Navigating the Night Sky

Constellation Charts and

Planispheres
 Big Questions:
 What are the “guideposts” we use
when navigating the night sky?
 How do Earth’s rotation and
revolution affect what we see in the
sky?
 What tools can we use to locate
objects in the sky?
Celestial Sphere “Guideposts”

 Horizon
 Zenith
 Celestial North Pole
 Celestial Equator
 Ecliptic
 Declination
 Right Ascension
 Your Personal Location
 Your horizon (the
red line) depends
on your location
 Your latitude on
Earth is also the
Declination of your
Zenith
 The Horizon and Visible Stars
 The southernmost stars you can see must
have a declination greater than – (90o - l)
 For us: - (90o – 40o) = - 50o

 So we can never see the “Southern Cross”

constellation Crux, because it has a
declination of - 60o and is always below our
horizon.
 Because of Earth’s Rotation
 Celestial Sphere appears to rotate clockwise
(E to W)
 Stars near the equator (equatorial
constellations) appear to rise in the East and
set in the West
 Stars near the poles (circumpolar
constellations) appear to circle around the
Celestial Poles
 Because of Earth’s Revolution
 Each day, you look in a slightly different direction
in space
 Stars appear to rise 4 minutes earlier each
night.
 In two weeks, the stars rise about an hour earlier
 Different stars are visible in the winter vs. the
summer
 In 12 months, they appear to move all the way
around the sky back to the same position
 Star Trails

 Equatorial stars  Circumpolar stars

 Measuring the Sky
 Astronomers measure angular separation of objects in
degrees.
 1o = 60’ (arcminutes) The full Moon is about 30′ across.
 1’ = 60” (arcseconds) The resolution of a good telescope
 The angular separation of any point on the horizon and the
zenith is 90o.
 Angles in the Sky
 Your hands and 1o 5o 10o
fingers are
convenient
measuring tools.
When you hold your
hand at arm’s length, 15o 25o
you can estimate
angles like this:
Types of “Sky Maps”
 A Sky Chart for a specific
date, time, and latitude
 Shows the sky
visible to an
observer at a
specific latitude
for a specific date
and time. The
circle’s edge is
the horizon, your
zenith is at the
center
 A Planisphere or Star Wheel
 Adjustable
 Rotate the wheel
until the date
matches with the
time of the
observation.
 Polaris is at the
center
 Align to a cardinal
point (N, S, W, E)
 Circumpolar Constellation Chart
(SC002)
 Shows constellations near the North or South
Celestial Poles
 Shows lines of
RA and Dec
 Good for any
date/time
 Equatorial Constellation Chart
(SC001)
 Shows Declinations from -60 to +60
 Good for any date/time/mid-latitude
 Web interactive
 For practice reading an equatorial
constellation chart, visit:
http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/astro/SC1/SC1.01.html