Week

2
•  Lab 1 observa.ons start this week
–  Good weather overlaps Tues and Wed evening sessions, so we will do lab in
this .meslot. Next week’s evening sessions will be about tools and paper
formaBng.
–  Groups for lab 1 have been finalized (as well as .meslots)
•  Problem Set 1 is due next Tuesday via Collab
–  An assignment slot is there on the assignments page.
•  Submit your assignment in PDF format!
–  The first (and really only) “problem” is one to push you on experimental
design. Don’t treat it casually.
–  Problem set 2 will follow closely on Problem Set 1
•  Moon awareness
•  Weather awareness

APOD
 Lab Schedule Tonight and Tomorrow
•  Tuesday 6:00-9:00
–  Campbell Klein Li Liu Phillips
•  Tuesday 9:00-
–  Brooks Lu Norris Shoemaker Umansky
•  Wednesday 6:00-9:00
–  Baker Brewer Horner Walters Zimmerman
 The Celestial Sphere
q  From our perspective on Earth the stars appear embedded on a
distant 2-dimensional surface – the Celestial Sphere.
 The Celes.al Sphere
q  Although we know better, it is helpful to use this construct to
think about how we see the night sky from Earth.
q  The Sphere turns, the Earth stays fixed. You stand on a particular spot
on the Earth and get a tour of some portion of the Celestial Sphere.
 Reference Points on the Celestial Sphere
u  Spinning a sphere defines two stationary points – the poles
u  Extend the Earth's poles and equator onto the sky and you have defined the
celestial poles and celestial equator.

•  The Celestial Poles represent

the pivot points for the
turning Celestial Sphere.
 The Celestial Poles
Ø  The rotating Earth makes it look like the Celestial Sphere
is spinning about the celestial poles.

http://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/warpedsky.html
 The Celestial Poles
Ø  The rotating Earth makes it look like the Celestial Sphere
is spinning about the celestial poles.

http://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/warpedsky.html

Polaris, at the end of the handle of the Little

Dipper, conveniently (and temporarily) marks
the North Celestial Pole.
q  In the Southern Hemisphere Polaris
there is no good pole star (at
present).

q  Note that there are some

stars (near the pole) that
never set below the horizon -
“Circumpolar Stars”
Ø  For an observer at the North or
South pole every star is
circumpolar.
Ø  At the Equator there are no
circumpolar stars

Ø  Circumpolar stars are always

accessible to telescope observation,
but some times are better than
others…
 Spheres
Ø  For a rotating sphere there are two well-defined “pivots”
δ
- the poles - and a fundamental plane perpendicular to
the polar axis through the center of the sphere.
§  That fundamental plane defines a great circle – the
equator in the case of the terrestrial coordinate
system.

Ø  Great circle vs. small circle: Small circles are the

intersection of planes with the sphere that do not pass
through the sphere’s center.
§  Note that the circumference (and radius) of a “small
circle” is cos(δ) smaller than the great circle.
§  Stars (and the Sun) circle the pole on small circles
parallel to the equator (well, a few lie on the celestial
equator.

Ø  Meridians are great circles that intersect the equator at

90 degrees
Ø  By this definition these great circles contain the poles.

 Coordinates on Spheres
q  Two angles, measured from the sphere’s center (=you), can define a location
on a spherical surface (i.e spherical coordinates).

q  Longitude: An angle around the fundamental plane (λ) from some

reference point (prime meridian)
q  Latitude: An angle “up” from the fundamental plane toward the pole.

q  Longitudes increase in the direction opposite (most) planet's spin. Except on

Earth, Pluto,…. Sorry.

For celestial coordinates the

longitude is known as Right
Ascension (R.A.) and the
latitude as Declination.
 Angular Measure:
A Handy (no pun intended) Reference

•  A couple of other references:

–  The Moon, and coincidentally the Sun, subtend ½ degree (at least for now)
–  An arcminute – the limit of human visual acuity and 1/30th the disk of the
Moon – corresponds to angular size of a penny 70 meters away
–  An arcsecond is that same penny 4 kilometers away.
–  For “small” angles (less than a few degrees) skip the trigonometry…

size
angle (radians) =
distance
The Celestial Sphere from A Personal
Perspective
Local Perspective: Altitude, Azimuth, and Zenith

0 Altitude 90

270 180

•  As astronomers on the ground we constantly juggle and mathematically

transform between two coordinate systems – apparent (altitude and azimuth)
and celestial (right ascension and declination).
•  Star’s altitude and azimuth are constantly changing. Their RA and Dec are
fixed.
 Local (Altitude/Azimuth) coordinates
q  Two angles measured from the center of any sphere locate a point/direction.

q  Here…
q  Azimuth measured positively toward the East from North

q  Altitude measured up from the Horizon plane

A Personal Perspective: Horizon and Zenith
 The Local Appearance of the Celestial Pole
q  The “North Celestial Pole” lies overhead for an observer at the
North Pole and on the horizon for an observer on the Equator
- Stars follow small circles about the pole in the course of the night.
 The Celestial Poles
q  The “North Celestial Pole” lies overhead for an observer at the
North Pole and on the horizon for an observer on the Equator
q  The altitude of the pole equals your latitude.

