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In the Sky.org Guides to the Night Sky Would you like to learn about the night sky? Check out this web site! A vast collection of charts, articles, interactive maps and more from Dominic Ford.
Lexicon and Glossary of Astronomy From Caltech--home of NASA JPL. A very lengthy, complete compilation of astronomy terms with excellent, detailed descriptions.
Glossary of Astronomy Vocabulary Use this web site (or others) to find the definitions of the assigned sky observer terms. Save room for sketches.
1. How does the night sky change in a appearance during a single night?
Watch this time lapse movie from an Italian neighborhood.
2. How could you explain these motions?
Rotating Sky Explorer In what ways does the sky change during a single night?
3. How is the apparent motion stars related to the celestial sphere?
4. Are some constellations always visible in the night sky?
5. Does your location on Earth (latitude and longitude) matter?
Use this interactive to explore answers to these questions.
Precession of Earth's Axis Does the North Pole always point to the North Star? Answer this question after watching these videos. Precession of Earth (and the Equinoxes)
The Night Sky Vocabulary Visit this site to view diagrams sky observer terms we've used in class including: celestial sphere, meridian, and zenith (page 7), then continue on through pages 7, 8, 9, and 10 for constellations, asterisms,
How could you describe the motion of the Sun through the constellations as the weeks go by?
Play around with this animation a bit--watch the connection between the Sun's position and the zodiac constellations.
Big Dipper Clock Shows how stars rotate around the North Star over time (both daily and seasonal motions are shown).
The Rotating Sky (from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Astronomy Education program)
I. Background Information
Work through the explanatory material on The Observer and Two Systems – Celestial, Horizon, thePaths of Stars. All of the concepts that are covered in these pages are used in the Rotating Sky Explorer and will be explored more fully there.
Azimuth/Altitude Demonstrator Demonstrates the horizon coordinate system, where altitude and azimuth define an object's position in the sky.
Why do different stars appear with seasons? Carefully read this the answer to this question posed to an astronomer at Cornell University. Can you make sense of the diagram? Could you make a similar diagram and explain how it works to someone else?
Can you answer the initial question yourself? What is the answer to the initial question?
Sun Motions Overview Shows the paths of the sun on the celestial sphere. Experiment with this a little--where would your head be pointing at midnight in June? How about December? Do we see different constellations during different seasons? How does this model help you understand this question?
Sun Motions Demonstrator Models the motions of the sun in the sky using a horizon diagram, demonstrating daily and seasonal changes in the sun's position.
Sidereal and Solar Time Helps demonstrate the difference between sidereal and solar time.
Earth's orbit around the Sun: not as simple as it seems Sidereal year, tropical year, analemma, precession...so many things going on!
Review: Basic Motions of the Sky: A series of "clicker questions" from the the University of Nebraska "Class Action 2" question set. These are the same questions used in class. This is a great way to check your understanding before the unit evaluation!
Astrological vs. Astronomical Birth Signs Why is a person's "Sun sign" (listed on a horoscope web site) usually different from a person's astronomical sun sign? Compare your astrological and astronomical birth signs on this chart. Follow the links on the page to learn why there is a difference between the two.
Precession of Earth's Axis Why is your astrological birth sign different from your astronomical birth sign? Why have birth signs changed since they were originally set up? Watch this short computer animation to see how the precession of Earth's axis has caused the celestial poles to move and the equinoxes to change. How long does it take for one complete cycle of precession?
Astronomy vs Astrology: What's the Difference? A very short article from Sky and Telescope Magazine. Be prepared! Be able to describe how astronomy and astrology are different!
Astrology vs. Astronomy Read this short article to get a sense of the common origin of astronomy and astrology--and to understand their differences. Read this article as well Sidereal and tropical Astrology to learn about why your "astrological" birth sign is probably different from your "astronomical" birth sign.
Cosmos 3: Harmony of the Worlds Complete the video questions as you view this classic movie from Carl Sagan.
Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion. Find "Kepler's Second Law Interactive" and "Kepler's Third Law Interactive" on this website McGraw Hill Interactives
Why the Solar System Can Exist The orbits of the planets. Why don't planets spiral into the Sun? Watch this video while thinking about Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion and Newton's Third Law of Motion
Keplers Second Law Interactive
Johannes Kepler didn’t know why the planets behaved as they did, but he was a keen observer. In what became his 2nd law, he noted that planets move in a way that their orbits sweep out equal areas in equal time increments, even when those orbits are clearly elliptical. Use this Interactive to verify Kepler’s observation for yourself. Watch one of the planets or a comet move with the proper eccentricity in its orbit, or create a strange new orbit by moving the eccentricity slider. Make the time interval short or long. The graph will leave no doubt that the area swept out in each time interval always equals that of the one before.
Explore Kepler’s Law and prove to yourself the relationship between the radius of a planet’s orbit and the length of time it takes to complete an orbit of its star. Try it with familiar planets orbiting the Sun. such as the Earth or Jupiter, or with the asteroid Ida. Or create a star with a different mass and see how that changes the results. Then, check out the orbits of new planets at different radii and with a variety of eccentricities in their orbits. This Interactive shows you the orbiting planets, their periods, and then displays a graph, to make it easy to spot how radius and period are linked.
Planetary Orbits Simulator What is the relationship between the distance a planet is from its star and the speed of its orbit? Try changing the settings of this simulation and see Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion in action for yourself.
Deep Sky Objects Homework images
December 21, 2012: Just Another Day Will the Mayan calendar end? Will Earth be hit by Niburu? Solar storms? Magnetic pole reversal? Planetary alignments? Watch this short video from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and learn that 12/21/12 will be "just another day".
Basic Motions of the Sky Review Are you ready to test your understanding? Try these "clicker questions!
Catalogue of the Cosmos What's out there? Learn the difference between all sorts of astronomical objects.
How do phases of the moon, seasons, and eclipses work? A great tutorial from the University of Arizona
Practice Quiz: Sky Motions and More from the University of Arizona. Links to the above web site if your answers are wrong.
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