Learn to use a star chart like one at end of text Know where north is. Use compass or GPS. Match star chart to the night sky Find the brightest stars first Big Dipper is easiest to find – Asterism – star group that is part of constellation – Part of constellation Ursa Major (Great Bear)

Determine angles with hand held at arm’s length – Fully spread hand is 20 degrees – Width of thumb is 2 degrees – Width of little finger is 1 degree

Describe location of star by clock position Example: Star is 2 hands from the moon at the 4 o’clock position

Summer Triangle – Asterism that spans three different constellations – Cygnus, the Swan – Aquila, the Eagle – Lyra, the Harp – Consists of 3 bright stars: Deneb, Altair, and Vega

Big Dipper can be used to find other asterims and stars If you extend the arc of the handle, you go to Arcturus (follow the arc to Arcturus) Pointer stars at front of Big Dipper point to the North Star, Polaris. Polaris is the end of the handle of the Little Dipper (asterism of Ursa Minor or Little Bear)

Polaris is the North Star because it lies almost exactly above the Earth’s North Pole. It is only star that shows no apparent motion during the night. Other stars seem to rotate around it

Other constellations near the Little Dipper are: – Cepheus, the king – looks like a house – Cassiopeia, the queen – looks like a large W The middle part of the W points to the North Star. – Andromeda, the princess – Pegasus, the winged white horse – Perseus, the hero – Cetus, the sea monster

Greek mythology has stories about the stars Orion, the Hunter – Canis Major and Canis Minor – Taurus, the Bull – Lepus, the Rabbit – Pleiades, the maiden sisters – Scorpius, the Scorpion

Photography Mount camera on tripod Set lens aperture as wide open as possible to allow as much light to enter as possible Set the ISO setting to maximum Typical exposure time is 10 seconds 15 seconds or more you will see star trails

Celestial Coordinates Right Ascension (RA) similar to longitude – Divides celestial sphere into 24 hour zones – Each hour would be equivalent to 15 degrees – 0 h 0 m 0 s of RA is where the Sun’s path (ecliptic) crosses the celestial equator as the Sun moves north Declination (dec) similar to latitude – +90 degrees is north celestial pole – -90 degrees is south celestial pole – 0 degrees is celestial equator

Can also locate stars with altitude and azimuth Altitude – angle above the horizon Azimuth – angle eastward along horizon from North to the point directly below the object. Problem: altitude and azimuth of star constantly changes as it moves across the sky. (RA and dec is better)

Star Chart Map of the stars M32 is a galaxy in the Local Group – RA is 0 hours, 42.7 minutes – Dec is +41 o 16’

Black circles are stars Size of star indicates brightness Red ellipses are galaxies Blue shading shows brightness of Milky Way

Planetary Configurations Conjunction – planet lies in same direction as the sun – Inferior conjunction – planet is between earth and sun – Superior conjunction – planet is on other side of sun Opposition – planet is directly opposite the sun

Transit – planet passes between earth and the sun – Like a solar eclipse – Only Mercury and Venus can transit the sun as seen from earth Venus will transit the sun this summer! – June 5 starting at 5 PM

Venus – Morning Star – seen in the morning – Evening Star – seen in the evening

Dark Adaptation – eyes will become more sensitive the longer you stay in dim light – Will be able to see more stars! – Pupil opens wider – Takes 20 minutes, but undone if exposed to bright light! – Color sensitivity is lower Averted vision – greater sensitivity to faint objects if you look to the side