To Pole
 The Celestial Poles
q  The “North Celestial Pole” lies overhead for an observer at the
North Pole and on the horizon for an observer on the Equator
Ø  The altitude of the pole equals your latitude.
 The Celestial Poles
q  The “North Celestial Pole” lies overhead for an observer at the
North Pole and on the horizon for an observer on the Equator.
Ø  The altitude of the pole equals your latitude.
 Proverbs
•  For an observer at the North Pole the celes.al pole is at the Zenith.
•  For each degree of terrestrial la.tude that observer moves toward
the equator the celes.al pole drops one degree lower in the sky.
•  At the equator (ignoring atmospheric refrac.on) the celes.al pole is
on the horizon.
•  The angular al.tude of the celes.al pole measures your la.tude.
•  All stars are circumpolar at the North or South Pole
•  There are no circumpolar stars at the Equator
 Why is This Perspective Important?
§  As an observer you need to develop a comfortable “feel” for the accessible sky.
Ø  Where are your sources? Which are setting??? Which are inaccessible?
Ø  Which are too “low” for reasonable observation?
Ø  Will the Sun or Moon interfere?

•  For ground based observation the Earth is your spacecraft. It enforces hard limits on
your observations. The Earth hides ½ the sky from view. The Sun is often in the
way…
 The Celestial Equator in the Sky
q  The Celestial Equator is the locus of all points lying 90 degrees
from the celestial pole.
•  It is a great circle around the celestial sphere perpendicular to the
polar axis.
•  Since the celestial sphere “turns” around the poles. The celestial
equator is a fixed reference line in the sky (rotating over itself).
Ø  The celestial equator runs from the horizon due east, up in the sky (90-
lat) degrees and back down to the horizon due west.
Ø  Stars “above” the celestial equator have positive declination (at least as
seen from the North).
 The Meridian
Ø  Every line of celestial longitude is a meridian of longitude passing
through both poles, but we recognize the line of longitude, or
simply the great circle line, running overhead as “THE” Meridian.
 The Meridian
Ø  The Meridian runs from due north on the horizon, through the
zenith, to due south.
Ø  As the sky rotates stars follow small circle paths, rising in the east,
and reaching their highest point when the cross The Meridian.
 Celestial Motion at Different Declination

Celestial equator

(circumpolar)

Stars trace out small circles on the celestial sphere at constant declination (a great
circle if the star lies on the equator) leading to behavior dependent on declination.
 Why do we care?... “airmass”

•  The atmosphere attenuates

starlight and blurs images. A
shorter pathlength through the
atmosphere minimizes both
effects.

•  This equation applies to a plane parallel

atmosphere (not what is pictured at left,
nor is the “atmosphere” at left realistic)

•  The equation is a good approximation

for the modest zenith angles most
astronomers care about.

•  The zenith angle, z, is related to the alt-

az coordinate system. To get z from
Angle c is the altitude RA, Dec, and time one most make a
Angle b is the zenith angle, z coordinate transformation between
spherical coordinate systems.
 Locating Stars on the Celestial Sphere
q  Just like geographical latitude and longitude on the
Earth each star has a celestial address.
§  This address is impermanent because
q  Stars move steadily as they randomly drift in
the Galaxy.
q  The coordinate system (tied to the Earth) shifts
as the Earth precesses like a top pointing the
pole in different directions over time.
§  Precession is slow (26,000 years/cycle)
but even over a decade its effects are
significant.

q  Equatorial Coordinates are the analog of latitude and longitude, called

Declination and Right Ascension respectively.
§  Declination is straightfoward and is simply the angular distance a star lies above or
below the celestial equator measured in degrees.
q  The north celestial pole is at a declination of +90 degrees
q  The declination of the bright star Vega is +38:47:01.9 (at least in the year 2000 it
was – more on that later), so +dd:mm:ss.s in general.

