. A 1950s study only controlled the basic
environmental variable—lung cancer for smokers living in the cities vs. lung cancer
for smokers living in the country. This study was roundly criticized and rightly so.
There were many other important factors that needed to be looked at such as diet,
healthy or unhealthy occupations, stressful occupations, or genetic factors.
By the 1970s, more careful studies each incorporating tighter and tighter con-
trols based on possible oversights of the previous studies had proven to the govern-
ment’s satisfaction the causal connection between smoking and lung cancer. By the
1980s other diverse corroborating factors had been identified—from the effects of
secondhand smoke to chemical analysis of cigarette smoke revealing over 200 toxic
substances, including radioactivity.
Despite all of this study, we really cannot say that cigarette smoking has been
proven to be the principal cause of lung cancer. A scientific proof is not known with
absolute logical certainty. A controlled study can never be completely controlled—
there are just too many possible variables. The link between smoking and lung
cancer cannot be known in the sense of “known beyond any logical or conceivable
doubt.” The point is, however, can we say we know that cigarette smoking is
a principal cause of lung cancer beyond a “reasonable doubt”? Is it rational if we
claim to know something even if we are not absolutely sure that we know something?
Can we distinguish between what is “conceivably” true and what is “reasonably”
true?
A humorous example of the difference between a correlation and a cause-effect
relationship is the Coalition to ban Dihydrogen Monoxide. Links to select sites are
given on the text’s website.

Summary

• A correlation between two things does NOT prove one thing causes the other.
The second thing could cause the first or some other underlying factor could
cause the correlation.
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18 Finding Scientific Truth

• Scientists have to be very careful to rule out other possible underlying factors
before concluding one thing causes something else.
• Though scientific proofs are not known with absolute certainty, enough evi-
dence can be accumulated to be reasonably certain.

2.4 The Problem of Induction

problem of induction Science has the problem of induction: No matter how much evidence we have
for a conclusion, the conclusion could still conceivably be false. The best we can
say is that it is “unlikely” that our conclusion is false when we are using inductive
reasoning. Here’s an example: suppose there is a barrel filled with 100 apples and
the first apple I pull out off the top is very rotten. Few would wager from this
single apple that we know all the apples in the barrel are rotten. However, small
amounts of evidence need not always be weak. A biologist might be willing on
the basis of this one apple to wager that all of the apples are likely to be rotten,
if other information were provided like what temperature the apples were stored,
and for how long, because of her general knowledge of bacteria and their ability to
paradigm spread rapidly. If we have some world view or paradigm (a framework of a general
consensus of belief of how the world works), we can do a lot of hypothetical work
with just a few observations.
But without anything else to go on, concluding that all the apples are rotten
from a single positive case is a very weak inductive inference.To make the inductive
inference stronger, more apples need to be sampled. If I pull out 4 more apples off
the top and all of them are also rotten, we’d now have a better basis for concluding
induction by enumer- that all the apples are rotten. This is called induction by enumeration. In
ation general, the more positive cases in favor of a hypothesis, the stronger the hypothesis
is. But how about the apples at the bottom? A stronger case could be made by
choosing a representative sample—a sample that matches in characteristics the
representative sample total population of things under investigation. In the case of the barrel of apples,
a representative sample could be gathered by selecting one from the top, one from
the very bottom, one from each side of the barrel, and one from the middle. If
all five are rotten, this would strengthen the hypothesis considerably. A small
representative sample is much stronger logically than is a large unrepresentative
one. Five representative apples are better than 20 just off the top.
If you found that another 45 were rotten, would you bet your life savings that
all the remaining 50 were rotten? Probably not, since it is still possible that some,
even many, of them are not rotten. If you found that another 49 were also rotten,
would you bet your life savings that the last remaining apple was rotten? Most
people would, but they’d still have a lot of anxiety as the last apple was pulled
from the barrel because it was still possible that the hypothesis, “all the apples are
rotten,” was false. Hypotheses can only be confirmed, not logically proven to be
true. Understand that it is possible to deduce true conclusions (the 5th apple will
be rotten) from premises that may be false (all the apples are rotten). Because we
can deduce true predictions from a false theory, no matter how long a theory has
been successful in making predictions, it cannot be known to be true absolutely. It
could be found to be false tomorrow.
Critics of science often attempt to use this logical window to repudiate many
scientific conclusions. They also often commit the logical fallacy of appealing to
ignorance, arguing that because the theory cannot be proved absolutely true, it
must be false. But absence of evidence for absolute proof is not evidence of absence
of truth. Critics of science fail to recognize the positive aspect of this logical doubt.
Without room for doubt, there would be no room for self-correction, and we would
be left with a cluttered clash of irrefutable beliefs.
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 2. Method for Finding © The McGraw−Hill 23
2007 Edition Scientific Truth Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 19

Summary
• No matter how much evidence we have for a conclusion, the conclusion could
still conceivably be false.
• The more positive cases in favor of a hypothesis, the stronger the hypothesis
is.
• The most logically sound samples are those that are representative of the
entire set.
• It is possible to make true conclusions from false assumptions.
• A hypothesis can only be confirmed but it cannot be proven absolutely true.
• Even though a scientific hypothesis cannot be proven absolutely true, that
does not mean that it must be false.

2.5 Science as a Human Endeavor

I probably will not analyze fully the evidence for every claim made in this textbook
but keep in mind that this critical attitude lies behind all the explanations presented.
Science does not claim to know all the answers. It does, however, claim to provide
us with a method of test and interaction by which we can become more and more
intimate with the physical universe.
Because science is done by human beings, many aspects of our humanity also
play a role in scientific discovery: artistic creation and imagination, political ma-
nipulation and personal exploitation, wishful thinking, bias, egocentricity, critical
review, and premature skeptical rejection. At its best, however, there is only one
absolute truth: that there are no absolute truths. Every solution to a mystery cre-
ates new mysteries. Science is a game that never ends, a game whose completion
would render life boring. Science then involves a logical process that is fallible, and
it involves much more than just a logical process. Every scientist and the science of
a time are subject to the forces of human nature and culture. Scientists are forced
to make many assumptions; some are conscious and some are not.

2.5.1 Assumptions of Scientists

Let’s take a brief look at some these assumptions or philosophical backdrop. Many
scientists today will claim they are interested in how things work, not why they work
as they do, because a scientist’s task is to conduct experiments, make observations,
and find mathematical connections. Influenced by a philosophical tradition known
as positivism, these scientists will want to know what atoms will do, for instance, positivism
not what they are. Or, rather than trying to understand why gravity is attractive
and not repulsive, these scientists figure out how the gravitational attraction affects
the interaction of objects.
Another position held by many (but not all) scientists consciously or uncon-
sciously is known as materialism. Metaphysical materialism states that there materialism
is no evidence that anything called “mind” exists and that all that exists are con-
crete material things, forces, and empty space. However, the scientific method does
not depend necessarily upon making this assumption. Some have argued that re-
cent developments in physics and neurophysiology warrant a reexamination of this
question.
Some scientists have even held a position that is a form of classical idealism,
believing that the universe can be best understood by assuming that “thought” idealism
or “consciousness” is the most fundamental reality. Certain mathematical concepts
are ideas in the mind of God and that any physical reality, such as the motion of a
planet, must conform to these ideas.
24 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 2. Method for Finding © The McGraw−Hill
2007 Edition Scientific Truth Companies, 2007

