Astronomy viewing night transcript
Occultation of Venus. Taken at Tolga. 9-10-15 at 4.00 AM.
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When using these lasers it is important to lock them off
after use and to remain aware of any aircraft so that you do not point near
them. However, there is no danger or
concern for aircraft from someone using a laser while they are flying
overhead if the laser is pointed a few degrees away from the aircraft because
the light beam is very narrow. Also, I
do not like pointing any lower than an elevation of about 15 degrees. One degree spans a distance of 1cm at a distance of 57cm
or about 2 feet from your eye. It is almost in proportion for small
angles. Therefore, 15 degrees spans
about 15cm at a distance of 57cm from your eye. Also it is good to work out
how many degrees your hand span is at arms length. Mine is about 17 and you can calculate
yours from trigonometry. It is very important to know where the celestial north and
south poles are so you can work out where objects are in the sky and learn
what they are. Also this helps us to
work out where they appear to move.
You can use these poles to tell the time either day or night. The celestial south pole is directly above
the earth's south pole. If you were at the earth's south pole it would be
vertically above you. It is at an
arbitrary and infinite distance away out in space. Due to circular geometry
and the spherical shape of the earth, the position of the celestial poles
will change when you travel to a different
latitude. In the southern hemisphere
the celestial south pole will be above the horizon and the angle of elevation
will be equal to the latitude of the location. It will always be towards the south. We are about 17 degrees south so the
celestial south pole would be 17 degrees above the horizon as you can see
from the pointer. The celestial north pole is 180 degrees from the celestial
south pole. At our location it would be 17 degrees below the horizon and to
the north. It is important to know that all objects in the sky appear
to rotate around these poles due to the rotation of the earth on its
axis. Just imagine we are at 45
degrees south for a short time. This is so I can safely demonstrate how
objects fully rotate around the pole without shining the laser too low. At 45
degrees south, the celestial south pole would be 45 degrees above the horizon
and I am pointing to it now. An object like a star will remain a constant
angle from the pole and rotate in a circle around it as you can see. Further out the radius will be
greater. The paths I am tracing are traveling in a celestial west direction. If something travels in a celestial north
direction it travels away from the celestial south pole. Below the pole, celestial north will be
downward and the Southern Cross will appear upside down when it is there. Back to our location where the pole is 17
degrees above the horizon. I am now
showing you how the southern cross will move across the sky throughout the
night. (Note less examples in the next
paragraph will be shown on the viewing night.) There are some examples I can show you of were two stars
or points in the sky point to the celestial south pole and other star or
point pairs point to the north pole.
Others point close to the pole like the southern cross. It is also good to learn a few examples
because the time and season or clouds can often prevent you seeing most of
them. I am now showing you how to find
the celestial south pole by projecting a line though the top and bottom of
the cross until you reach a point that is 17 degrees above the horizon. The other way is to project the line 27
degrees past the southern star of the cross. You will also arrive at the same
point by drawing a line at right angles to the two pointers. The celestial south pole will be 4 degrees
to the left of this point. South will be directly below it. I will show you another example. Draw a line from Alfa Gruis
(Alnair) through Beta Gruis
and note the angle between them.
Continue the line for half the angle again and select that point. Draw a line from Fomalhaut
though that point and extend the line to an elevation of 17 degrees above the
horizon to find the celestial south pole.
Select Mirzam and draw a line through I am now pointing to the celestial equator which is also
at an arbitrary and infinite distance out in space and is directly above the
earth's equator. The sun appears to
follow its path on the day of the equinox. It is important to know where the ecliptic is because the
planets are always very close to it and it helps you find them. The ecliptic
is the apparent path the sun takes relative to the stars over the coarse of the year. The sun appears to move along it from
west to east doing one circle each year.
This is due to the earth's orbit around the sun. You can find it by identifying certain
stars and constellations that are associated with astrology, star signs and
the zodiac. I am running along the
approximate path now. It passes through
the star Regulus and goes about 2 degrees north of the star Spica. It passes through the northern side of the
head of the Scorpion. It almost touches the south west corner of the Triffid Nebula.
This is the exact point where the sun is during the December solstice. Apart from Mercury, the planets remain less than 3 degrees
from the ecliptic and the moon within 5.
Mercury is less than 7. On the
average, they all move from west to east along the ecliptic. However, when
the outer planets are in opposition or on the opposite side of the earth to
the sun, they move in retrograde motion or from east to west for a short time
when the faster earth's orbit overtakes them. This is when these planets are
closest to earth and is the best time to observe them. (In the next paragraph I also suggest for people to use
their monoculars or binoculars to find the deep sky
objects by finding my laser's beam.) This is the head of the scorpian. Its heart is Antares,
a red giant star. I am now showing you
the tail followed by the sting. If you
draw a line through the sting, you will soon reach the Ptolemy Cluster. It is an open star cluster where stars are
not closely bound by gravity. I am now
tracing the teapot that is leaning on its side. The base is here. This is the handle and this is the
spout. Select the centre of the base
of the spout and draw a line through the tip of the spout and note the
angle. Extend the line for the same
angle again and you will find the centre of our galaxy. Draw a line from the top of the handle to
the top of the teapot and note the angle.
Extend the line the same angle again and you will be at the Lagoon
Nebula. The Triffid
Nebula is on the northern side and that is where the sun is near on the
December Solstice. Nebula
are areas of gas and dust in space.
A globular cluster is a group of stars closely bound by gravity. You can find the M22 one 2.5˚ northeast of
Kaus Borealis, the star at the top of the
Teapot. It is 10000 light years
away. Tucanae
is the second brightest globular cluster in the sky and is near the small Small Magellanic Cloud. To find it, select a point half way between
Achernar and the south celestial pole. The Tucanae
cluster is about 5 degrees to the celestial west of that point. Mirach is the
next bright star north east of the Great Square of Pegasus. 8 degrees NW of Mirach
is the Andromeda Galaxy. At 2.5
million light years away, it is the most distant object visible to the naked
eye. Draw a line though the two stars
on the north western side of the southern cross and extend the line about 12
degrees past the top of the cross. You
will then find Omega Centauri which is the largest and brightest globula cluster in the sky 17,090 light-years away. The Jewel Box is about 1 degree south east
of Mimosa on the east side of the southern cross. The double star Alberio
consists of a blue and orange star and is good to see through a
telescope. To find it, select a point
half way between Vega and Altair. Alberio is 5 degrees east of that point. TX Piscium is a
very red visible star. This star's
claim to fame is that it is the reddest celestial object that can be seen
with the unaided eye. Select a point
south of the Great Please see me for a free paper regarding viewing nights
and also information regarding many projects, new ideas and groups that would
help many people in the community and around the world. Please let me know of anyone that could be
interested. Thank you for listening.
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