There is something wrong with the figure on this page. What is it?
 Mid-Week 2 Update
•  Observa.ons for Lab 1 are complete!!
–  Start thinking about how you will interpret your collected data.
•  Lab 1 write-up guidance will soon be available on the Course
Schedule page and will be a con.nuing theme through next week’s
evening sessions.
–  The due date for Lab 1 will be a week from Monday.
•  Turn in PS 1 as a .pdf on collab by next Tuesday
•  Problem set 2 will be available by Monday.
•  Lab 2 (and prelab) should be posted by Monday evening.
–  Observa.ons could begin late next week.
–  Moon awareness….
 Accessible Hour Angles vs. Declination

A star on the celestial equator (declination = 0) rises at H.A. = -6.0 hours and sets at
+6.0 hours regardless of the latitude of the observer.
 Locating Stars on the Celestial Sphere
q  Just like geographical latitude and longitude on
the Earth each star has a celestial address.
§  This address is impermanent because
q  Stars move steadily as they randomly/
systematically drift in the Galaxy.
q  The coordinate system (tied to the Earth)
shifts as the Earth precesses like a top.
§  Precession is slow (26,000 years/cycle)
but even over a decade its effects are
significant.

q  Coordinates are the analog of latitude and longitude, called Declination and
Right Ascension respectively.
§  Declination is straightfoward and is simply the angular distance a star lies
above or below the celestial equator measured in degrees.
q  The north celestial pole is at a declination of +90 degrees
q  The declination of the bright star Vega is +38:47:01.9 (at least in the year 2000 it
was – more on that later), so +dd:mm:ss.s in general.

There is something wrong with the figure on this page. What is it?
Locating Stars on the Celestial Sphere

There is something wrong with the figure on this page. What is it?
 Right Ascension
q  Right Ascension (longitude) is trickier
§  If you point your finger at a particular Declination the
declination value remains unchanged as the sky
rotates, but Right Ascension ticks away as the sky
(actually the Earth!) turns.
§  It’s always “easy” to set a telescope to the correct
declination…

§  Right Ascension is thus naturally measured in units of

(sidereal) time – hh:mm:ss.s
Ø  One hour of right ascension is 15 degrees of celestial
longitude (not 15 angular degrees, except at the
equator!)
Ø  The sky rotates by at 15 arcseconds per second of time
at the Equator
Ø  Since lines of RA converge toward the pole – a unit of RA
spans a different angle depending on Declination – a
factor of cos(Dec) comes into play.
 Convergence of Longitude at the Pole
q  On Earth, one degree of latitude (equivalent of declination) is
111.3 km at any latitude.
q  One degree of longitude, however, is 111.3km * cos(latitude)

A minute of Right Ascension is 15 minutes of arc at the equator, but a smaller angle at
higher latitudes.
 The Sun and the Celestial Sphere
q  Right Ascension requires a zeropoint (prime meridian). The Sun’s
path among the stars establishes that reference.
q  As the Earth orbits the Sun we see the Sun in different locations
against the backdrop of stars.

²  The Sun’s path amongst the stars (which is the Earth’s orbital path as seen from the
Sun) is called the Ecliptic.
²  The constellations through which the Ecliptic passes are the constellations of the
Zodiac. The Sun obscures your “birthsign” on your birthday.
•  The Sun’s apparent path around
the sky is inclined to the celes.al
equator by the 23.5 degree
obliquity of the Earth. The two
great circles cross at two points –
the Fall and Spring Equinox.
•  At those points the Sun’s
declina.on is 0.

•  The Spring Equinox marks the

zeropoint of Right Ascension
•  The Sun’s apparent path around
the sky, inclined to the celes.al
equator by the 23.5 degree .lt of
the Earth, crosses the celes.al
equator at two points – the Fall
and Spring Equinox.

•  The Spring Equinox marks the

zeropoint of Right Ascension

•  Right Ascension increases

eastward around the sky.

•  This sense of R.A. is easy to remember

since if you point at a loca.on on the
sky R.A. increases with the .cking of
(sidereal) .me.
•  The stars that reach that point an hour
from now are ones that rose in the
East and are headed for the West.

 Right Ascension and the Sun
q  At any instant the Sun is just another star on the sky at some RA/Dec carried
along by the rotation of the celestial sphere.

q  By definition, the R.A. of the Sun is 0h 0m 0.00s at the moment of the Spring
Equinox ( and 12 h at the Fall Equinox.)

q  At the Spring Equinox 12 hours R.A. is high in the midnight sky (opposite
the Sun). At the Fall Equinox 0 hours is overhead at midnight.

q  Each day the position of the Sun advances 3 m 56 s in R.A. (3m 56 seconds
is 24 hours divided by 365.25 days in a year)

q  Consider the Sun on the first day of Spring at 0h 0m 0s R.A. and consider a
star at 2h 0m 0s R.A. at the same declination as the Sun
q  That star will set 2 hours after the Sun on the first day of Spring.
q  A day later that star will set 1 hour 56m 4s after the Sun (4 minutes
earlier) because the Sun’s R.A. is creeping up on the star’s. In a
month the star will be hidden behind the sun.

q  The stars rise and set approximately 4 minutes earlier each day,
accumulating to 2 hours earlier in the course of a month.
q  Star (sidereal) time and Solar time are different.
q  A sidereal clock runs 3m 56s fast each day.
 Solar vs. Sidereal Time
•  The Celes.al Sphere turns completely once each 24 hour Sidereal Day
•  A 24 hour Sidereal Day (a complete rota.on of the Earth) plays out in 23 hours 56
minutes 4 seconds of civil/solar .me.

