A100 Solar System Today’s APODAPOD  Today: Backyard Astronomy  Review session in class on Wednesday  Review questions on Oncourse – Resource tool  1 st Exam on Friday The Sun Today Monday, Sept. 15

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

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!)

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

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)

Orion’s Belt points to the Pleiades  A beautiful star cluster (the Seven Sisters)  Right of Aldebaran about 15 

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

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 

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 

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

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

Online Star Charts lots of others

Using Star Charts 1.Determine which direction you are looking (north, south, east or west). 2.Rotate the star chart so that direction is at the bottom of the chart. 3.Look at the lower curved quarter of the chart to identify the stars that you are seeing in the sky. 4.Zenith, or straight above, is in the center of a circular star chart = 90 

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

Double Stars! Binocular Astronomy  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, telescopes.com  Camera and sporting-goods stores See the the lunar surface See the Galilean Moons! Double Stars! Star Clusters – The Pleiades! Check out the Orion Nebula!

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 $10 2 to a few x $10 3 Meade, Celestron, other manufacturers New, computer controlled “goto” telescopes make it easy

Astronomy Organizations Local –Indiana Astronomical Society –Stonebelt StargazersStonebelt Stargazers –Finding clubs everywhere - Astronomical LeagueAstronomical League National –Planetary Society planetary.orgplanetary.org –Astronomical Society of the Pacific –American Association of Variable Star Observers -

Astronomy Magazines  StarDate Magazine  stardate.org stardate.org  Astronomy Magazine   Sky and Telescope 

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

Light Pollution International Dark-Sky Association – –“To preserve and protect the nighttime environment and our heritage of dark skies” Environmental effects –bird migration –sea turtle nesting –fireflies The beauty of the night sky

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

Participating in Research AAVSO On the Web –Find ET with setiathome.berkeley.edu setiathome.berkeley.edu –Find planets with Systemic - oklo.orgoklo.org –Find comet grains with stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu

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?

ASSIGNMENTS this week  Review Session on Wednesday  Review questions on Oncourse  1 st Exam on Friday, Sept. 19 Dates to Remember