Grade 5 PPT_Science_Q2_W9_SkyWatching_talk.ppt

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1. Night Sky Watching
(Basics)

2. Stars Pivot around a Point

3. The North Celestial Pole
(NCP)
Special spot on the sky that the Earth’s
rotation axis points to
Why special?
During the night the stars
appear to rotate around
this spot
Also special (and useful) in other ways …

4. Watching Stars from the North
Pole

5. Constellations are Big

6. Big Dipper: Points to Polaris
http://www.astropix.com/HTML/C_S
PRING/URSAS.HTM

7. Finding Polaris

8. Lucky Breaks!
The star Polaris is amazing close to
NCP (now)
The “pointer stars” in the Big Dipper
line up directly with Polaris!!!!
Big Dipper is circumpolar
constellation
–See it all night and all year
Polaris also called Pole Star, North
Star

9. Big Dipper

10. Why care about finding Polaris?
The direction of Polaris is due North
The angle between Polaris and the
horizon is YOUR LATITUDE
How can I measure angles?

12. Big Dipper as Star Guide

13. Constellations

14. Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090627.htm
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Summer Triangle
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090912.html
Winter Hexagon
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021106.html

15. Summer Triangle

16. Winter
Hexagon

17. Constellation Facts
Group of stars all in roughly the same
direction from Earth, BUT …. Each has
its own different distance from the
Earth
–Therefore, NOT grouped together is space
From Greek astronomers have
inherited the names of the
constellations: mythological figures or
animals
Different cultures on Earth each have
different names for the constellations

18. Constellation
Stars at
Different
Distances
from Earth

19. Visible Constellations change over a
year
May have heard …
–“Orion is a winter constellation”
–“You can see Cygnus most of the summer”
Above comments arise because you
cannot see the Constellations near
where the Sun is in the sky
–Sun so bright it washes out rest of stars
Since Sun moves along the Ecliptic
over a year the constellations “away”
from the Sun change over a year.

20. Constellations on
opposite side of
Sun (Opposition)

21. The Zodiac
Band of constellations closest to the
Ecliptic (Sun’s yearly path across the
sky)
Correspond to Horoscope “Signs”
–Astrology used to make predictions (not
science!)
Useful for backyard astronomy:
Planets and the Moon can alwaysbe
found in the Zodiac
Width of the Zodiac belt ~ 18°

24. Mercury
Mars
Saturn

25. Naming Stars
Brightest star in
constellation Taurus
Greek name: αTaurus
Arabic name:
Aldebaran
“Al Debarren”
“The Follower”
(of the Pleiades)