•  The Sun rises and sets on a slightly different schedule than the stars.
•  The difference arises from the changing perspec.ve as the Earth orbits the Sun.

•  While the Earth completes a rota.on it moves 1/365th of the way around its orbit.
•  It must turn for an extra 3 minutes and 56 seconds (24 hours / 365.25 days in a
year) to get the Sun back to the “Noon” posi.on.

•  The Solar Day, by defini.on, is the average .me from Noon to Noon and
exactly 24.000 hours long.

•  The Sidereal Day – defining the rising and seBng of the stars is 3m 56s
shorter. There are TWO 24-hour days going on here running at slightly
different speeds!
 The Sidereal Difference

q  Daily activity on Earth is keyed to the mean solar day for obvious reasons.
q  Astronomers, however, care how the Earth is turned relative to the stars.
 Solar vs. Sidereal Time
§  A Sidereal clock tracks star time – the clock keeps 24 hour time but completes a
24 hour cycle in 23h 56m 4s

§  A conventional clock can be made into a Sidereal clock by adjusting it to run

fast by about 4 minutes a day.

§  What’s the use of a Sidereal clock?

Ø  The time read by a Sidereal clock corresponds to the meridian of Right

Ascension that is overhead at that instant.
Ø  You can “set” a sidereal clock by observing a star of known R.A. crossing the
meridian

§  At Noon on the Spring Equinox a sidereal clock will read approximately 0 hours.

§  Running fast by ~4 minutes a day, a Sideral clock accumulates a full hour in

about two weeks (2 hours a month).

§  One month after the equinox a Sidereal clock will read 2 hours at Noon.

§  What’s the R.A. of the Sun at that instant.

 Hour Angle

•  It is useful to have a measure of how far a star is from (or past)

transi.ng the meridian.
•  The Hour Angle denotes the -hh:mm:ss un.l transit or the +hh:mm:ss
since transit for a given star.
•  The Hour Angle is simply calculated as the difference between the star’s
R.A. and the current Sideral .me.

•  H.A. = Sidereal Time - Right Ascension

•  A star whose Right Ascension matches the Sidereal Time is on the

meridan; H.A. = 0
•  A star’s airmass is a func.on of hour angle, reaching a minimum when
H.A. = 0
 Hour Angle and The Meridian
Ø  Hour angle is the time until (or time since) a star reaches the
Meridian.
Ø  Hour angle is the difference between the right ascension of a star
and the local sidereal time.
Equatorial Coordinates
 Right Ascension
q  In a sense, R.A. marks the passage of (sidereal) time on the sky.
q  As time passes different (increasing) R.A. coordinates are overhead.

q  If 8 hours R.A. is overhead right now, 9 hours R.A will be overhead in an hour (of
sidereal time, to be exact…).

q  Since stars rise in the east and set in the west, R.A. must increase toward the east (left
as you are facing south in the northern hemisphere) and decrease toward the west.

q  Right Ascension (as well as Longitude) needs an arbitrary zeropoint

(Greenwich for Earth longitude, the “First Point of Aries” on the sky).
q  This celestial reference point is the intersection celestial equator
and ecliptic at of the location of the Sun at the Spring Equinox.
 One Simple Connec.on/Defini.on
•  The current Sidereal Time equals the Hour Angle of the Vernal Equinox
•  It also equals the Right Ascension of the Meridian.

http://www.polaris.iastate.edu/NorthStar/Unit4/unit4_sub2.htm

Celestial Sphere Review

 Reminder: Hour Angle
•  It is useful to have a measure of how far a star is from transi.ng the meridian.

•  The Hour Angle denotes the -hh:mm:ss un.l transit or the +hh:mm:ss since
transit for a given star.

•  The Hour Angle is simply calculated as the difference between the star’s R.A.
and the current Sideral .me.

Hour Angle (H.A.) = Sidereal Time - Right Ascension

•  This formula gives nega.ve H.A. for R.A.’s greater than the current LST (that
should make sense to you).

•  A star whose Right Ascension matches the Sidereal Time is on the meridian;
H.A. = 0

•  A star’s airmass is a func.on of hour angle, reaching a minimum when H.A. = 0

 Accessible Hour Angles – Solar Edition

Celestial equator

(circumpolar)

•  When the Sun lies on the celestial equator (the Equinox) days are 12 hours long
since the Sun is visible from H.A. = -6 to +6.
•  The Sun can get as far as +/- 23.5 degrees from the celestial equator in declination.
•  Accessible hour angles are then heavily latitude dependent
Solar Apparent Motion at Different Declination

Short days Long days

Low solar elevation High solar elevation