2.
1 Patterns in the Night Sky
Our goals for learning:
What does the universe look like from Earth?
Why do stars rise and set?
Why do the constellations we see depend on
latitude and time of year?
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
What does the universe look like from
Earth?
With the naked
eye, we can see
more than 2000
stars as well as
the Milky Way.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Constellations
A constellation is
a region of the
sky.
Eighty-eight
constellations fill
the entire sky.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
The brightest stars in a constellation…
[Link] belong to the same star cluster.
[Link] lie at about the same distance from Earth.
[Link] actually be quite far away from each
other.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
The brightest stars in a constellation…
[Link] belong to the same star cluster.
[Link] lie at about the same distance from Earth.
[Link] actually be quite far away from each
other.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Celestial Sphere
Stars at different
distances all appear to
lie on the celestial
sphere.
The ecliptic is the
Sun's apparent path
through the celestial
sphere.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Celestial Sphere
The 88 official
constellations
cover the celestial
sphere.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Milky Way
A band of light that
makes a circle
around the celestial
sphere
What is it?
Our view into the
plane of our galaxy
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Milky Way
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Local Sky
An object's altitude (above horizon) and direction
(along horizon) specify its location in your local sky.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Local Sky
Zenith: The point
directly overhead
Horizon: All points
90° away from zenith
Meridian: Line
passing through
zenith and connecting
N and S points on the
horizon
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
We measure the sky using angles.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Angular Measurements
Full circle = 360°
1° = 60 (arcminutes)
1 = 60 (arcseconds)
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
The angular size of your finger at arm's length is
about 1°. How many arcseconds is this?
A.60 arcseconds
B.600 arcseconds
C.60 x 60 = 3600 arcseconds
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
The angular size of your finger at arm's length is
about 1°. How many arcseconds is this?
A.60 arcseconds
B.600 arcseconds
C.60 x 60 = 3600 arcseconds
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Angular Size
An object's angular
size appears smaller
if it is farther away.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Why do stars rise and set?
Earth rotates west to
east, so stars appear to
circle from east to west.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Our view from Earth:
Stars near the north celestial pole are circumpolar and
never set.
We cannot see stars near the south celestial pole.
All other stars (and Sun, Moon, planets) rise in east and set
in west.
A circumpolar
star never
sets. celestial
equator
This star your horizon
never rises.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
What is the arrow pointing to?
[Link] zenith
[Link] north celestial pole
[Link] celestial equator
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
What is the arrow pointing to?
[Link] zenith
[Link] north celestial pole
[Link] celestial equator
Time-Lapse
Light Pollution
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Why do the constellations we see depend
on latitude and time of year?
They depend on latitude because your position on
Earth determines which constellations remain
below the horizon.
They depend on time of year because Earth's orbit
changes the apparent location of the Sun among
the stars.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Review: Coordinates on the Earth
Latitude: position north or south of equator
Longitude: position east or west of prime meridian
(runs through Greenwich, England)
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
The sky varies with latitude but not
longitude.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Altitude of the celestial pole = your latitude
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
The North Star (Polaris) is 50° above your horizon,
due north. Where are you?
[Link] are on the equator.
[Link] are at the North Pole.
[Link] are at latitude 50°N.
[Link] are at longitude 50°E.
[Link] are at latitude 50°N and longitude 50°E.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
The North Star (Polaris) is 50° above your horizon,
due north. Where are you?
[Link] are on the equator.
[Link] are at the North Pole.
[Link] are at latitude 50°N.
[Link] are at longitude 50°E.
[Link] are at latitude 50°N and longitude 50°E.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
The sky varies as Earth orbits the Sun
As Earth orbits the Sun, the Sun appears to move eastward
along the ecliptic.
At midnight, the stars on our meridian are opposite the Sun in
the sky.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Special Topic: How Long Is a Day?
Solar day = 24 hours
Sidereal day (Earth's rotation period) = 23 hours,
56 minutes
Sidereal Day versus Solar Day
Sidereal Day versus Solar Day
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
What have we learned?
What does the universe look like from Earth?
We can see over 2000 stars and the Milky Way
with our naked eyes, and each position in the
sky belongs to one of 88 constellations.
