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Astronomy 161: Introduction To Solar System Astronomy

This document provides an introduction to key concepts in solar system astronomy. It discusses (1) the celestial sphere and how it is used to map the positions of celestial objects, (2) how the sun, moon, and stars appear to move relative to each other due to Earth's rotation and revolution around the sun, and (3) how Copernicus' model of a sun-centered solar system replaced Ptolemy's earth-centered model in correctly explaining the observed motions.

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Nelum Perera
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42 views

Astronomy 161: Introduction To Solar System Astronomy

This document provides an introduction to key concepts in solar system astronomy. It discusses (1) the celestial sphere and how it is used to map the positions of celestial objects, (2) how the sun, moon, and stars appear to move relative to each other due to Earth's rotation and revolution around the sun, and (3) how Copernicus' model of a sun-centered solar system replaced Ptolemy's earth-centered model in correctly explaining the observed motions.

Uploaded by

Nelum Perera
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ASTRONOMY 161

Introduction to Solar System Astronomy

Class 2

Astronomy 161: The Web Page


www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~kstanek/A161/
Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD):

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/

The Celestial Sphere


Friday, September 25

The Celestial Sphere: Key Concepts


(1) The sky as seen from Earth is divided into 88 constellations.
(2) It is convenient to pretend the stars are attached to a celestial sphere. (3) The celestial sphere appears to rotate about the celestial poles (1 day). (4) The Sun appears to move west to east relative to stars (1 year). (5) The Moon appears to move west to east relative to stars (1 month).

(1) The sky is divided into 88 constellations

Mesopotamia, circa 3000 BC: oldest know constellations Ptolemy, 2nd century AD: 48 constellations in northern sky 16th to 18th century AD: unmapped regions of sky filled in

Constellations are largely arbitrary


Other cultures, other constellations:
Example: Ursa Major = bear, dipper, bull's leg, grain scoop, wagon, plow, etc. Stars in a constellation usually are not at the same distance from us. At a different place in our Galaxy, we would see different star patterns.

A modern star chart of Ursa Major:

(2) Stars are attached to a celestial sphere

Distances to stars are hard to measure.


However, we can pretend all stars are at the same distance from us, attached to a large celestial sphere.

Position on the celestial sphere is known even when the distance in unknown.

Celestial Sphere: A large imaginary sphere centered on Earth

Special locations on the celestial sphere


North Celestial Pole = point directly above Earths North Pole (near the star Polaris)
South Celestial Pole = point directly above Earths South Pole (no nearby bright star) Celestial Equator = circle directly above Earths Equator

Distances between points on the celestial sphere are measured in degrees, arcminutes, and arcseconds
360 degrees in a circle

60 arcminutes in a degree
60 arcseconds in an arcminute

degree = angular size of Sun & Moon

Celestial navigation made simple


At Earths North Pole: Polaris is directly overhead
At Earths Equator: Polaris is due north, on the horizon In Earths Northern hemisphere: Polaris is due north - height above the horizon (in degrees) is equal to your latitude (in degrees)

(3) The celestial sphere appears to rotate about the celestial poles (1 day cycle)

Observation: Stars, Sun, Moon and planets move in counterclockwise circles around north (south) celestial pole.
Objects near the celestial equator move east to west when above the horizon (rising in east, setting in west). What causes these circular motions?

Explanations of the 1 day cycle:


HYPOTHESIS #1 HYPOTHESIS #2 (Ptolemy, 2nd century): (Copernicus, 16th cent.): Earth is stationary; stars Stars are stationary; Earth are attached to a sphere rotates about its axis that revolves around once per day. the Earth once per day.
RIGHT! WRONG!

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)

Foucault's Pendulum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px1OO8TI6OI

(4) The Sun appears to move west to east relative to stars (1 year cycle) Today the Sun is in Virgo, next month in Libra, etc. Suns path on the celestial sphere = ecliptic Constellations through which the ecliptic runs = zodiac The ecliptic is NOT the same as the celestial equator!

Observation: Sun moves west to east relative to stars (about 1 degree per day). What causes this annual motion?

Explanations of 1 year cycle:


HYPOTHESIS #1 (Ptolemy): Sun revolves around Earth at a slightly slower rate than the celestial sphere.
WRONG!

HYPOTHESIS #2 (Copernicus): Earth revolves around the Sun, once per year.
RIGHT!

(5) The Moon appears to move west to east relative to stars (1 month cycle)
Today the Moon is in Sagittarius In two weeks: Taurus In four weeks: Sagittarius, again.

Observation: Moon moves west to east relative to stars, taking 27.3 days to complete cycle. What causes this monthly motion?

Explanations of 1 month cycle:


HYPOTHESIS #1 (Ptolemy): Moon revolves around Earth at a significantly slower rate than the celestial sphere.
WRONG!

HYPOTHESIS #2 (Copernicus): Moon revolves around Earth, once per month.


RIGHT!

Few closing questions:


1) Can the Sun come close to the North Celestial Pole?

2) Can the Moon come close to the South Celestial Pole?


3) You are on the Earths equator---how high is Polaris above the horizon? 4) How often does the Sun cross the plane of the ecliptic?

Few closing questions continued:


5) How often does the Moon cross the plane of the ecliptic?

6) How often does the Sun cross the Celestial Equator? 7) How often does the Moon cross the Celestial Equator?

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