20 Finding Scientific Truth

2.5.2 Materialism: Methodology vs. Philosophy

Let’s look at the materialism assumption a bit more closely since it is a source of
major conflict (in the United States at least). For this section, I use material from
Eugenie C Scott’s book Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction.
Modern Modern day scientists purposefully limit themselves to explaining nat-
ural phenomena using only natural causes. We have learned a lot about our world,
our universe, by adopting a methodology of materialism, limiting ourselves to just
matter, energy and their interactions. Adopting a materialistic methodology when
doing science does not necessarily lead to metaphysical or philosophical materialism.
There have been many theist (not atheist!) scientists who practiced a materialistic
methodology and this continues even today.
Why do scientists limit themselves to materialistic explanations? Several rea-
sons: The empiricism of modern science, the testing of explanations, relies on the
regularity of nature, that nature does follow rules or laws (see section 2.6.1). Oth-
erwise, we could not trust observations as evidence. How would we know if the
observation was not the result of some supernatural whim? Controlled, repeatable
experimentation would not be possible and any conclusions from them would not be
reliable without assuming that supernatural entities are not intervening to violate
natural regularities or laws. (Pennock quoted in Scott p. 249) Secondly, relying on
supernatural explanations is a cop-out or a dead-end to deepening our understand-
ing of the natural world. There would be no reason to continue looking for a natural
explanation. When confronted with a very hard puzzle due to an inadequate theory
or technology, we do not throw up our hands and say, “God did it” and leave it
at that—end of inquiry. No, if a natural cause for something is not known, the
scientific approach is to say, “I do not know yet” and keep on looking. Finally,
the “methods of science are inadequate to test explanations involving supernatural
forces” (Scott p. 50). It is hard to do controlled experiments if one of the control
variables is an omnipotent force. The scientist usually learns about nature by using
controlled experiments in which only one thing at a time is varied to determine
whether or not a particular situation, feature, or circumstance can be determined
to be the cause of an observed effect. Well, as any theologian will tell you, you
cannot control God, “the More”. You cannot put God in a box (or test tube).

Summary

• Science provides a way of testing and interacting with the physical universe
that will better our understanding of the physical universe.

• Science is a human effort and is subject to all of the best and worst of cultural
biases existing at the time.

• Most scientists are interested in how things work, not why things work they
way they do.

• Though the assumption is not necessary for science, many scientists assume
that science needs to consider only the physical, concrete objects around us.

• Some scientists assume that thought or consciousness is the most fundamental

reality.

• Philosophical (metaphysical) materialism is a sub-set of methodological ma-

terialism. Many theist scientists use the methodology of materialism to study
nature but do not deny the existence of the non-material.
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 2. Method for Finding © The McGraw−Hill 25
2007 Edition Scientific Truth Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 21

2.6 Ways of Finding the Truth

Some science critics claim that science is absolute and dogmatic in terms of how it
approaches the best way of knowing something. Much of our personal knowledge is
based upon testimony. Someone may tell me that Bogus Basin, just 30 minutes testimony
from Boise, ID, has great skiing. If I believe this even though I have only skied
at Snoqualmie or Stevens Pass, my belief is based on testimony. Sometimes the
testimony is based on authority, as would be the case if an Olympic gold medalist authority
told me about Bogus Basin. Many religions claim that revelation is a valid method revelation
of knowing, whereby important truths about life, impossible to find out any other
way, are disclosed to human beings by a divine being or God. Mystics, in general,
claim that after years of special training it is possible to know some very important
things about life and the universe “intuitively” or in a mystical vision while in mystical vision
a deep state of meditation. Mystical visions are not necessarily revelation, because
the visions not only involve personal effort and training but also do not necessarily
involve divine aid or God.

2.6.1 Science’s Way of Finding the Truth

Science assumes the position of empiricism, because observational experience is empiricism
necessary, either indirectly via robot sensors and cameras or directly through human
senses to understand the physical universe. The experience must be objective and
communicable or describable in public language. Another way of knowing often
opposed to empiricism, but historically greatly influenced by the discovery and
development of mathematics, is called rationalism. The rationalist has a great
faith in the logical power of the human mind and is skeptical about the universal
validity of our observational perceptions. Some things are so clear logically or
mathematically that we just know that they are true, like the absence of round
squares on the dark side of the Moon. We know that round squares are impossible.
The rationalist believes that we can know some things about life ahead of time, so
to speak; we can know some things that no conceivable experience will contradict.
It is difficult for many people today to imagine that the Earth is moving and not
the Sun. We do not experience ourselves moving at 1,000 miles per hour; instead we
“observe” the Sun to move. That a belief is inconsistent with our common obser-
vational experience is not by itself a conclusive argument that it is false. Empirical
scientists do believe in the ability of the human mind to figure things out. Any
fundamental inconsistency between common sense and reason is seen as nature’s
way of taunting us, of revealing one of her important secrets. The confidence in the
logical and mathematical powers of human thinking has been a key ingredient in
the development of modern science.

2.6.2 Theory Must Agree With Reality

The modern scientific method synthesizes rationalism and empiricism. The logic
of the rationalist is combined with the observational experience of the empiricist.
There is an overwhelming consensus, though, that empiricism is the main emphasis.
No matter how much logical deduction and mathematical analysis is used, at some
point the world must be checked for the confirmation of a belief. Historically, how-
ever, spurred on by the power of mathematics and the tendency to conclude that
we know something even though complete empirical observations are not available,
rationalism has played both a constructive and creative role in development of sci-
ence. The criticism of those who are too rationalistic and who create ivory-tower
fantasies from speculative logic, overlooks the fact that many great discoveries have
been made by scientists sitting at desks, following the elegant trails of mathematical
26 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 2. Method for Finding © The McGraw−Hill
2007 Edition Scientific Truth Companies, 2007

22 Finding Scientific Truth

equations. Creative ideas are the result of a complex web of influences. The key is
to have ideas with which to make connections.
Of course, not all ideas are fruitful in making connections. Nor have great
scientists been immune from detrimental rationalistic tendencies. Tycho Brahe
was the best observational astronomer of the sixteenth century. Mathematically, he
knew that one of the implications of his extremely accurate observations of planetary
motions was that the Sun was the center of motion of all the planets, which further
implied that the universe was very large and that the stars were an immense distance
away. He could not bring himself to accept this radical conclusion, however, and
accepted instead a more traditional view for his time because God would not be
foolish to “waste” all that space!
Johannes Kepler, who used Tycho’s data to finally solve the problem of planetary
motion, was motivated by his belief that the Sun was the most appropriate object
to be placed in the center of the universe because it was the material home or
manifestation of God. Galileo, in spite of his brilliant astronomical observations
and terrestrial experiments, failed to see the importance of Kepler’s solution of
planetary motion because it did not involve using perfect circles for the motion of
the planets.

Summary

• Possible ways of knowing: testimony, authority, revelation, mystical visions,

scientific method.
• Observational experience is a crucial part of scientific knowledge.
• The experience must be objective and communicable in public language.
• Scientific theories must logically agree with known physical truths or well-
established physical laws.
• No matter how much logical deduction and mathematical analysis is used, the
scientific theory must be checked against the real world to confirm the theory.
• However, the exploration of the implications of a logical train of thought is a
vital part of the scientific process.
• The best ideas are those that enable us to make connections between rational
theories and the physical world.

2.7 Is the Scientific Method the Only Way to Truth?

Must science assume some ideas dogmatically? Must we assume that the scientific
method, a synthesis of reason and experience, is the only avenue to truth? The
mystics claim that some simple acts of knowing cannot be described by an objective
language. Consider the experience of seeing a death on the highway. Does a cold
scientific description, “the cause of the cessation of bodily function was due to a
rapid deceleration,” accurately convey the truth? What about our own deaths?
There seems to be much more to the truth that we will die someday than can be
described in the statement “I am mortal.” Are there subjective truths that cannot
be described in an objective language?

2.7.1 Ideas Change, Physical Laws Do Not

Most scientists today accept an assumption that can be traced to the ancient Greeks:
Whatever they are, the basic truths of the universe are “laws” that do not change—
only our ideas about them do. Scientific objectivity presupposes that there is one
truth, a collective truth, and our personal beliefs or the beliefs of scientists of a
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 2. Method for Finding © The McGraw−Hill 27
2007 Edition Scientific Truth Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 23

particular time either match these truths or they do not. Most scientists assume
that beliefs about what is real do not affect what is real. Truth results only when
our beliefs about what is real correspond to what is real.