We can specify the position of an object in the
local sky by its altitude above the horizon and
its direction along the horizon.
Why do stars rise and set?
Because of Earth's rotation
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
What have we learned?
Why do the constellations we see depend on
latitude and time of year?
Your location determines which constellations
are hidden by Earth.
Time of year determines the location of the Sun
in the sky.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
2.2 The Reason for Seasons
Our goals for learning:
What causes the seasons?
How does the orientation of Earth's axis change
with time?
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
TRUE OR FALSE? Earth is closer to the Sun in
summer and farther from the
Sun in winter.
(Hint: When it is summer in the United States, it is
winter in Australia.)
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
TRUE OR FALSE! Earth is closer to the Sun in
summer and farther from the
Sun in winter.
Seasons are opposite in the N and S
hemispheres, so distance cannot be the reason.
The real reason for seasons involves Earth's axis
tilt.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
What causes the seasons?
Seasons depend on how Earth's axis affects the directness
of sunlight.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Direct light causes more heating.
Directness of Light
Axis tilt changes directness of sunlight during the
year.
Why Does the Flux of Sunlight Vary?
Sun's altitude also changes with seasons.
Sun's position at a
certain time in the
morning in summer:
higher altitude means
more direct sunlight.
Sun's position at the
same time in winter:
lower altitude means
Why Do We Have Different Seasons? less direct sunlight.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Summary: The Real Reason for Seasons
Earth's axis points in the same direction (to
Polaris) all year round, so its orientation relative to
the Sun changes as Earth orbits the Sun.
Summer occurs in your hemisphere when sunlight
hits it more directly; winter occurs when the
sunlight is less direct.
AXIS TILT is the key to the seasons; without it, we
would not have seasons on Earth.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Why doesn't distance matter?
Variation of Earth–Sun distance
is small—about 3%; this small
variation is overwhelmed by the
effects of axis tilt!
For objects with greater
variation in their planet–Sun
distance, it can play a large role
in seasons – Pluto is an
example.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
How do we mark the progression of the seasons?
We define four special points:
summer solstice spring (vernal) equinox
winter solstice fall (autumnal) equinox
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
We can recognize solstices and equinoxes
by the Sun's path across the sky.
Summer solstice:
Highest path, rise and
set at most extreme
north of due east
Winter solstice: Lowest
path, rise and set at
most extreme south of
due east
Equinoxes: Sun rises
precisely due east and
sets precisely due west.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Seasonal changes are more extreme at high
latitudes.
Path of the Sun on the summer solstice at the
Arctic Circle
Summer Solstice Midnight Sun
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
How does the orientation of Earth's axis
change with time?
Although the axis seems fixed on human time scales, it actually
precesses over about 26,000 years.
lPolaris won't always be the North Star.
lPositions of equinoxes shift around orbit; for example, the spring
equinox, once in Aries, is now in Pisces!
Earth's axis
precesses like
the axis of a
spinning top.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
What have we learned?
What causes the seasons?
The tilt of the Earth's axis causes sunlight to
hit different parts of the Earth more directly
during the summer and less directly during the
winter.
We can specify the position of an object in the
local sky by its altitude above the horizon and
its direction along the horizon.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
What have we learned?
How does the orientation of Earth's axis change
with time?
The tilt remains about 23.5° (so the season
pattern is not affected), but Earth has a 26,000-
year precession cycle that slowly and subtly
changes the orientation of the Earth's axis.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
2.3 The Moon, Our Constant Companion
Our goals for learning:
Why do we see phases of the Moon?
What causes eclipses?
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Why do we see phases of the Moon?
Lunar phases are a
consequence of the
Moon's 27.3-day orbit
around Earth.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Phases of the Moon
Half of the Moon is
illuminated by the
Sun and half is dark.
We see a changing
combination of the
bright and dark
faces as the Moon
orbits Earth.
[Link]
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Phases of the Moon: 29.5-day cycle
new
}
crescent
first quarter waxing
Moon visible in afternoon/evening
gibbous Gets "fuller" and rises later each day
full
}
gibbous
last quarter waning
Moon visible in late night/morning
crescent Gets "less" and sets later each day
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
It's 9 A.M. You look up in the sky and see a moon
with half its face bright and half dark. What phase
is it?
