ASTR1010L & ASTR1020L

CONSTELLATIONS AND THE CELESTIAL SPHERE

LAB#1

Begin by reading the notes on the celestial sphere on the course web page (do this before you come to lab class). Also, read p. 5-7 of Tirion’s atlas. You also want to begin familiarizing yourself with the fall, winter, or spring sky. Your instructors can help you with this during the training phase of the course, and you should use the monthly star maps in your atlas to learn the name and locations of the brightest constellations in the part of the sky (fall, winter, or spring) appropriate for the given semester that you are taking the course. This particular lab exercise is easy and, when the testing portion of the course begins, the whole lab can be done in less than 10 minutes on any given clear night.

Basically, you must be able to identify, with the naked eye, to the satisfaction of your lab instructor, the following celestial objects (note that not all of them are visible at all times of the year – use your monthly star maps to determine what is visible at the time you attempt to complete the lab). You can find the names of individual bright stars on the detailed charts in your atlas:

(1) The North Star (Polaris), and either the Big Dipper or Cassiopeia

(2) Five out of the following constellations: Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Taurus, Gemini, Auriga, Eridanus, Lepus, Perseus, Andromeda, Leo, Cygnus, Aquila, Lyra, Pegasus, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Bootes, Cepheus, Hercules.

(3) Five out of the following stars: Sirius, Betelgeuse, Capella, Rigel, Bellatrix, Castor, Pollux, Regulus, Mintaka, Procyon, Aldebaran, Deneb, Vega, Altair, Fomalhaut, Antares, Mira, Arcturus, Spica, Albireo, Algol.

(4) At least one planet (Note: it is possible that during the particular time of year you are doing the lab there will be no planet visible above the horizon. In that case – obviously – you will not be asked to complete this portion of the lab).

(5) You must also identify where the zenith, ecliptic, and celestial equator are on the celestial sphere, and explain how the sky moves during the course of the night.

That’s it. For this particular lab, you may not use your atlas or other star charts or written aids when you are pointing the items out to the instructor. The instructor will inform you, when you are finished, as to whether you have satisfactorily completed the lab, and what score out of 20 you have gotten. The instructor will then give you a note stating this along with the time and the instructor’s signature. Keep this note as proof that you completed this lab. If you don’t like the score that you received, you can attempt the lab again at another time.