Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere

http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/astro/html/lec-celestial-sph.html

Introductory Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere

Motions Visible Without Optical Aid

Daily Motion

Sun

Moon

Planets

Stars

Long-term Motion W to E along the ecliptic 1 degree per day. The E to W in about 12 hours from sunrise to sunset. height of the sun in the sky at noon is at maximum in Length of day varies from season to season and with the summer, minimum in winter (excludes tropical latitude. regions). The sun returns to the same constellation in 1-year intervals. E to W in about 12 hours, 25 minutes from moonrise W to E within 5 degrees of the ecliptic. It takes 27.3 to moonset. Moonrise is about 50 minutes later each days to travel 360 degrees with respect to the stars, day. Like the sun, this timing is modulated by the but phases repeat on a 29.5-day cycle. season and your latitude on Earth. W to E within 7 degrees of the ecliptic. The average E to W in about 12 from rising to setting (again speed varies according to planet. It is fastest for modulated by season and latitude). Additional, very Mercury and slowest for Saturn (slower for Uranus, small variations are caused by the planets's own Neptune, Pluto but we can't see them with our eyes). motions against the background stars. All the planets have periods where they go retrograde (E to W) with timing different for each planet. E to W in about 12 hours (modulated by season, by The stars remain fixed on the celestial sphere with latitude, and by where the star is on the sky: respect to themselves. The earth's pole describes a circumpolar stars, for instance, do not rise and set, circular wobble of 23.5 degree amplitude centered on but they will travel in a circle around the pole, 180 a point in the constellation of Draco every 26,000 degrees in 12 hours minus about 4 minutes.) Star rise years (often called "precession of the equinoxes"). is about 4 minutes (3m 56s) earlier each day. Long time exposures taken at night illustrate daily motion: South Pole Star Trails 1 | South Pole Star Trails 2 | North Pole Star Trails

The Celestial Sphere

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Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere

http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/astro/html/lec-celestial-sph.html

The red "Ecliptic" is the sun's path. The sun is at the vernal equinox around March 21 and travels eastward (increasing right ascension).

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Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere

http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/astro/html/lec-celestial-sph.html

Just the celestial sphere plus the ecliptic, with solstices and equinoxes marked.

Drawn for northern latitudes, these are the paths the sun takes across the sky on the equinoxes and solstices. Can you see that the summer path is longer (and therefore that the summer sun stays in the sky longer)?

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Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere

http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/astro/html/lec-celestial-sph.html

This figure illustrates that, depending on your latitude, some stars will be "circumpolar" and will never set. Remember: your latitude = the altitude of the north celestial pole.

Examples relating observer's coordinates (altitude) with celestial coordinates (declination) for various latitudes on earth. We consider only maximum altitudes, i.e., points on the meridian.
Observer's Latitude 0 (Ecuador) 30 (Caribbean) Altitude of North Celestial Pole (Az.=0) 0 30 Altitude of South Altitude of Declination of Celestial Pole Celestial Equator North horizon (Az.=180) (Az.= 0 or 180) 0 -30 -60 -90 90 60 (Az. 180) 30 (Az. 180) 90 Declination of South horizon -90 Declination of Zenith 0 30 60 90

60 (i.e. 30 degrees beyond -60 90) 30 -30 0

60 (Canada) 60 90 (North Pole) 90

0 (i.e. the horizon equals the 0 celestial equator)

Formulae that seem obvious from looking at the table above: altitude of NCP = observer's latitude altitude of SCP = -(observer's latutude) max. altitude of celestial equator = 90 - (observer's latitude) Dec. of north horizon = 90 - (observer's latitude) Dec. of south horizon = -90 + (observer's latitude) Dec. of zenith = observer's latitude

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Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere

http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/astro/html/lec-celestial-sph.html

This works south of the equator also, but you have to switch all of the "norths" with the "souths". The final point to make about this is that these latitude/declination/altitude correspondences are always true, but that longitude/right ascension correspondences depend on the hour of the day and also the season.

A bit more on seasons

From "New Physical Geography" 1917 edition (copyrighted 1903) by R. S. Tarr. The Macmillan Co.

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Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere

http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/astro/html/lec-celestial-sph.html

These two figures are supposed to illustrate the same thing: the constant 23.5 degree tilt of the earth. Conceptual danger: these are perspective-foreshortened drawings; the actual orbit of the earth is a near-perfect circle; its distance from the sun varies by a very tiny amount (1.7 percent from the average).

Table of Sun's path along the ecliptic: Approx. Date Label March 21 June 21 Sept 21 Dec 21 Sun's Right Ascension Sun's Declination 0 degrees +23.5 degrees 0 degrees -23.5 degrees Vernal Equinox 0 hours Summer Solstice 6 hours Fall Equinox 12 hours Winter Solstice 18 hours

Moon Phases

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Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere

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This is the standard everything-on-one-figure textbook diagram. It's a great summary figure after you have understood moon phases and timing. The view is from the north, looking down for the bottom half of the figure, but the view is from earth for the top row of moons. Diagram is not to scale. Moon phase information. Can you see how this tabulated information comes from the figure above? Handy phrase for distinguishing whether a moon is waxing or waning (works only in the northern hemisphere): "If the light's on the right, the moon is getting bright!" Phase New First Quarter Full Third Quarter Sun-earth-moon angle (degrees) 0 or 360 90 180 270 Approx. time that moon crosses your meridian noon 6 p.m. midnight 6 a.m. Less 6 hr = rise time 6 a.m. noon 6 p.m. midnight Plus 6 hr = set time 6 p.m. midnight 6 a.m. noon

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Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere

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Diagram of solar eclipse. Relative scale is correct!

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Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere

http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/astro/html/lec-celestial-sph.html

Diagram of lunar eclipse. Relative scale is correct! Note that eclipses don't happen every month because the moon's orbit is tilted 5 degrees out of the earth-sun plane. So we really only get eclipse seasons twice a year (when the sun is on the "line of nodes" in the diagram below).

Constellations
All 88 Constellation boundaries. | Constellation map, winter sky | Constellation map, summer sky | Constellation map, north polar region

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Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere

http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/astro/html/lec-celestial-sph.html

Star chart version of Hercules.

Antique version of Hercules.

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