[Link] quarter
[Link] gibbous
[Link] quarter
[Link] moon
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Thought Question
It's 9 A.M. You look up in the sky and see a moon
with half its face bright and half dark. What phase
is it?
[Link] quarter
[Link] gibbous
[Link] quarter
[Link] moon
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
We see only one side of the Moon.
Synchronous
rotation: The Moon
rotates exactly
once with each
orbit.
This is why only
one side is visible
from Earth.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
What causes eclipses? [Link]
The Earth and Moon cast shadows.
When either passes through the other's shadow,
we have an eclipse.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Lunar Eclipse
Lunar Eclipse
When can eclipses occur?
Lunar eclipses can
occur only at full moon.
Lunar eclipses can be
penumbral, partial, or
total.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Solar Eclipse
Evolution of a Total Solar Eclipse
Total Solar Eclipse
[Link]
lipses/2023/oct-14-
annular/where-when/
Here we see a multiple-
exposure image of a total
solar eclipse in Zambia
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Why don't we have an eclipse at every new and full moon?
The Moon's orbit is tilted 5° to the ecliptic plane.
So we have about two eclipse seasons each year, with a
Solar eclipse at new moon and Lunar eclipse at full moon.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Summary: Two conditions must be met to
have an eclipse
[Link] must be a full moon (for a lunar eclipse) or a
new moon (for a solar eclipse).
AND
[Link] Moon must be at or near one of the two
points in its orbit where it crosses the ecliptic plane
(its nodes).
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Predicting Eclipses
Eclipses recur with the 18-year, 11 1/3-day saros
cycle, but type (e.g., partial, total) and location may
vary.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
What have we learned?
Why do we see phases of the Moon?
Half the Moon is lit by the Sun, half is in shadow, and its
appearance to us is determined by the relative positions
of the Sun, Moon, and Earth.
What causes eclipses?
Lunar eclipse: Earth's shadow on the Moon
Solar eclipse: Moon's shadow on Earth
Tilt of Moon's orbit means eclipses occur during two
periods each year.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
2.4 The Ancient Mystery of the Planets
Our goals for learning:
Why was planetary motion so hard to explain?
Why did the ancient Greeks reject the real
explanation for planetary motion?
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Planets Known in Ancient Times
Mercury (bottom)
Difficult to see; always close to
Sun in sky
Venus (above Mercury)
Very bright when visible; morning
or evening "star"
Mars (middle)
Noticeably red
Jupiter (top)
Very bright
Saturn (above Mars)
Moderately bright
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Why was planetary motion so hard to
explain?
Planets usually move
slightly eastward from
night to night relative to
the stars.
But sometimes they go
westward relative to the
stars for a few weeks:
apparent retrograde
motion.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
We see apparent retrograde motion when
we pass by a planet in its orbit.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Explaining Apparent Retrograde Motion
Easy for us to explain: this occurs when we "lap"
another planet (or when Mercury or Venus laps
us).
But it is very difficult to explain if you think that
Earth is the center of the universe!
In fact, ancients considered but rejected the
correct explanation.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Why did the ancient Greeks reject the real
explanation for planetary motion?
Their inability to
observe stellar
parallax was a
major factor.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Greeks knew that the lack of observable
parallax could mean one of two things:
[Link] are so far away that stellar parallax is too small to
notice with the naked eye.
[Link] does not orbit the Sun; it is the center of the
universe.
With rare exceptions, such as Aristarchus, the Greeks
rejected the correct explanation (1) because they did not
think the stars could be that far away.
Thus the stage was set for the long, historical showdown
between Earth-centered and Sun-centered systems.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
What have we learned?
Why was planetary motion so hard to explain?
Like the Sun and Moon, planets usually drift eastward
relative to the stars from night to night; but sometimes,
for a few weeks or few months, a planet turns westward
in its apparent retrograde motion.
Why did the ancient Greeks reject the real explanation for
planetary motion?
Most Greeks concluded that Earth must be stationary,
because they thought the stars could not be so far away
as to make parallax undetectable.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.