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Name _______________________________ Partners _____________________________ Familiar Constellations and the Galactic Plane Constellations are simply patterns of the brightest stars in the heavens that inspired the ancients to attribute names and stories to. Orion the hunter, Cygnus the swan, Leo the lion are all familiar names to northern hemisphere night sky watchers. There are 88 named constellations, each having numerous stars. This exercise takes you through some of the most recognizable ones in the October-November sky in the Bay Area. The patterns of stars remain the same over the ages. That is because the stars, though moving, are so far away they seem not to move at all compared to the background of other stars (parallax is so small). So, it should be emphasized that although constellations are recognized and drawn as two-dimensional pictures connecting stars, the stars are all at different distances, and just seem to be on a black background fixed at some great distance. Among the most recognizable constellations are those belonging to stars of the “summer triangle”, the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) and Little Dipper (Ursa Minor). For observation, do 1, 2 1. Note today’s date and time _________________________________________ 2. Find the Big Dipper (look north). Use the pointer stars and locate Polaris. Draw the Big Dipper (the 7 brightest stars) and the Little Dipper (7 stars, or as many as you can) on Fig.1 below. Label Polaris “P” and pointer stars on the Big Dipper as “A” and “B”. Draw to scale. Fig.1 1 3. Name and label the 7 brightest stars (and their α,β,γ , etc.) in the Big Dipper on Fig.1. Note: good links are here for constellations and (for example) stars 4. Fill out the table below for the 7 brightest stars in Ursa Major Table I - Ursa Major Name Bayer (α,β,γ , etc.) Apparent magnitude Mass (M ) Distance (ly) Radius (R ) Type (e.g., red giant) 5. Name and label the 6 brightest stars (and their α,β,γ , etc.) in the Little Dipper on Fig.1. 6. Fill out the table below for the 6 brightest stars in Ursa Minor Name Table II - Ursa Minor Bayer Mass Apparent Distance (α,β,γ , ( M ) magnitude (ly) etc.) Radius (R ) Type (e.g., red giant) 7. Now locate the summer triangle – Vega, Altair, and Deneb. Draw and label the 3 stars in Fig.2 below. Leave room for their constellations Lyra, Aquila, Cygnus, respectively. Cygnus “the swan” is also known as the “Northern Cross”. 8. Draw the brightest stars (up to 7) in each of their 3 respective constellations. 9. Name and label the 3 brightest stars (if possible) in each constellation on Fig.2. 10. Fill out the table below for the brightest star in Lyra Name Table III - Lyra Bayer Apparent Distance (α,β,γ , magnitude (ly) etc.) 2 Mass (M ) Radius (R ) Type (e.g., red giant) Fig.2 11. Fill out the table below for the 4 brightest stars in Cygnus Name Table IV - Cygnus Bayer Apparent Distance (α,β,γ , magnitude (ly) etc.) Mass (M ) Radius (R ) Type (e.g., red giant) Radius (R ) Type (e.g., red giant) Deneb 12. Fill out the table below for the 3 brightest stars in Aquila Name Table V - Aquila Bayer Apparent Distance (α,β,γ , magnitude (ly) etc.) Altair 3 Mass (M ) The Galactic Plane The “milky way” is a faint star-light background across the sky, now hardly visible to us near cities, that forms the plane of our galaxy. Altair and Deneb are very close to this plane. In fact the plane is best seen during the summer-fall months. In November, the milky way is spanned, from southwest to northeast through the zenith, by the constellations Aquila (with Altair), Cygnus (the “northern cross” with Deneb), Cassiopeia (looks like a “W”), Auriga (with Capella). The center of the galaxy is in the direction of Sagittarius – on the southwest horizon below Aquila. 13. In Fig.2, Draw a dashed line through Altair and Deneb. This line lies roughly along the galactic plane. 14. In Fig.3 below Deneb is drawn on the left. Locate and draw Cassiopeia near the middle of the figure (“W” should be inverted). 15. If visible, locate and draw and the constellation Auriga around its alpha star Capella (near the northeast horizon) on the right in Fig.3. Deneb Capella Fig.3 Note that the plane of our Milky Way galaxy runs roughly through Altair (Aquila), Deneb (Cygnus), Cassiopeia, and Capella (Auriga). 4 16. Fill out the table below for the 4 brightest stars in Cassiopeia. Name Table VI - Cassiopeia Bayer Mass Apparent Distance (α,β,γ , ( M ) magnitude (ly) etc.) Radius (R ) Type (e.g., red giant) 17. Fill out the table below for the 4 brightest stars in Auriga. One of the stars “Elnath” is actually also a part of Taurus “the bull” (Beta Tau) to the east and “above” the galactic plane. Name Table VII - Auriga Bayer Mass Apparent Distance (α,β,γ , ( M ) magnitude (ly) etc.) Radius (R ) Type (e.g., red giant) 18. Note that the “anti-center” of the galaxy is located here – the direction opposite to the galactic center. The anti-center points directly out of the galaxy (the center is toward Sagittarius). Place an “X” on Fig.3 at the anti-center. When you’ve viewed the “anti-center” link check here ______________ 19. Locate the plane of the ecliptic in the sky (use Jupiter and where the sun is now). Locate the plane of the galaxy in the sky. Estimate the angle between the plane of the ecliptic and the plane of the galaxy. Angle is about __________________________ 20. “The Kids” fall right on the galactic plane. Fill out the table below for the three “Kids”. Name Table VIII – The Kids Bayer Mass Apparent Distance (α,β,γ , (M ) magnitude (ly) etc.) Radius (R ) Type (e.g., red giant) 21. Familiarize yourself with our neighborhood within 10 light years with this link. Note that one of the brightest stars in the night sky - Sirius – and its constellation Canis Major (“big dog”) is not visible until winter. After you’ve viewed the link check here _______________ 5 22. Zoom out to our neighborhood within 250 light years. Note how “close” Capella and Vega are. Aldebaran is the red giant “eye” in Taurus the bull, not far from Capella in the night sky. Zoom out again to 5000 light years to see our position in the “Orion Arm” of our Milky Way galaxy, then zoom out to see where we are within 50,000 light years. After you’ve viewed the links check here _______________ 23. Finally, to get a view of the constellations from a galactic perspective, look at this galactic atlas. You may prefer this alternative view. As stated, there are about “9000 stars are visible to the naked eye”. On the left of the galactic center (Scorpius and Sagittarius) are Aquila (Altair), Cygnus (Deneb), Cassiopeia and Auriga (Capella). These are easily viewable in the summer and fall. The right hand side of the galaxy ( Canis Major, Orion, Crux) are more easily viewed in the winter and spring. Notice the Zodiac (running along the ecliptic) includes Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, all constellations well off the galactic plane. After you’ve viewed the links check here _______________ 6