2.7.2 Perception Changes Reality?

This traditional assumption may not, however, be essential to science. Some quan-
tum physicists have proposed that the points of view implied by our experiments
can affect the nature of reality: instead of assuming that there is only reality, there
can be “complementary” realities. And reputable physicists and medical researchers
are not only re-examining this traditional scientific assumption, but also are won-
dering candidly if a person’s state of mind may have a bearing on whether he or she
is prone to diseases such as cancer and whether cures and remissions are possible
using a mental therapy. The belief that there is only one reality can itself be sub-
jected to scientific scrutiny. There could be multiple realities or none at all! Even
if controversial, these ideas are at least discussed.

2.7.3 Value of Examining Assumptions

Although we may be caught at any given time within a web of many assumptions,
science at its best does not rely on many assumptions. Science also assumes that
the more we think critically about our beliefs, the more likely we are to know
the truth. There are cynics, however, who believe that critical thinking is not a
marvelous human characteristic at all. They argue that critical thinking makes life
more complicated and distracts us from discovering the simple solutions to life’s
problems. There are also nihilists who argue that our so-called intelligence and our
ability to be aware of the details of the universe are an evolutionary dead end, that
far from producing the good life, our awareness and rationality are the cause of our
craziness.
Defenders of science often argue that even if some assumptions are necessary in
the application of scientific method, these assumptions are validated by the record
of success. However, there is a major logical problem with this justification. It
simply raises the problem of induction again. It is circular reasoning to attempt
to vindicate inductive reasoning by asserting that so far inductive reasoning has
worked, because this vindication itself is an inductive argument. It is logically
possible for the scientific method to completely fail tomorrow even though it has
been successful for centuries. Is it reasonable to continue to believe in the scientific
method as helpful for our future? Can science be self-corrective? Philosophers
believe these abstract questions are important because they are intimately related
to our more personal concerns about who we are, where we have come from, and
what may be in store for us in terms of the survival of our species on this fragile
fragment of the universe.

2.7.4 Peer Review

It is possible to arrive at various interpretations of the same data or facts and to
develop various explanations of the underlying causes at work. Our culture, egos,
and personal beliefs provide a filter through which we interpret the data and develop
explanations. Because scientists have a “realism” perspective and because culture
and egos can affect the interpretations of the data, scientists are willing to have their
ideas and explanations closely examined and tested by others, particularly by their
peers, in a process called “peer review”. “[Science] values testability and critical
evaluation, because thus far it appears that the more we think critically about our
beliefs, the more likely we are to know the truth” (Pine, ch 2). Peer review works
28 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 2. Method for Finding © The McGraw−Hill
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24 Finding Scientific Truth

best if the ones who critically analyze an explanation have an alternate explanation
and try to poke holes in the other persons explanation. (Sometimes that “poking”
is pretty brutal!) This peer review happens at science conferences and in the pages
of science journals. A scientist will not try to have his/her opinion advanced by
political means or legislated by politicians.

Summary

• A basic assumption of science: fundamental physical laws do exist in the

universe and do not change. Our understanding of those laws may be incorrect
or incomplete.
• Recent developments in our knowledge of the universe seem to challenge this
basic assumption. Our perception may affect the physical laws or events.
• Scientists must be aware of the assumptions they make and how those as-
sumptions affect our understanding of the universe.
• Scientists must be willing to have their ideas and explanations closely exam-
ined and tested by others, particularly by their peers, in a process called “peer
review”.
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 3. Astronomy Without a © The McGraw−Hill 29
2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

Chapter 3

Astronomy Without a
Telescope

Now that you have some feeling for the scales of time and space that astronomy
encompasses and some of the difficulties caused by being Earth-bound (well, okay:
solar-system bound!), let’s take a look at what is up there in the sky beyond the
clouds. In this chapter, you will learn where to find the key points on the night
sky, how to use the coordinate system that astronomers use, how the Sun’s position
among the stars changes and how that affects the temperature throughout the year,
and about the phases of the Moon and eclipses. At the end of the chapter, you will
learn about the motions of the planets among the stars. All of the things in this
chapter, you can observe without a telescope. You just need to observe the objects
carefully and notice how things change over time. The vocabulary terms are in
boldface.

3.1 Celestial Sphere Defined

Imagine the sky as a great, hollow, sphere surrounding the Earth. The stars are at-
tached to this sphere—some bigger and brighter than others—which rotates around
the stationary Earth roughly every 24 hours. Alternatively, you can imagine the
stars as holes in the sphere and the light from the heavens beyond the sphere shines
through those holes. This imaginary sphere is called the celestial sphere, and celestial sphere
has a very large radius so that no part of the Earth is significantly closer to any
given star than any other part. Therefore, the sky always looks like a great sphere
centered on your position. The celestial sphere (and, therefore, the stars) appears
to move westward—stars rise in the east and set in the west.
Even though it is now known that this ancient model of a stationary Earth is
incorrect, you can still use this model because it is a convenient way to predict
the motions of the stars and planets relative to a location on the Earth. A star’s
apparent brightness is actually determined by its distance, as well as, its physical
size and temperature. It is also now known that the stars apparent motion around
us is due to the Earth rotating once every 24 hours on its axis. The stars are
stationary and the Earth rotates from west to east. This rotational motion makes
the stars appear to move from east to west around us. The celestial sphere model is
used by planetaria to simulate the night sky. I hope you will be able to distinguish
between the convenience of the celestial sphere model and the way things really are.
Why a sphere? The Earth is spherical! This was known much earlier than
Columbus’ time. Sailors had long known that as a ship sailed away from the shore
it not only diminished in apparent size, but it also appeared to sink into the water.

25
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26 Astronomy Without a Telescope

The simplest explanation to use was that the Earth was curved (particularly, since
those ships did come back without falling off some edge!). They also knew that
if one traveled in a north-south direction, some stars disappeared from view while
others appeared. The difference in the height of a star’s height above the north or
south horizon is directly proportional to the difference in the north-south distance
of observers looking at the star at the same time. The simplest explanation said
that the Earth is round, not flat. Pythagoras noted that the shadow of the Earth
falling on the Moon during a lunar eclipse was always curved and the amount of the
curvature was always the same. The only object that always casts a circular shadow
regardless of its orientation is a sphere. This Pythagorean argument is passed on
to us through the writings of Aristotle.

Vocabulary
celestial sphere

Review Questions

1. How does the sky appear to move around us?

2. What motion of the Earth produces the apparent motion of the stars around
us?

3.2 Angles
To measure distances on the imaginary celestial sphere, you use “angles on the sky”
instead of meters or kilometers. There are 360◦ in a full circle and 90◦ in a right
angle (two perpendicular lines intersecting each other make a right angle). Each
arc minute degree is divided into 60 minutes of arc. A quarter viewed face-on from across the
arc second length of a football field is about 1 arc minute across. Each minute of arc is divided
into 60 seconds of arc. The ball in the tip of a ballpoint pen viewed from across the
length of a football field is about 1 arc second across.
The Sun and moon are both about 0.5◦ = 30 arc minutes in diameter. The
pointer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper are about 5◦ apart and the bowl of
the Big Dipper is about 30◦ from the NCP. The arc from the north point on the
horizon to the point directly overhead to the south point on the horizon is 180◦ , so
any object directly overhead is 90◦ above the horizon and any object “half-way up”
in the sky is about 45◦ above the horizon.

Review Questions

1. How many degrees is 30 arc minutes?

2. How many degrees is 10 arc seconds?
3. How many Moon diameters would it take to span the distance from a point
on the eastern horizon to a point directly opposite on the western horizon?

3.3 Reference Markers

Now for some reference makers: The stars rotate around the North and South
North and South Ce- Celestial Poles. These are the points in the sky directly above the geographic
lestial Poles north and south pole, respectively. The Earth’s axis of rotation intersects the
celestial sphere at the celestial poles. The number of degrees the celestial pole is
above the horizon is equal to the latitude of the observer. Fortunately, for those
in the northern hemisphere, there is a fairly bright star real close to the North
Celestial Pole (Polaris or the North star). Another important reference marker
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 3. Astronomy Without a © The McGraw−Hill 31
2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 27

is the celestial equator: an imaginary circle around the sky directly above the
Earth’s equator. It is always 90◦ from the poles. All the stars rotate in a path that celestial equator
is parallel to the celestial equator. The celestial equator intercepts the horizon at motion of stars
the points directly east and west anywhere on the Earth.

