Exploring the Night Sky: past, present and future!
Our Team ...
Natalie Kovacevic (WIU Physics Major)
Moreom Akter (WIU Graduate Student)
E. D. Araya (WIU Professor)
This outreach activity:
Join with the WIU Physics Department faculty and students in an informal discussion about astronomy. Participants will learn how to access and use free online resources to explore the night sky. The software will be used as a starting point to talk about eclipses, current topics of astronomy in the news (including the landing of the Perseverance rover), and questions participants may have. The activity is intended for K-12 students.
Before we begin:
Using Zoom:
Let's test the Chat:
Let's have fun answering a question, send a private chat to Natalie with your answer (just type A, B, C, D, or ?).
Which is the nearest star to Earth?
A) Sirius
B) Proxima Centauri
C) Polaris
D) None of the above
? ) No idea!
Activity 1: Introduction to Stellarium - Exploring the Present
Natalie
Stellarium is a free program that can be used on the internet or downloaded. The program allows the user to observe the night sky at various locations, times, and dates. A user can look at a specific object of interest by searching it or observe just how it currently is.
Question: What Constellation is visible at 10 pm in Macomb, Illinois?
A) Draco
B) Libra
C) Pisces
D) Cygnus
? ) Not sure.
Activity 2: Exploring the Past - Planet Alignment on December 2020
Moreom
Planetary alignment is a combination of at least two bodies lined up in the same area of the sky, which we can see from Earth.
Let's discuss a planet alignment which happened in December 2020!
Let's visit the link: https://stellarium-web.org/
Question: In which direction of the sky were people able to see this planetary alignment on December 2020?
A) North.
B) East.
C) North-East
D) South-West
? ) Not sure.
Activity 3: Is Mars Visible Tonight?
Natalie
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/
Perseverance was launched July 30th 2020 and landed in Jezero Crater, on Mars, February 18th 2021 . The mission for Perseverance is to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples of soil and broken rock to possibly bring back to Earth. Using Stellarium we will check if Mars is visible tonight.
Question: Is Mars Visible Tonight?
A) Yes
B) No
? ) Not sure.
Question: Why is it hard to slow down when entering Mars's atmosphere?
A) The atmosphere is thinner than Earth's
B) The atmosphere is thicker than Earth's
C) The atmosphere is the same as Earth's
? ) Not sure.
Activity 4: One of the Brightest Objects in The Night Sky
Moreom
One of the brightest objects in the night sky after the Moon is International Space Station (ISS). Construction of the ISS began on 1998. It is a collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and CSA. It can be seen in the hours after sunset and before sunrise. It is a modular space station in low Earth orbit. Its orbital height is 220 miles. Orbital speed 4.79 miles/s. It's 357.6 feet long. It orbits Earth in about 90 minutes.
Question: Is it possible to see the International Space Station (ISS) more than once on the same night?
A) Yes.
B) No.
?) Not sure.
Activity 5: Exploring the Future - Total Solar Eclipse 2024
Natalie
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/
The image above is what the total solar eclipse will look like from Indianapolis, Indiana. A solar eclipse happens when the Moon partially or fully blocks the photosphere of the Sun causing a shadow on Earth. In a total solar eclipse the Moon is completely blocking the Sun.
Question: In what state can the total solar eclipse of April 2024 be seen?
A) Arizona
B) Florida
C) Texas
D) California
? ) Not sure.
Time for Questions and to Reproduce what we have done today!
