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STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS
INTRODUCTION:
- The Sun- our closest star
- On a clear night
a. With unaided eye can see between 2,000-4,000 stars
b. With binoculars can see nearly 100,000 stars
c. With good telescope can see billions of stars
- ABC song, “twinkle, twinkle little star”, as the theme, stars in songs, in
logos, (Libra- scales of Justice)
CONSTELLATIONS:
- 88 RECOGNIZED
- Most from ancient Greeks, Babylonians, Egyptians, Romans and
American Indians
- No VCR’s TV’s, ancient people used star myths to entertain, relay
culture, tell stories of heros, etc…
- 1926 International Astronomical Union set boundaries and added
constellations to complete the sky map.
- Among the newer constellations are: microscope, clock, chisel, bell,
telescope, hammer and air pump. These later constellations are located in
the southern hemisphere. Why?
BIG DIPPER:
- Ursa Major
- Easiest recognized
- The Big Dipper has a number of names- Big Bear, Dipper, Plow
- Double star, Alcore and Mizar, middle star in dipper handle used by
Roman Army as a test of eyesight.
- American Indian story, the changing of leaves in fall
- Used to find North Star. The North Star is about six times the distance
between bowl stars (pointer stars)
- Two galaxies and one planetary nebula are found in the Big Dipper. The
planetary nebula is the Owl Nebula, (a star explodes shedding it’s outer
layer of gases).
- In Greek mythology the Big Dipper was originally the princess Callisto.
The goddess, Juno, became jealous of her and to protect the princess, the
chief god, Jupiter, turned her into a bear and her son into the little bear
(the Little Dipper), and placed them into the sky.
- Dippers used largely as a reference point.
NORTH STAR:
- Last star in the Little Dipper handle
- Pole star- called Polaris
- Known to the Vikings as the Jewel Nailhead, to the Mongols as the
Golden Peg, to the Chinese as the Emperor of Heavens, and to the
American Indians as the Chief Star. The American Indians made and
used star charts.
- Polaris is a variable star
a. Varies in brightness
b. About a 4 day cycle
c. It is a Cephid variable star. That is, it has a very regular period.
d. Temperature 6,000 – 7,500 degrees Kelvin
e. 50 light years away
f. North Pole Star (there is no South Pole Star)
g. Every 26,000 years Polaris is the North Star. Our North Star will
be Vega in 13,000 years.
EARTH MOTIONS:
- Rotation; 24 hours; day and night
- Revolution; seasons and years
- Precession; North Star and Vega, cycle 26,000 years
- Nutation; wobbles; cycle 18.6 years
- Solar system motion; 12 mi/sec.
- Galactic motion 150-200 mi/sec.
VEGA:
-
The brightest star in the summer sky
A blue white star (temp. 20,000 degrees centigrade)
26 light years away
In the constellation Lyra, the lyre
Vega is in the direction of the densest part of the Milky Way Galaxy.
In summer, Vega is near Zenith almost directly overhead.
In the lyre is the Ring Nebula about 5,400 light years away.
The constellation Lyra is the lyre of Orpheus, a skilled musician who
could charm the birds, beasts, and the gods when he played. When
Orpheus died, the gods placed his lyre in the sky as a tribute to him.
CIRCUMPLOAR CONSTELLATIONS:
- Cassiopeia and Cepheus, the king and queen of Ethiopia, their daughter,
Andromeda was saved by the warrior Perseus on Pegasus, the flying
horse.
- Draco, the dragon, the Egyptians called this constellation a
hippopotamus. A star in this constellation named Thurban was Pole Star
5,000 years ago.
SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS:
- Hercules, the butterfly, in the sky, the great strong man, 12 labors
including a fight with Leo, the lion, a summer constellation.
- Leo, the lion, also known as the backward question mark and the sickle.
a. Represents the Lion of Judah
b. Represents the Lion slain by Hercules
c. Regulus, a blue-white star of first magnitude is in the handle of the
sickle and is 86 light years away.
- Virgo, the Virgin
a. Known as the harvest maiden carrying a sheaf of wheat
b. Spica- bright star in the constellation 3,600 degrees centigrade
temperature
c. Spica 230 light years away
d. In the constellation is a source of powerful x-rays
e. An elliptical galaxy in Virgo
- Libra, the balance
a. Scales of Justice
b. Constellation with a green star, not too many green stars known.
c. Constellation is a logo for the US Justice System
- Scorpio, the Scorpion
a. The sting of death
b. Scorpio killed Orion, the hunter, a wintertime constellation, is
easily recognized by the three stars of his belt.
c. Scorpio also stung the horses of Phacthon on his disastrous ride in
the sun chariot.
d. Antares, the giant red star, 5,000 degrees centigrade temperature,
390 times as big as the Sun, distance 410 light years away.
- Summer Triangle
a. Three bright stars in three different constellations. The stars,
their distance in light years and the constellations are:
1. Altair- Eagle, 16 light years away
2. Deneb- Swan or Northern Cross, 1,500 light years away
3. Vega- Lyre, 24 light years away
- Zodiac constellations:
a. Spring- Aires, Taurus, Gemini
b. Summer- Cancer, Leo, Virgo
c. Fall- Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius
d. Winter- Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces
METEOR SHOWERS IN JUNE:
A. The Lyrid meteor showers
B. Been seen regularly since 1969, best seen after
midnight and averages between 10 to 21 per hour.
C. Seen in the area of the lyre below Vega.
PLANETS:
-
Jupiter the Giant Planet
a. Twice as much volume as all planets in the solar system.
b. 88,000 miles in diameter or about 10 to 12 Earth
diameters.
c. Five times Earth’s distance from the Sun.
d. Two-thirds of all the mass in the solar system excluding the
Sun.
e. 318 times the Earth’s mass or 1000 Earths in volume.
f. If ten times it’s size, Jupiter would be a star (it is a brown
star).
g. 16 Moons
h. Giant red (pink) spot, three to four Earth’s fit into this
area of a large storm system.
-
Saturn the Ringed Planet
a. The rings have spokes.
b. Rings made of dust clouds to hunks three feet in diameter
to large boulders.
c. 24 Moons
d. Shepherding moons (moons about 100 km, about 60 miles
in diameter)
e. Pattern of rings more than 40,000 miles wide and less than
one mile thick.
f. The inner rings move faster than the outer rings.
g. Ten times the Earth’s distance from the Sun, about 900
million miles (about 1 billion miles).
h. Would float on water.
i. Diameter 75,000 miles
j. Saturn’s mass is 95 times greater than the Earth’s mass.
-
Neptune the Blue Planet
a. God of the sea, rivers, lakes, and streams
b. Greek god Poseidon
c. Rings, eight moons, 28,000 miles in diameter
d. Discovered in 1846
e. Atmosphere of Methane, Ammonia, Hydrogen Sulfide
Helium and Hydrogen
f. Temperature at cloud top- 356 degrees Fahrenheit.
g. Day equals sixteen hours, year equals 165 Earth years
h. About 3 billion miles from the Sun
-
Uranus, Tilted Planet
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
God of sky and rainfall
About two billion miles from the Sun
Day equals 11 hours, year equals 84 Earth years
Discovered 1781
Atmosphere: Methane, Ammonia, Hydrogen Sulfide,
Helium and Hydrogen
f. Temperature- 366 degree Fahrenheit.
g. Axis tilted 60 degrees