Zenith North
Celestial
Pole

N
Horizon

Earth’s
Equator

Celestial
Equator Horizon
S

The celestial sphere for an observer at the North Pole.

The NCP is straight overhead at the zenith and the
celestial equator is on the horizon.

NCP
Zenith
67.5 67.5

45 45

22.5 22.5
W
E S W
N
S
E
Horizon
Celestial Equator
Stars motion at North Pole. Stars rotate parallel to Your view from the North Pole. Stars move
the Celestial Equator, so they move parallel to the parallel to the horizon. The Celestial Equator
horizon here---they never set! Altitudes of 1/4, is on the horizon.
1/2, and 3/4 the way to zenith are marked.

If you joined Santa last Christmas at the north pole (90◦ N latitude), you would
have seen Polaris straight overhead and the celestial equator on your horizon. The
point straight overhead on the celestial sphere for any observer is called the zenith
and is always 90◦ from the horizon. The arc that goes through the north point zenith
on the horizon, zenith, and south point on the horizon is called the meridian. meridian
The positions of the zenith and meridian with respect to the stars will change as
the celestial sphere rotates and if the observer changes locations on the Earth, but
those reference marks do not change with respect to the observer’s horizon. Any
celestial object crossing the meridian is at its highest altitude (distance from the
horizon) during that night (or day). The angle the star paths make with respect to
the horizon = 90◦ – (observer’s latitude).
 32 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 3. Astronomy Without a © The McGraw−Hill
2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

28 Astronomy Without a Telescope

During daylight, the meridian separates the morning and afternoon positions of
the Sun. In the morning the Sun is “ante meridiem” (Latin for “before meridian”)
or east of the meridian, abbreviated “a.m.”. At local noon the Sun is right on
the meridian (the reason why this may not correspond to 12:00 on your clock is
discussed a little later in this chapter). At local noon the Sun is due south for
northern hemisphere observers and due north for southern hemisphere observers
(though observers near the Earth’s equator can see the local noon Sun due north
or due south at different times of the year for reasons given in the next section). In
the afternoon the Sun is “post meridiem” (Latin for “after meridian”) or west of
the meridian, abbreviated “p.m”.

Zenith North
Celestial
Pole

Horizon
N
Earth’s
Equator

Horizon
Ce S
les
tia
lE
qu
ato
r

The celestial sphere for an observer in Fairbanks.

The NCP is a little lower down and the celestial
equator is higher. The zenith is still straight overhead.

Zenith
67.5 67.5 NCP

45 45
Meridian

al Equ
esti ato
Cel
22.5 22.5 r
W
E S W

S N
E
Horizon
Celestial Equator
Stars motion at Fairbanks. Stars move parallel to Your view from Fairbanks. For each degree closer
the Celestial Equator, so they move at a shallow to the Earth’s equator you move, the Celestial
angle with respect to the horizon here. Many are Equator moves higher by one degree. The Celestial
still circumpolar. Equator goes through due East and due West.

For each degree you move south with Santa in his sleigh, the North Celestial Pole
(NCP from here on) moves 1 degree away from the zenith toward the north and the
highest point of the celestial equator’s curved path in the sky moves up one degree
position of NCP and from the southern horizon. This effect has nothing to do with the distance between
cel. eq. as your horizon
changes
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Astronomy Notes 29

a celestial object or marker and you at different points on the Earth (remember
that the celestial sphere has a practically infinite radius). In fact, observers on a
spherical world only ten miles across would see the same effect! The picture on the
preceding page shows the celestial sphere for the far northern city of Fairbanks in
Alaska. Since it is 25◦ south of the north pole, the NCP is 25◦ away from (north
of) the zenith for Fairbanks observers.

Zenith North
Celestial
Pole

Horizon
Earth’s N
Equator
S
Horizon
Ce
le
st
ia
lE
qu
at
or

The celestial sphere for an observer in Seattle.

The angle between the zenith and the NCP = the
angle between the celestial equator and the horizon.
That angle = 90° − observer’s latitude.

Zenith
67.5 67.5

NCP
45 45
Eq
al

ua
Meridian
sti

to
le

r
Ce

22.5 22.5
W
E S W

S N
E
Horizon
Celestial Equator Your view from Seattle. Stars rise in the East
Stars motion at Seattle. Stars rotate parallel to half of the sky, reach maximum altitude when
the Celestial Equator, so they move at an angle crossing the meridian (due South) and set in
with respect to the horizon here. Altitudes of 1/4, the West half of the sky. The Celestial Equator
1/2, and 3/4 the way up to the zenith are marked. goes through due East and due West.

By the time you reach your hometown, the NCP has moved away from the zenith NCP position and your
so it is now a number of degrees above the horizon equal to your latitude on the latitude
Earth. Remember that your position on the Earth is specified by a latitude and
a longitude coordinate. The latitude is the number of degrees north or south of latitude
the Earth’s equator. On a map or globe, lines of latitude run horizontally, parallel
to the equator. The longitude is the number of degrees east or west of the 0◦ longitude
longitude line (the “prime meridian” on the Earth) that runs through Greenwich
England. On a map or globe, lines of longitude run vertically, perpendicular to the
equator. The celestial sphere for observers in Seattle and any other observer at the
 34 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 3. Astronomy Without a © The McGraw−Hill
2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

30 Astronomy Without a Telescope

same latitude (47◦ N) on the Earth is shown on the previous page.

Zenith
North
Celestial
Pole

Horizon
Earth’s
N
Equator
S

Ce
Horizon

le
st
ia
lE
qu
at
or
The celestial sphere for an observer in Los Angeles.
The Earth’s rotation axis pierces the celestial sphere
at the north and south celestial poles.

Zenith
67.5 67.5

45 45

Eq
Meridian
l

NCP
tia

ua
les

tor
Ce

22.5 22.5
W E W
S

N
S
E
Horizon
Celestial Equator Your view from Los Angeles. Stars rise in the East
half of the sky, reach maximum altitude when
Stars motion at Los Angeles. Stars rotate parallel to
crossing the meridian (due South) and set in
the Celestial Equator, so they move at angle with
the West half of the sky. The Celestial Equator
respect to the horizon here. Altitudes of 1/4, 1/2,
goes through due East and due West.
and 3/4 the way up to zenith are marked.

For another more detailed example, let’s choose Los Angeles at latitude 34◦
N. The number of degrees the NCP is above the horizon equals your latitude, so,
therefore, the NCP is now 34 degrees above the north horizon. The diagram for
latitude 34◦ N is shown above. Notice that finding the angle of the NCP above
the horizon provides a very easy way of determining your latitude on the Earth (a
fact used by navigators even today!). Because the Earth’s equator is 90◦ away from
the north pole, the number of degrees the celestial equator is above the opposite
horizon on the meridian will always be 90◦ – your latitude. In Los Angeles the
celestial equator will arc up to 90 − 34 = 56 degrees above the southern horizon at
the point it crosses the meridian. It still intercepts the horizon exactly at the east
stars move parallel to cel. and west points. The stars rise in the east part of the sky, move in arcs parallel
eq. to the celestial equator reaching maximum altitude when they cross your meridian,
and set in the west part of the sky. The star paths make an angle of 90 − 34 = 56
degrees with respect to the horizon.
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 3. Astronomy Without a © The McGraw−Hill 35
2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 31

If you are in the northern hemisphere, celestial objects north of the celestial
equator are above the horizon for more than 12 hours because you see more than how long a star will be up
half of their total 24-hour path around you. Celestial objects on the celestial equator
are up 12 hours and those south of the celestial equator are above the horizon for
less than 12 hours because you see less than half of their total 24-hour path around
you. The opposite is true if you are in the southern hemisphere.
Notice that stars closer to the NCP are above the horizon longer than those
farther away from the NCP. Those stars within an angular distance from the NCP
equal to the observer’s latitude are above the horizon for 24 hours—they are cir-
cumpolar stars. Also, those stars close enough to the SCP (within a distance = circumpolar
observer’s latitude) will never rise above the horizon. They are also called circum-
polar stars.

