Navigating the Night Sky: Backyard Astronomy Tips

1. Monday, Sept. 15 A100Solar System • Today: Backyard Astronomy • Review session in class on Wednesday • Review questions on Oncourse – Resource tool • 1st Exam on Friday Today’sAPOD The Sun Today

2. Backyard Astronomy • Finding your way around the sky • Planetarium software • Binocular astronomy • Small telescopes • Astronomy organizations • Astronomy magazines • Astronomy on the WEB • Light pollution • Participating in research

3. Finding your way around… • Use prominent constellations to help find your way around the sky • Line up two or more stars in constellations • They act as pointers to other stars and constellations The Big Dipper in the evening sky (but a complete circle each night!)

4. The BD points to more than Polaris! • Note: they don’t always line up precisely because of the “curve” of the sky, while sky charts are flat

5. Orion works the same way Stars within Orion (the Hunter) • Orion’s belt – Three stars in a line • Betelgeuse – Upper left side (shoulder) • Rigel brightest star in Orion – Lower right side (leg or foot)

6. Orion’s Belt points to the Pleiades • A beautiful star cluster (the Seven Sisters) • Right of Aldebaran about 15 www.apod.nasa.org

7. Sky Measures • Measuring apparent distances between stars at arms length • 1 = width at the end of little finger • 5 = width of three middle fingers • 10 = one fist width • 15 = space between first and little finger spread out • 25 = entire span of hand – thumb to little finger

8. Orion points to more bright stars • Sirius (Canis Major – the Big Dog) – brightest star in the night sky – Left of Orion’s belt about 20 • Aldebaran (Taurus, the Bull) – Right of Orion’s belt, about 20

9. Procyon and Capella, too! • Procyon(Canis Minor – the Little Dog) – Left of Betelgeuse about 30 • Capella (Auriga, the Charioteer) – second brightest star in the night sky – Directly above Orion about 45

10. The Gemini Twins • Pollux (Gemini, the Twins) – Above, on a line between the right side of Orion’s belt and Betelgeuse, about 40 • Castor (Gemini, the Twins) – the same as above, right of Pollux

11. The Big Dipper is always up – Orion is a fall/winter constellation p. 34

12. Online Star Charts • www.skymaps.com • www.space.com • www.accuweather.com • www.weatherunderground.com • lots of others

13. Using Star Charts • Determine which direction you are looking (north, south, east or west). • Rotate the star chart so that direction is at the bottom of the chart. • Look at the lower curved quarterof the chart to identify the stars that you are seeing in the sky. • Zenith, or straight above, is in the center of a circular star chart = 90

14. Planetarium Software • The Sky • Starry Night (with your text) • Stellarium (freeware) • Skymap Pro • Lots of others

15. See the the lunar surface Binocular Astronomy Check out the Orion Nebula! Star Clusters – The Pleiades! • Get the largest objective (front lens) you can afford • Get the highest power that you can hold steady by hand (up to 10-power) • Use tripods and stands for heavier ones • Prices vary from relatively inexpensive to several $K for large astronomical binoculars • Meade and Celestron dealers • telescopes.com, • Camera and sporting-goods stores Double Stars! Double Stars! See the Galilean Moons!

16. Buying a Telescope • Aperture (diameter) is king. The larger the aperture, the more light is collected and the brighter an object will appear • Get advice from your local astronomy club • Refractors (lenses), Reflectors (mirrors), Catadioptics (combined) • Prices – few x $102 to a few x $103 • Meade, Celestron, other manufacturers • New, computer controlled “goto” telescopes make it easy

17. Astronomy Organizations • Local • Indiana Astronomical Society www.iasindy.org • Stonebelt Stargazers • Finding clubs everywhere - Astronomical League • National • Planetary Society planetary.org • Astronomical Society of the Pacific www.astrosociety.org • American Association of Variable Star Observers - www.aavso.org

18. Astronomy Magazines • StarDate Magazine • stardate.org • Astronomy Magazine • www.astronomy.com • Sky and Telescope • www.skyandtelescope.com

19. Astronomy on the WEB • Skymaps.com - FREE Sky Maps -- updated each month • Astronomy Picture of the Day • StarTrak (also available in Spanish ) - Check out upcoming celestial events in Hal Kibbey's monthly article • Astronomy Now  - Breaking news, night sky info • Satellite Visibility - Satellites viewable from Bloomington • Space.com  - News, photos from Hubble Telescope and more..... • NASA Image Archive - NASA's central image distribution page • Solar System Simulator - NASA's solar system simulator page

20. Light Pollution • International Dark-Sky Association • www.darksky.org • “To preserve and protect the nighttime environmentand our heritage of dark skies” • Environmental effects • bird migration • sea turtle nesting • fireflies • The beauty of the night sky

21. What to do… • Choose appropriate lighting and fixtures • Avoid glare • Shield lights • Good lighting saves energy! Need Less

22. Participating in Research • AAVSO • On the Web • Find ET with SETI@home setiathome.berkeley.edu • Find planets with Systemic - oklo.org • Find comet grains with Stardust@home stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu

23. One question I’ve always had about astronomy is… • How can you tell the difference with your naked eye of different stars? • What is the next time that a comet could be viewed? • Why do some stars look like they are blinking? • Where and when are the best times to see the northern lights? • Why can you see planets in the sky on some nights but not on others?

24. ASSIGNMENTSthis week Dates to Remember • Review Session on Wednesday • Review questions on Oncourse • 1st Exam on Friday, Sept. 19