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Astro Intl2

The document discusses key concepts in astronomy including: 1) The causes of the seasons on Earth due to its tilted axis and the changing position of the sun throughout the year. 2) Key positions of the sun including the equinoxes and solstices that mark the start of seasons. 3) The difference between a solar day and sidereal day and how they relate to measuring time based on the sun or stars. 4) How local sidereal time is used to determine the positions of stars in the sky.

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22 views16 pages

Astro Intl2

The document discusses key concepts in astronomy including: 1) The causes of the seasons on Earth due to its tilted axis and the changing position of the sun throughout the year. 2) Key positions of the sun including the equinoxes and solstices that mark the start of seasons. 3) The difference between a solar day and sidereal day and how they relate to measuring time based on the sun or stars. 4) How local sidereal time is used to determine the positions of stars in the sky.

Uploaded by

Prodi Pendidikan Fisika Unwira
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ASTRONOMY

Celestial Sphere (2)


Earth's Season
● The Earth is tilted on its axis to the ecliptic
plane at about 23.5°
● Summer: when tilted towards the Sun, sunlight
is more direct and sun rises higher in the sky
● Winter: when tilted away from the Sun; sunlight
is less direct and sun rises lower in the sky
● Northern hemisphere has the opposite season
to the Southern hemisphere
Sun's apparent position in the sky
● The vernal equinox: occurs about March 21;
the Sun's position as it crosses the celestial
equator going North (associated to the 0h of
RA, the First Point of Aries)
● The autumnal equinox: occurs about
September 23; the Sun's position as it crosses
the celestial equator going South
– At the equinox, day and night are equal in length
● The summer solstice, occurs about June 21;
the most northern position of the Sun (23.5°
from the celestial equator)
– The longest day for the northern hemisphere
● The winter solstice, occurs about December
22; the most southern position of the Sun
– The shortest day for the northern hemisphere
Annalema
Astronomical Time Period
● Solar day: time it takes the Sun to travel
around the local sky, average 24 h
● Sidereal day: time it takes the star to travel
around the local sky, 23 h 56 m
● So, a solar day is about 4 minutes longer than a
sidereal day (about 1° longer)
Observing stars
● The First Point of Aries (Vernal Equinox) is the
reference point chosen to define the sidereal
day
● The Local Sidereal Time (LST) is defined as
the hour angle (HA) of the vernal equinox
– It depends on the observer's longitude on the
Earth's surface
● If the LST is known and the RA and dec of any
celestial object is known, then the HA of the
object is known from
LST = HA + RA
Hour Angle = how far from the meridian a celestial object is
West of meridian = positive ; East of meridian = negative
● As the star crosses the observer's meridian, its
hour angle is 0h
● Thus, at apparent noon, the Sun's hour angle
is 0h (12pm civil clock)
● At apparent midnight, its hour angle is 12h
(12am civil clock)
● Calculate the hour angle of a star with RA 18h
given that the LST is 4h
● Procyon has RA of 7h30m. When does the
Procyon transit (in LST)?
Solar Time
● One of the methods to measure the passage of
time was by means of the Sun's diurnal
movement
● The timekeeping system is then referred to as
apparent solar time
● One apparent solar day was the time between
successive passages of the Sun across the
observer's meridian
● Astronomers use mean solar time since the
length of the apparent solar day varies
compared to sidereal clock
Civil Day
● The Greenwich meridian is regarded as the
standard meridian on the Earth for timekeeping
using mean solar time
● The Greenwich hour angle of the mean sun is 0h
when the mean sun transits across the meridian
at Greenwich (mean noon)
● The civil day begins at midnight, so the
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is 0h
● GMT are also referred as Universal Time (UT)
● Jakarta = GMT + 7

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