Zenith

North
Celestial Equator

Horizon
Celestial
S Pole
N

Horizon

The celestial sphere for an observer on the Equator.

The angle between the NCP and the horizon =
observer’s latitude. The Celestial Equator goes
through the zenith.

Zenith
67.5 67.5
Equ
tial

45 45
ator
s
Cele

Meridian

Celestial Equator

22.5 22.5

W
E S W

N
S
SCP NCP
E
Horizon
Your view from the Equator. Stars rise and set
Stars motion at the Equator. Stars rotate parallel to perpendicular to the horizon (a star south of the
the Celestial Equator, so they move perpendicular to Celestial Equator is shown here). The Celestial
the horizon here. All stars are visible for 12 hours. Equator reaches zenith and goes through due
Both celestial poles are visible on the horizon. East and due West on the horizon.

To warm Rudolph’s frozen nose, Santa heads down to the equator (0◦ latitude).
At the equator, you see the celestial equator arcing from exactly east to the zenith
to exactly west. The NCP is on your northern horizon. At the equator you see
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2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

32 Astronomy Without a Telescope

one-half of every star’s total 24-hour path around you so all stars are up for 12
special case of the equa- hours. All of the stars rise and set perpendicular to the horizon (at an angle =
tor 90 − 0 = 90◦ ).
Continuing southward, you see the NCP disappear below the horizon and the
SCP rise above the southern horizon one degree for every one degree of latitude
south of the equator you go. The arc of the celestial equator moves to the north,
but the arc still intercepts the horizon at the exactly east/west points. The angle
of the SCP above the southern horizon equals your south latitude and the angle of
the celestial equator above the northern horizon on the meridian is now 90◦ – your
latitude.
Here is a summary of the positions of the celestial reference marks (note that
“altitude” means the number of degrees above the horizon):

celestial sphere reference • Meridian always goes through directly North, zenith, and directly South
marks points.

• Altitude of zenith = 90◦ (straight overhead) always.

important one to remem- • Altitude of celestial pole = observer’s latitude. Observers in northern hemi-
ber! sphere see NCP; observers in southern hemisphere see SCP.

celestial equator is 90◦ • Altitude of celestial equator on meridian = 90◦ – observer’s latitude.
from celestial poles
• Celestial equator always intercepts horizon at exactly East and exactly West
points.

• Angle celestial equator (and any star path) makes with horizon = 90 – ob-
server’s latitude.

• Stars move parallel to the celestial equator.

• Circumpolar object’s distance from celestial pole = observer’s latitude.

Vocabulary
celestial equator circumpolar latitude
longitude meridian North Celestial Pole
South Celestial Pole zenith

Review Questions

1. How do the positions of the celestial equator, celestial poles, zenith, and merid-
ian depend on the latitude of the observer?
2. Would their position with respect to the horizon change if the Earth were only
200 miles in diameter? How about 80,000 miles in diameter? Why is that?
3. During a night, how do the stars move? What angle does their nightly path
make with respect to the horizon? How does it depend on latitude?
4. What reference point is a celestial object on when it is at its highest position
above the horizon?
5. Why do observers in the northern hemisphere see celestial objects above the
celestial equator for more than 12 hours?
6. For northern hemisphere observers, which celestial object would be above the
horizon for the greatest amount of time: one that is on the celestial equator,
one that is 30◦ above the celestial equator, one that is 70◦ above the celestial
equator, or one that is 40◦ below the celestial equator? Which one would
be above the horizon the greatest amount of time for southern hemisphere
observers? Explain your answer.
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 3. Astronomy Without a © The McGraw−Hill 37
2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 33

3.4 Motion of Our Star the Sun

Now that you have your bearings, let’s take a look at the position and motion of the
closest star to us, the Sun. Every day the Sun rises in an easterly direction, reaches
maximum height when it crosses the meridian at local noon, and sets in a westerly
direction. It takes the Sun on average 24 hours to go from noon position to noon
position the next day. The “noon position” is when the Sun is on the meridian
on a given day. Our clocks are based on this solar day. The exact position on solar day
the horizon of the rising and setting Sun varies throughout the year (remember
though, the celestial equator always intercepts the horizon at exactly East and
exactly West). Also, the time of the sunrise and sunset changes throughout the noon to noon
year, very dramatically so if you live near the poles, so the solar day is measured
from “noon to noon”.

Taurus Pisces
Aries
Aguarius
Gemini Capricornus

Sagittarius

Sun
Cancer

Earth in May
Scorpio
Leo

Virgo Libra

Taurus Pisces
Aries
Aguarius
Gemini Capricornus

Earth in November Sagittarius

Sun
Cancer

Scorpio
Leo

Virgo Libra

As the Earth moves around the Sun, the Sun appears to drift among the zodiac
constellations along the path called the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the projection of
the Earth’s orbit onto the sky.

The Sun appears to drift eastward with respect to the stars (or lag behind the
stars) over a year’s time. It makes one full circuit of 360◦ in 365.24 days (very close
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34 Astronomy Without a Telescope

to 1◦ or twice its diameter per day). This drift eastward is now known to be caused
by the motion of the Earth around the Sun in its orbit. The apparent yearly path
ecliptic of the Sun through the stars is called the ecliptic. This circular path is tilted
23.5◦ with respect to the celestial equator because the Earth’s rotation axis is tilted
by 23.5◦ with respect to its orbital plane. Be sure to keep distinct in your mind the
difference between the slow drift of the Sun along the ecliptic during the year and
the fast motion of the rising and setting Sun during a day.

June solstice
North
Ecliptic Celestial
Pole

Celestial
Equator
Vernal
N Equinox
Sun

S
Horizon
Sun
Autumnal
Equinox

December
solstice

The Sun moves among the stars along the ecliptic, completing one
360° path in one year. The ecliptic is tilted by 23.5° with respect
to the celestial equator. The Sun’s position on the celestial sphere
in August (full circle) and in February (dashed circle) is shown.

The ecliptic and celestial equator intersect at two points: the vernal (spring)
vernal (spring) equinox and autumnal (fall) equinox. The Sun crosses the celestial equator
equinox moving northward at the vernal equinox around March 21 and crosses the celestial
autumnal (fall) equator moving southward at the autumnal equinox around September 22. When
equinox the Sun is on the celestial equator at the equinoxes, everybody on the Earth experi-
ences 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night for those two days (hence, the name
“equinox” for “equal night”). The day of the vernal equinox marks the beginning
season of the three-month season of spring on our calendar and the day of the autumn
equinox marks the beginning of the season of autumn (fall) on our calendar. On
those two days of the year, the Sun will rise in the exact east direction, follow an
arc right along the celestial equator and set in the exact west direction. When the
Sun is above the celestial equator during the other days of the seasons of spring
and summer, you will have more than 12 hours of daylight. The Sun will rise in
the northeast, follow a long, high arc north of the celestial equator, and set in the
arc of Sun’s path in a day northwest. Where exactly it rises or sets and how long the Sun is above the horizon
changes with the days of depends on the day of the year and the latitude of the observer. When the Sun is
the year below the celestial equator during the other days of the seasons of autumn and win-
ter, you will have less than 12 hours of daylight. The Sun will rise in the southeast,
follow a short, low arc south of the celestial equator, and set in the southwest. The
exact path it follows depends on the date and the observer’s latitude.
Make sure you understand this. No matter where you are on the Earth, you will
position relative to cel. see 1/2 of the celestial equator’s arc. Since the sky appears to rotate around you in
eq. determines how long 24 hours, anything on the celestial equator takes 12 hours to go from exact east to
the Sun is up exact west. Every celestial object’s diurnal (daily) motion is parallel to the celestial
equator. So for northern observers, anything south the celestial equator takes less
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2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 35

side view

W W
S N S N
E E

N N
top view

W E W E

S S

Fall + winter: short, low path. Spring + summer: long, high path
Sunrise in southeast Sunrise in northeast
Sunset in southwest Sunset in northwest

