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Exploring the Night Sky: A Guide to Naked-Eye Astronomy

Discover the wonders of naked-eye astronomy and learn how to observe celestial bodies without a telescope. This guide covers the basics of star and planet movements, the significance of angles in the sky, and the directional methods to navigate the night sky. Understand the daily and seasonal motions of the sun, moon, and planets, including retrograde motion, and what to look for in various celestial phenomena like eclipses and meteor showers. Perfect for beginners and enthusiasts alike, unlock the mysteries of the universe above.

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Exploring the Night Sky: A Guide to Naked-Eye Astronomy

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  1. Seeing the Sky Naked-Eye Astronomy

  2. Naked-Eye Astronomy • Stars • Planets (move relative to stars) • Sun (disk about 1/2 degree) • Moon (disk about 1/2 degree) • Other (comets, meteors, UFOs, etc.)

  3. Angles • Can only measure angles on the sky (circle spans 360 degrees; 1 degree = 60 minutes; 1 minute = 60 seconds) • Angular distance is the angle on the sky between two celestial objects • Use your fist (about 10 degrees at arm’s length)

  4. Sky Directions • Face South (sun at noon), then • North is to your back • West is to your right • East is to your left(Northern hemisphere!)

  5. Sky Motions • Only see angular speeds(angle covered per unit time-day, month, year) • Motions are relative with respect to some reference (stars, horizon) • Same object can have different motions at the same time relative to different references

  6. Stars • Patterns: “fixed” constellations (88 official); no visible change over human lifetimes • Daily: Rise in east, set in west(relative to horizon) • Seasonal: Different constellations visible at different seasons

  7. Moon • Daily: Rises in east, sets in west (relative to horizon) • Monthly: Cycle of phases; angle relative to the sun (opposition-full) • Monthly: Moves eastward relative to zodiacal stars • Eclipses can occur at new (solar) or full (lunar)

  8. Sun • Daily: Rise in east, set in west (relative to the horizon) • Due south at noon (northern hemisphere!); greatest angle (for the day) above horizon at noon • Seasonally: noon height varies (highest, summer, lowest winter); rising, setting points also vary

  9. Sun • Moves eastward relative to stars • Moves through constellations of the zodiac, about 360 degrees in one year (about 1 degree per day) • Path in sky relative to the stars defines the ecliptic

  10. Planets • Daily: Rise in east, set in west (relative to horizon) • Long-term: Move eastward relative to stars (zodiac) • In regular cycles, move westward relative to the stars (retrograde)

  11. Planets-Long term • Mercury, Venus stay near sun(morning, evening stars) • Mars, Jupiter, Saturn anywhere in zodiac relative to sun • Average angular speeds of eastward motion through zodiac: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn

  12. Planets-Retrograde • Mercury, Venus retrograde only near sun (when moving from evening to morning “star”) • Mars, Jupiter, Saturn retrograde only when opposite the sun in the sky (opposition, 180 degrees apart)

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