1. Astronomy Unit 1 Earths Place in the Universe

2. What do you think? 1.What is a light year? 2.Why is the light year important in astronomy? Note: What do you think? questions are to be answered in your notebook in complete sentences.

3. Our Place in Space Earth is average – we don’t occupy any special place in the universe Universe: all space, time, matter, and energy

4. Our Place in Space Astronomy is the study of the universe Distance scales are very large, measured in light-years (the distance light travels in a year – about 10 trillion miles) Light-Year is a unit of distance, not time Powers of Ten

5. Our Place in Space This galaxy is about 100,000 light-years across:

6. What do you think? 1.What is a constellation? 2.Why do we have constellations? Note: What do you think? questions are to be answered in your notebook in complete sentences.

7. A View to Observe Simplest way to observe the universe is to look at the night sky About 3000 stars are visible at any one time Stars are distributed randomly but the human brain tends to find patterns

8. A View to Observe Stars can be grouped into constellations: figures having meaning to those doing the grouping A useful star is Polaris, which is almost due north of Earth Astrology, predictions based on the star patterns at their birth, zodiacs, is not a science.

9. Constellations In 1996, astronomers spotted 47 Ursae Majoris b, an exoplanet orbiting the star 47 Ursae Majoris. Then in 2001, another exo is found circling 47 Ursae Majoris. This drawing shows the star around which two Jupiter-size exoplanets orbit. Video Link

10. Ursa Major Legends/Myths associated with this grouping of stars from these civilizations: Greek Iroquois Zuni Housatonic Basque Chinese Arabian German English

11. Assignment 1: Use the stars in Ursa Major to design your own constellation. Write a story to go with your new constellation. Share your constellation picture and story with the class.

12. Assignment 2: Choose one of the 88 official IAU constellations to research and present to the class. Specific requirements on Google Classroom

13. Wrap-up: Consider all the presentations together. What do you note? What are you taking away with you? Choose the 1 constellation that stands out to you? Why does it? Does this project raise any questions in your mind?

14. Earth’s Orbital Motion Stars do not appear in quite the same place day to day due to Earth’s rotation around Sun;

15. Earth’s Orbital Motion 12 constellations that Earth moves through during the year are called the zodiac

16. Earth’s Orbital Motion Seasonal changes to night sky are due to Earth’s motion around Sun Animation Link

17. The Ecliptic The ecliptic marks the path of the sun. It’s the projection of Earth’s orbit onto the sky.

18. Earth’s Seasons Video Link - Seasons

19. Motion of the Moon The Moon takes about 29.5 days to go through one whole cycle of phases. Phases are due to reflection of varying sunlight visible from Earth. Time to make full 360° around Earth is about 2 days shorter.

20. Motion of the Moon Eclipses occur when Earth, Moon, and Sun form a straight line Video Link

21. Motion of the Moon Lunar eclipse: Earth is located between the Moon and Sun partial when only part of the Moon is in shadow total when entire Moon is in shadow

22. Motion of the Moon Solar eclipse: Moon is between Earth and Sun partial when only part of Sun is blocked total when it all is annular when Moon is too far from Earth for total

23. Motion of the Moon Eclipses don’t occur every month because Earth’s and Moon’s orbits are not in the same plane.

24. Summary of Unit 1 Astronomy is the study of the universe. Seasons on Earth are caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis as it orbits the Sun. The more direct the rays of light hit, the warmer it is. Phases of the Moon are caused by how we see the reflected light from the Sun off the surface of the moon as it orbits the Earth. Solar and Lunar Eclipses occur due to the alignment in orbit; they only occur occasionally when orbits are in the same plane.

25. Review Assignment: - Astronomy Today (textbook) Page 30: Questions 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 13, and 14. Page 31: Problem 1 -Study Guide Worksheet -Vocabulary