Sky Grids

Yr 10 Science
Mr Brock
 Review Activity
1. Why do stars move at night?
2. Why can I see different stars at different
times of year?
3. Define a
Celestial Pole
4. How long was
the exposure
on this
picture?
Finding Celestial South Pole
 Learning Goal

I understand how stars move and I

am able to plot them on a sky grid
The elevation of the star is the angle of the star above the horizon.
The horizontal angle of the star is the azimuth.
• Astronomers often plot the position of stars on a sky grid
• This is useful to locate the position of stars in the night sky
• The elevation of the star is the angle of the star above the horizon.
• The horizontal angle of the star is the azimuth.
 Plotting stars on the sky grid
• A star had an elevation of 60° and an azimuth of 330°. Plot this on
the sky grid below.
Worksheet
At Home
 Mile a Minute
• ROUND ONE • ROUND TWO
• Nebula • Azimuth
• Zenith • Apparent Magnitude
• Light Speed • Spiral Galaxy
• Absolute magnitude • Star Cluster
• Constellation • Light Year
 Names of Stars
• Some stars have been given individual names.
(eg. Sirius, Betelgeuse)
• Some are named after the constellation they are
in as well as a letter depending on how bright
they are.
• The brightest star in a constellation is given the
greek letter α eg. α – centauri.
• The second brightest is given the letter β and so
on through the Greek alphabet.
 Constellations
• All cultures have observed the stars, and named
and grouped them to help recognition and
description.
• These groups are called constellations.
• Using the shape of
the constellation
all cultures have
given them names
also to describe them.
 Same Relative Position
From Earth the stars and constellations
appear to always stay in the same position
relative to each other.
Humans have used this since early times to
give directions and navigate.
 Ecliptic
• The imaginary line that the planets, sun and
moon all move along is called the ecliptic.
• It is over the earths equator, so in the
southern hemisphere it is in the northern sky.
 The Zodiac
• The constellations that appear to travel along
the ecliptic are called the Zodiac.
• There are twelve of them. They are the star
signs used in “Astrology”
 Quick Quiz
1. Give 3 constellations you know of
2. What is the ecliptic?
3. How many zodiac constellations can you see
in the night sky at any one time?
4. When could you see the others?
5. Describe how you can find the south celestial
pole. Draw diagrams if you need