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Constellation Studies - Equatorial Sky in Winter

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Constellation Studies - Equatorial Sky in Winter Phys1810: General Astronomy 1 W2014 Constellation Studies - Equatorial Sky in Winter Preparation before the observing session - Read "Notes on Observing" thoroughly. - Find all the targets listed below using Starry Night and your star charts. - Note: The observatory longitude is 97.1234° W, the latitude is 49.6452° N and elevation is 233 meters. - Observe any predicted events and record your observations during the observing session In the list of constellations below, the name of the constellation is underlined followed by the genitive case of the name in parenthesis followed by the three-letter abbreviation. Note that references to stars such as α UMa, spoken as alpha Ursae Majoris (note genitive case), literally means alpha of Ursa Major. The Greek letters are usually assigned in order of brightness in the constellation (α -- brightest). Note that the constellation, Ursa Major, is a major exception to this rule. As soon as you get to the observatory the following 3 constellations should be sketched on a full page diagram making sure that their relative positions to each other and to the horizon are drawn as accurately as possible - this means completing the sketch in about 15 minutes. You need to repeat the sketch one hour later. Be sure to indicate the time and the location of the horizon on your diagram. Ursa Major (Ursae Majoris) UMa: (The Great Bear, The Big Dipper, The Plow) Through all ages, Ursa Major has been known under various names. It is linked with the nymph Kallisto, the daughter of Lycaon, a king of Arcadia in Greek mythology. Moving along the asterism of the dipper from the lip identify the stars Dubhe (α UMa), Merak (β UMa), Phecda (γ UMa), Megrez (δ UMa), Alioth (ε UMa), Mizar (ζ UMa), and Alkaid (η UMa). Show the relative position and brightness of these stars on a half page drawing, identifying each with its Greek letter. Locate and record Mizar's faint companion: Alcor. Estimate and record the angular distance between a) the pointer stars, α UMa and β UMa, b) α UMa and Polaris, α UMi, and, c) the stars, Mizar and Alcor. Ursa Minor (Ursae Minoris) UMi: (The Little Bear, The Little Dipper) The origin of this group is uncertain and in some ages has been referred to as the Little Dog belonging to Kallisto. On a (new) half-page diagram sketch the seven principal stars, indicating their brightness in the usual manner. Label β UMi and γ UMi (the "Guardians of the Pole"). Estimate the altitude of Polaris, α UMi, above the horizon. Cassiopeia (Cassiopeiae) Cas: (The Queen, The Chair, or, The Throne) Cassiopeia is one of the oldest and best known of our constellations. The Chair or Throne is quite familiar to most observers. It is also known as the celestial W when below the Pole and the celestial M when above it. In mythology, Cassiopeia was the wife of Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, and the mother of Andromeda. Identify in the sky and sketch the 6 major stars making up "Cassiopeia's Chair". Locate β Cas and label it on your diagram. 1 Phys1810: General Astronomy 1 W2014 Sketch the following 3 constellations together with the other listed 4 bright stars on a single page. Taurus (Tauri) Tau: (The Bull) This constellation contains the well known and unmistakable open star cluster named the Pleiades (the Seven Sisters). How many stars of the cluster are visible to you? A V-shaped cluster of stars, the Hyades, is just to the southeast of the Pleiades. In its midst is the first magnitude star, Aldebaran, α Tau, the Bull's eye (magnitude 0.85). What is its colour? Orion (Orionis) Ori: (The Hunter) This constellation is considered the finest constellation in the sky. Besides the two conspicuous stars Betelgeuse, α Ori, and Rigel, β Ori, (magnitudes 0.5 and 0.12, respectively) observe the belt of the Hunter (3 second magnitude stars in a row 3? long), and the sword. Describe the appearance to your eyes of the middle star in the sword. Use binoculars if available to look at this star. Note the colours of α Ori and β Ori. On your sketch, indicate the position of the Great Nebula. Canis Major (Canis Majoris) CMa: (The Big Dog) The brightest star in the sky, Sirius, α CMa, (magnitude -1.42) is located in this constellation. Sirius is a binary star. What kind of star is its companion? Locate the following stars on your sketch Procyon, α Canis Minoris, (magnitude 0.38), Castor, α Geminorum, ( a multiple star system) and Pollux, β Gem, (magnitudes 1.38 and 1.14 respectively) and Capella, α Aurigae, (magnitude 0.08). Draw in the Winter Hexagram. Stellar Brightness After you have completed the above observations, look at all the stars in the sky to find the brightest star that you can see. Then locate the faintest stars that you can see. Assign the number 1 to the brightest star and the number 5 to the faintest. Then the brightness of all stars can be assigned numbers between 1 and 5. Note that the brighter stars are assigned smaller numbers. Beside the main stars in your sketches of the constellations named below, indicate the number, between 1 and 5, corresponding to the brightness of the star. You will have to compare brightness of stars: first with the brightest and faintest, then with stars in between. Before marking down any numbers, try several stars and see how you progress. The aim of this exercise is to note that you can subdivide the range in brightness of stars into 5 groups. Assign brightness numbers to the following constellations and stars: 1. Ursa Minor 2. Cassiopeia North Circumpolar Sky On a clean sheet of paper, repeat the full-page sketch that you drew at the beginning of the observing session including Ursa Major, Ursa Minor and Cassiopeia. Ensure that at least one hour has elapsed since your last drawing and make sure that you write the time on your new diagram. Answer the following questions: 1. Did the positions of these constellations change with respect to each other over the one-hour period? Is this what you expected? Why or why not? 2. Did the positions of these constellations change with respect to the horizon over the one-hour period? Is this what you expected? Why or why not? 3. If there was a change, how large was this change (estimate in degrees - remember that there are 360° in a complete revolution). 2.
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