than 12 hours between rise and set, because most of its rotation arc around you
is hidden below the horizon. Anything north of the celestial equator takes more
than 12 hours between rising and setting because most of its rotation arc is above
the horizon. For observers in the southern hemisphere, the situation is reversed.
However, remember that everybody anywhere on the Earth sees 1/2 of the celestial
equator so at the equinox, when the Sun is on the celestial equator, you see 1/2
of its rotation arc around you, and therefore you have 12 hours of daylight and 12
hours of nightime everyplace on the Earth.
The geographic poles and equator are special cases. At the geographic poles the special cases
celestial equator is right along the horizon and the full circle of the celestial equator
is visible. Since a celestial object’s diurnal path is parallel to the celestial equator,
stars do not rise or set at the geographic poles. On the equinoxes the Sun moves
along the horizon. At the North Pole the Sun “rises” on March 21st and “sets”
on September 22. The situation is reversed for the South Pole. On the equator,
observers see one half of every object’s full 24-hour path around them, so the Sun
and every other star is above the horizon for exactly 12 hours for every day of the
year.
Since the ecliptic is tilted 23.5◦ with respect to the celestial equator, the Sun’s
maximum distance from the celestial equator is 23.5◦ . This happens at the solstices.
For observers in the northern hemisphere, the farthest northern point above the
celestial equator is the summer solstice, and the farthest southern point is the summer solstice
winter solstice. The word “solstice” means “sun standing still” because the winter solstice
Sun stops moving northward or southward at those points on the ecliptic. The
Sun reaches winter solstice around December 21 and you see the least part of its
diurnal path all year—this is the day of the least amount of daylight and marks the
beginning of the season of winter for the northern hemisphere. On that day the
Sun rises at its furthest south position in the southeast, follows its lowest arc south
of the celestial equator, and sets at its furthest south position in the southwest.
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36 Astronomy Without a Telescope

23.5°

Ecliptic
Sun

Earth’s rotation axis is tilted by 23.5° with

respect to the ecliptic (its orbital plane).

The Sun reaches the summer solstice around June 21 and you see the greatest
part of its diurnal path above the horizon all year—this is the day of the most
amount of daylight and marks the beginning of the season of summer for the
northern hemisphere. On that day the Sun rises at its furthest north position in
the northeast, follows its highest arc north of the celestial equator, and sets at its
furthest north position in the northwest. The seasons are opposite for the southern
hemisphere (eg., it is summer in the southern hemisphere when it is winter in the
northern hemisphere). The Sun does not get high up above the horizon on the
winter solstice. The Sun’s rays hit the ground at a shallow angle at mid-day so the
shadows are long. On the summer solstice the mid-day shadows are much shorter
because the Sun is much higher above the horizon.

Vocabulary
autumnal (fall) equinox ecliptic season
solar day summer solstice vernal (spring) equinox
winter solstice

Review Questions

1. How does the Sun move with respect to the stars during the year?
2. Why does everyone have 12 hours of daylight on the equinoxes?
3. Why is the length of daylight in the northern hemisphere so short on December
21?
4. When will the Sun be at its highest altitude in the year in Los Angeles or
Seattle? How about Singapore (on the Equator)? Why?
5. On what date is the Sun above the horizon the shortest amount of time for
the Southern Hemisphere? Why?
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 3. Astronomy Without a © The McGraw−Hill 41
2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 37

3.5 Coordinates
Early astronomy concentrated on finding accurate positions of the stars and planets.
This was due in part to the influence of astrology, but later, accurate positions
came to be important for determining the physical characteristics of the stars and
planets. Accurate positions for the stars was also crucial for commercial and military
navigation (navigation by the stars has only recently been replaced by the use of
satellite systems such as the Global Positioning System). But probably of more
importance to you is where to point your telescope or binoculars to find that cool
object talked about in the newspaper or astronomy magazine.
There are a couple of popular ways of specifying the location of a celestial object.
The first is what you would probably use to point out a star to your friend: the
altitude-azimuth system. The altitude of a star is how many degrees above the altitude
horizon it is (anywhere from 0 to 90 degrees). The azimuth of a star is how many azimuth
degrees along the horizon it is and corresponds to the compass direction.

Zenith N=0°

az
meridian

im
Celestial Equator

uth
NCP
zenith
W=270° E=90°
ude

W = 270°
altit

N = 0°
c el
e s ti a l e q u a t o r
S = 180° altitude
azimuth
Horizon E = 90°
S=180°
side view top view
A star’s position in the altitude-azimuth coordinate system. The azimuth=120° and the altitude=50°.
The azimuth is measured in degrees clockwise along the horizon from due North. The azimuths for
the compass directions are shown in the figure. The altitude is measured in degrees above the
horizon. The star’s altitude and azimuth changes throughout the night and depends on the observer’s
position (here at the intersection of the N-S line and E-W line). The star’s position does not depend
on the location of the NCP or Celestial Equator in this system.

Azimuth starts from exactly North = 0◦ azimuth and increases clockwise: ex-
actly East = 90◦ , exactly South = 180◦ , exactly West = 270◦ , and exactly North
= 360◦ = 0◦ . For example, a star in the southwest could have an azimuth be-
tween 180◦ and 270◦ . Since stars change their position with respect to your horizon
throughout the night, their altitude-azimuth position changes. Also, observers at
different locations looking at the same star at the same time will see it at a different
altitude-azimuth position. A concise summary of this coordinate system and the
numbers involved is given at the end of this section.
The second way of specifying star positions is the equatorial coordinate system. fixed system
This system is very similar to the longitude-latitude system used to specify positions
on the Earth’s surface. This system is fixed with respect to the stars so, unlike the
altitude-azimuth system, a star’s position does not depend on the observer’s location
or time. Because of this, astronomers prefer using this system. You will find this
system used in astronomy magazines and in most sky simulation computer software.
The lines on a map of the Earth that run north-south are lines of longitude and
when projected onto the sky, they become lines of right ascension. Because the right ascension
stars were used to measure time, right ascension (RA) is measured in terms of hours,
 42 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 3. Astronomy Without a © The McGraw−Hill
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38 Astronomy Without a Telescope

North Celestial Pole

50°
40°

30°

20°

10°
Vernal Equinox

0°
Celestial Equator Ecli
ptic
−10°

4h 2h 0h 22 h −20° 20 h

−30°

−40°
−50°

East
South Celestial Pole

uses time units minutes, and seconds instead of degrees and increases in an easterly direction. For
two stars one hour of RA apart, you will see one star cross your meridian one hour
of time before the other. If the stars are not circumpolar, you will see one star rise
one hour before the other. If they were 30 minutes of RA apart, you would see one
rise half an hour before the other and cross your meridian half an hour before the
other. Zero RA is where the Sun crosses the celestial equator at the vernal equinox.
The full 360◦ of the Earth’s rotation is broken up into 24 hours, so one hour of RA
= 15◦ of rotation. The lines of RA all converge at the celestial poles so two stars
one hour of RA apart will not necessarily be 15◦ in angular separation on the sky
(only if they are on the celestial equator will they be 15◦ apart).
The lines on a map of the Earth that run east-west parallel to the equator are
lines of latitude and when projected onto the sky, they become lines of declina-
declination tion. Like the latitude lines on Earth, declination (dec) is measured in degrees
angle from cel. eq. away from the celestial equator, positive degrees for objects north of the celestial
equator and negative degrees for objects south of the celestial equator. Objects on
the celestial equator are at 0◦ dec, objects half-way to the NCP are +45◦ , objects
at the NCP are +90◦ , and objects at the SCP are –90◦ . Polaris’s position is at RA
2h 31m and dec 89◦ 15 (the tic mark,  , after the number “15” is the abbreviation
for arc minutes, see section 3.2). A concise summary of this coordinate system and
the numbers involved is given at the end of this section (see also the diagram at the
top of the next page).
precession An effect called precession causes the Sun’s vernal equinox point to slowly
shift westward over time, so a star’s RA and dec will slowly change by about 1.4◦
every century (a fact ignored by astrologers), or about 1 minute increase in a star’s
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 3. Astronomy Without a © The McGraw−Hill 43
2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 39

Zenith

Vernal Equinox

NCP
c.
De

R.
A.
W

S N

E
Horizon
Celestial Equator
A star’s position in the equatorial coordinate system. The right ascension (R.A.)=1 hr 30 min and
the declination (Dec.)=15°. The right ascension is measured in hours, minutes, and seconds in the
easterly direction from the vernal equinox position on the celestial equator. The declination is
measured in degrees above the celestial equator. The star’s R.A. and Dec. does NOT change
throughout the night—its equatorial coordinate position is fixed with respect to the stars. The star’s
position does depend on the location of the NCP and Celestial Equator in this system.

RA every twenty years. This is caused by the gravitational pulls of the Sun and
Moon on the Earth’s equatorial bulge (from the Earth’s rapid rotation) in an effort
to reduce the tilt of the Earth’s axis with respect to the ecliptic and the plane of
the Moon’s orbit around the Earth (that is itself slightly tipped with respect to the
ecliptic). Like the slow wobble of a rapidly-spinning top, the Earth responds to the
gravitational tugs of the Sun and Moon by slowly wobbling its rotation axis with a
period of 26,000 years.

Polaris
(today) Vega
(14,000 CE)
ne
pla
c
ipti
ecl

The Earth’s rotation axis precesses (wobbles)

with a period of 26,000 years.

This motion was first recorded by Hipparchus in 100 B.C.E. who noticed differ-
ences between ancient Babylonian observations and his own. When the Babylonians
were the world power in 2000 B.C.E., the vernal equinox was in the constellation
Aries and the star Thuban (in Draco) was the closest bright star to the NCP (see
the sky chart below). At the time of Jesus Christ the vernal equinox had shifted to
the constellation Pisces and the star Kochab (in the bowl of the Little Dipper) was
the closest bright star to the NCP. Now the star Polaris is close to the NCP and
the vernal equinox is close to the border between Pisces and Aquarius (in 2600 C.E.
it will officially be in Aquarius) which is what a popular song of years ago refers
to with the line “this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius”. In the year 10,000
C.E., the bright star in the tail of Cygnus, Deneb will be the pole star and Vega
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40 Astronomy Without a Telescope

(in Lyra) will get its turn by the year 14,000 C.E. Horoscopes today are still based
on the 4,000-year old Babylonian system so even though the Sun is in Aries on my
birthday, the zodiac sign used for my horoscope is Taurus. I guess it’s hard to keep
up with all of the changes in the modern world!

Thuban

Kochab

Polaris
Vega

Deneb

The path of the precession of the Earth’s rotation axis.

It takes 26,000 years to complete a full 360° wobble.

Vocabulary
altitude azimuth declination
precession right ascension

Formulae

• Altitude varies from 0 to 90◦ . Vertical position of object.

• Azimuth increases clockwise from 0◦ to 360◦ . Exact N = 0◦ , exact E = 90◦ ,

exact S = 180◦ , exact W = 270◦ . Horizontal position of object.

• Right ascension varies from 0 to 24 hours, so every hour corresponds to a

rotation angle of 15◦ . Horizontal position of object measured in time units.

• Declination varies from −90◦ (at SCP) to +90◦ (at NCP). Celestial equator
declination = 0◦ . Vertical position of object.
 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 3. Astronomy Without a © The McGraw−Hill 45
2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

Astronomy Notes 41

• Meridian altitude of any object = 90◦ – (observer’s latitude) + declination

degrees. If declination is negative, then addition of declination becomes a
subtraction.

Formulae for Sun’s position

• Ecliptic tilted by 23.5◦ with respect to the celestial equator.

• Sun’s declination ranges between −23.5◦ and +23.5◦ .

• Vernal equinox: right ascension = 0 hours; declination = 0◦ ; Sun rises at 90◦

azimuth and sets at 270◦ azimuth.

• June solstice: right ascension = 6 hours; declination = +23.5◦ ; Sun rises at

less than 90◦ azimuth and sets at greater than 270◦ azimuth.

• Autumnal equinox: right ascension = 12 hours; declination = 0◦ ; Sun rises at

90◦ azimuth and sets at 270◦ azimuth.

• December solstice: right ascension = 18 hours; declination = −23.5◦ ; Sun rises

at greater than 90◦ azimuth and sets at less than 270◦ azimuth.

Review Questions

1. At what two azimuths does the celestial equator intercept the horizon?
2. If a star’s position at 10 pm is 110◦ azimuth and 40◦ altitude, will its azimuth
be greater or less at 11 pm? If the star is still east of the meridian at 11 pm,
will its altitude be greater or less than it was 10 pm? Explain your answer.
3. Why do astronomers prefer using right ascension and declination?
4. What is the azimuth of any object when it crosses the meridian at any time
of year in the southern sky?
5. If a star has a RA of 5 hours and crosses the meridian at 10:45 pm, what is
the RA of a star that crosses the meridian at 1:00 am? Explain your answer.
6. What is the Sun’s altitude when it crosses the meridian in Bakersfield, Cali-
fornia (lat. = 35.5◦ N) and the Sun’s declination is +23.5◦ ?
7. What is the altitude of the NCP at Fairbanks, Alaska (lat. = 65◦ N)?
8. How do the positions of the equinoxes and solstices with respect to the horizon
depend on the latitude?
9. What is the maximum altitude of the Sun on the vernal equinox for people
on the equator? What is the Sun’s azimuth and right ascension at that time?
10. What will the Sun’s declination be on the following dates: June 21, March
21, September 22, and December 21?
11. What will the Sun’s approximate declination be on the following dates: April
10, July 20, and October 31? Explain your answer.
12. If the Sun sets 10◦ away from exact West on October 20, what is the sunset
azimuth?
13. If the Sun rises 12◦ away from exact East on April 19, what is the sunrise
azimuth?
14. What causes precession?
15. How does precession affect the positions of the stars?
 46 Strobel: Astronomy Notes, 3. Astronomy Without a © The McGraw−Hill
2007 Edition Telescope Companies, 2007

42 Astronomy Without a Telescope

16. If a star on the celestial equator has a RA of 5 hours 33 minutes, what would
you estimate its RA to be in 20 years and in 200 years? Explain your answer.
(Remember that the Earth spins about 15◦ /hour.)
17. Which star is the current pole star? Which star was the pole star 2,000 years
ago? Which star will be the pole star 8,000 years from now?
18. Are modern horoscopes based on the current motion of the Sun and planets
with respect to stars?

3.6 Time and Seasons

3.6.1 Solar and Sidereal day
The fact that our clocks are based on the solar day and the Sun appears to drift
eastward with respect to the stars (or lag behind the stars) by about 1◦ per day
means that if you look closely at the positions of the stars over a period of several
days, you will notice that according to our clocks, the stars rise and set 4 minutes
earlier each day. Our clocks say that the day is 24 hours long, so the stars move
around the Earth in 23 hours 56 minutes. This time period is called the sidereal
sidereal day day because it is measured with respect to the stars. This is also the true rotation
rate of the Earth and stays the same no matter where the Earth is in its orbit—the
sidereal day = 23 hours 56 minutes on every day of the year. One month later
(30 days) a given star will rise 2 hours earlier than it did before (30 days × 4
minutes/day = 120 minutes). A year later that star will rise at the same time as it
did today.

9:20 on 9:20 on 9:20 on

July 31 Aug 07 Aug 01
-12d -12d

-14d -14d
SCUTUM SERPENS CAUDA SCUTUM SERPENS CAUDA
-16d -16d

-18d -18d

-20d -20d
Albaldah Albaldah
-22d -22d

-24d -24d
Kaus Borealis Kaus Borealis
Nunki -26d Nunki -26d

-28d -28d

Ascella gal cent -30d Ascella gal cent -30d

Nash Nash
-32d -32d

Kaus Australis -34d -34d

Kaus Australis
-36d -36d
Shaula Shaula
-38d -38d

-40d -40d

-42d -42d
Sargas Sargas
-44d -44d
CORONA AUSTRALIS SCORPIUS CORONA AUSTRALIS SCORPIUS
-46d -46d

-48d -48d

-50d -50d
19h 18h40m 18h20m 18h 17h40m 19h 18h40m 18h20m 18h 17h40m

West West
A star will rise and cross your meridian 4 minutes earlier than it did the night before
because of the Earth’s motion around the Sun. One week from now it will rise and
cross your meridian 28 minutes earlier than it does tonight. During a night the stars
move from east to west due to the Earth’s rotation.
Other documents randomly have
different content
 But that strange, unearthly noise, heat and glare increased.
They deepened and widened until, as Bill said afterwards, it seemed
like a legion of devils had come to escort the doomed to his final
abode in chaos.
Now, everywhere, above, below, and roundabout, there was a
twisting, grinding roar, like that within the cylinder of a cyclone. All in
an instant—to the man at the lever—his house, the world, the
universe, seemed to have been swallowed up.
An explosion, long, loud and terrific, shook the Vanderhook
habitation, from the foundation stones to the mansard roof.
And after this was silence, thick, oppressive, damp, dead and
awesome.
And phlogiston was restored.

· · · · · · ·

AND BILL IS IT.

· · · · · · ·

A tiny, black, glistening, motionless monster stood between a

man and a woman. There were now but two people in the
laboratory—the Honorable William K. Vanderhook and his beautiful
wife. The one was flushed with victory, the other was pallid with
perplexity and fear.
In another instant our hero was eagerly bending over the
instrument of his revenge. In one hand he held a tiny spoon, in the
other a small vial upon which was a freshly printed label.
It was with infinite care that he scraped the spoon along the rim
of the now stilled and silent cylinder. It was with unmeasured
caution and infinite pride that he scraped up three great drops of
clear, shining water and transferred them to the yawning mouth of
the vial.
 This done, the druggist fitted a cork nicely into the vial, while a
wide smile of satisfaction illumined his countenance from brow to
chin and from ear to ear.
When he turned and looked upon his wife the illumination
increased.
And what of her? The woman for whom friendship had been
sacrificed and a Mystic cut off in the height of his uselessness?
Womanlike, as she watched Mr. Leffingwell disappear into vapor she
had sensed the possibilities of the new dispensation. Alonzo had
certainly lapsed. Bill had not. She had lost an admirer, but her
husband was still in evidence. Alonzo was reduced to nothingness.
Bill was yet a substantial fact. The Mystic could no longer contribute
to her entertainment. Bill could make things very disagreeable. Astral
advantages were gone. Material things remained.
Opinions to the contrary, women are philosophers—in
accommodating themselves to the inevitable.
The lovely Imogene had almost dried her tears, even before the
explosion came. When it was over she shook herself into adjustment
as to her draperies and ribbons and frills. She fluffed up her bangs,
slicked her eyebrows and looked almost as fresh as she generally
felt.
When it was all over the avenger turned and, tossing the vial to
the lady, said in a loud, triumphant voice,—“Well, here we are, Mrs.
Vanderhook; here’s your essence of mysticism for your mooshoir,
and here”—laughing uproariously,—“is a soov’nir spoon for your next
pink tea. And now, my dear girl”—as Imogene began to look
mournful again—“if you’ll give up this strenuous occultism and be
contented with your old Billsey on the earth plane, I’ll cry quits, and
get you anything you want—that isn’t astral.”
Imogene wiped her eyes. She looked at him inquiringly. Then
she looked at the vial. Then she sidled up alongside her husband.
And now Bill smiled—but it was under his breath. “What is it,
Petsey”—and his arm closed around her. “How would you like one of
those dandy little watches, or—”
 “Oh, Billsey boy, I do believe after all that it’s you that’s IT. I
feel this very minute as if we’d just vibrate together after this
splendidly. I bet anything, if you’d just practice a little, you could be
up to me in no time.”
The Honorable Mayor of Kankakee turned away to conceal his
emotion. And when his expression was out of sight he winked—once
—slowly and—judiciously—at the now silent cylinder.
Then he said modestly,—“Yes, Honey, I mean to get even with
you if I’m spared. And if you want—”
“The watch? Oh, Billsey dear, I should think I did. If you hadn’t
dissolved Lonnie he would have gotten me one soon. But, say, can’t
I have, too, one of those dear—dear—markee rings? They’re just
too, too, utterly—”
“‘Course you can. You can have a whole tray full if you want
’em. You see, Leff saved me a lot of money; and now I’ll spend it on
you. You can have rings and pins and any other truck necessary to
your happiness.”
“Oh, Billsey, you don’t mean that you will take me to Chicago
this winter to the grand opera, and the charity ball, and the horse
show, and all the big department stores,—and—and—”
“Yes, yes, old girl, I’ll take you to all these and everything else
that you can’t think of now, and then to the Stock Yards; for it won’t
be like going home without seeing the Yards.”
“You’re a dear, sweet, blessed—”
“But here, see here, Imogene, all this is provided—that there
are no more Dudes from Devachan to deal with. D’ye hear me? Is it
a go?”
“Here’s my mitt,”—and Imogene laid her delicate little hand in
Bill’s big paw.
And thus, over the—no, not the ashes—but the essence of the
late Alonzo Leffingwell, Gnani of Gingalee, and Modern Mystic of Low
Degree,—was enacted the full and complete reconciliation of Mr. and
Mrs. Vanderhook....
 “I say, Genesy, girl, it’s supper time, and I’m hungry as a wolf.
And say, too, I’m as dry as a fish.”
“Me, too”—murmured Imogene, and clutching up the back of
her gown in one hand she laid the other tenderly and confidingly
upon her husband’s arm.
And the husband and wife turned from the laboratory and
paused in the library. The untouched spread was still on the table.
“What do you say, my dear, to the removal of this cobweb?
What would you say to a little ‘Mumm,’ or a ‘High-ball,’ before we go
to dinner?”
“Well, Billsey, I’d just say ‘Let’s,’ for I really do feel nervous. But
there—goodness gracious! I’ve gone and left that bottle of Lonnie in
the laboratory. Oh, well, never mind; I don’t believe he’s much good
as essence, anyway. Patchouli’s good enough. Don’t you think so,
Billsey?”
· · · · · · ·
·
And close to the cask of copper wire had rolled a tiny vial, rolled
and lost itself in the litter thereabouts, a vial on which the double
label read as follows:

“Aqua Vitae”
Alonzo Leffingwell, D. P.[2]
“Memoria in Aeterna.”

Finis.
“Tacks Vobiscum.”

[2] Defunct Philosopher.

 POSTLUDE.
Literature is but a symbol.
A book is but an array of signs by which ideas are conveyed,
facts transmitted, or truths revealed.
The office of literature is to instruct, inspire, entertain, or
demoralize the reader.
Varied as individuality itself are the literary devices of authors.
Innumerable are the expedients to which human intelligence
resorts in its efforts to transmit knowledge, to impart ideas and
ideals, or to illustrate and elucidate truths.
Born of individual aspirations, ambitions and convictions, and
formulated by individual genius, are the poems, essays, dramas,
songs, sermons, and even the satires of literature.
And none of these has excuse for being, except its creator has
something of value to express, reveal or illustrate.
If the author’s motive be pure, and if his cause be just and his
art sufficient, we forgive the mere literary form or trick by which he
commands attention and awakens interest.
If, for example, a feathery skit be employed to illustrate a
substantial fact or lofty principle in nature, or some current social or
philosophic pretension, it should not offend the wise. It could in
nowise minimize Truth, nor belittle the great purpose in the
background.
It is possible, however, that it may teach a valuable lesson by
indirection. It may enlarge the understanding and remove the
prejudice of a few people.
To travesty a noble theme is easy, for in this great world of ours
the sublime and the ridiculous forever march side by side, and
oftentimes their relation is one of great intimacy.
 Side by side walk the noble and the ignoble, the wise and the
foolish, the serious and the mirthful, the fine and the unrefined, the
lofty and the trivial, the religious and the sacrilegious, the
philosophic and the foolish.
The wise man and the faker hourly cross each other’s paths,
and their contact and contrast often afford a laugh for the merry and
a lesson for the thoughtful.
F. H.

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