Celestial objects

Stars and constellations

Zodiac and the planets
Names of stars
Defining the positions of astronomical bodies
Azimuth-Altitude system.
Right Ascension/Declination (RA/Dec) system

Constellations
A constellation is a group of stars visibly
related to each other in a particular
configuration.
In three-dimensional space, most of the
stars we see have little relation to one
another, but can appear to be grouped on
the celestial sphere of the night sky.

Constellations
Constellation - One of the stellar patterns
identified by name, usually of mythological gods,
people, animals or objects. There are a total of 88
constellations.

Constellations
Constellations have defined boundaries in
the sky.

Zodiac
Zodiac from the Greek means The Path or
The Way. The Zodiac constellations are those
constellations through which the sun, moon, and
planets appear to pass
12 of these 88 form the Zodiac constellations:
Virgo, Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, Aries,
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Scorpio,
and Libra.

Apparent motion of planets

and Sun

Planets
The word Planet means Wanderer
The planets, which were the only points of light which moved
in the night sky, were regarded as Gods by the Greeks
because they wandered against the fixed background stars.
The path the planets move through traces a line against the
background Zodiac constellations call the Ecliptic.
What is the essential difference between a planet and a star?

Names of Stars
Names of Stars - Many star names come from the
Arabic, e.g., Sirius - the Scorched One; Capella the Little Goat; Aldebaran - Follower of the
Pleiades.
A very small percentage of the stars actually have
names. Most are assigned numbers or Greek
letters. In a given constellation, the brightest star
is assigned the first letter of the Greek alphabet,
alpha, followed by the second brightest star,
beta, ...delta, gamma, epsilon...
A planet is much less massive and colder than a
star. It shines by reflecting light from a star.

Naming stars by brightness

Third
brightest
star
(-Orion)
Brightest
star in the
constellation
of Orion
(-Orion)

Second
brightest
star
(-Orion)

The brightness of stars

The Brightness of Stars - Hipparchus
(160-127 BC) described the brightness of stars on a
six point scale - 1 = the brightest stars, 6 = the
faintest stars visible to the naked eye. Astronomers
today use a modified form of Hipparchuss scale
called the Apparent Magnitude Scale.

Magnitude Scale
Apparent Magnitude (m) Magnitud ketara :
A measure of the observed light intensity received
from a star or other object at the earth.
Absolute magnitude (Magnitud mutlak) :
"True" or intrinsic brightness of a star
Is a measure of the amount of light it gives
off.

Points about the Magnitude Scale to N.B.

Large -ve magnitudes are very bright, and large +ve
magnitudes are very faint.
The scale is open ended.
The Magnitude Scale is not linear, but logarithmic.

Magnitude Scale
A 1st magnitude star is 100 X brighter than a 6th
magnitude star.
Since the scale is logarithmic, and a difference of 5
orders of magnitude is really a difference of 100 in
brightness, then two stars that differ by 1 order of
magnitude must differ in brightness by 100 1/5 (2.512).
Two stars the differ by 2 orders of magnitude differ
by 2.512 x 2.512 (6.3).... 3 orders different 2.512 x
2.512 x 2.512 (16)..... 4 orders different 2.512 x 2.512
x 2.512 x 2.512 (40), and 5 orders different 2.512 x
2.512 x 2.512 x 2.512 x 2.512 (100).

The Motion of Stars

Over the course of an evening, the stars move.

The Motion of Stars

This motion is apparent, due to the rotation of the
Earth.
The Earth spins on its axis at a rate of one rotation
(360o) per 24 hours. Thus the apparent motion of the
stars is 360/24 = 15o per hour.
The motion of the stars across the sky is dependent
on your latitude on the Earth.

The Motion of Stars

From Brisbane the altitude of the South Celestial
Pole (SCP) is 27.5o above the southern horizon.
Stars close to the SCP appear to trace circles in the
nights sky. Some do not set below the horizon.
Stars 90o away from the celestial poles are on the a
line called the Celestial Equator. Stars on this
imaginary line trace the largest circles across the
sky and appear to move faster than those closer to
the Celestial poles.

Defining the position of objects

The are two common systems for defining

position of astronomical bodies in the sky.
The Azimuth-Altitude (Az/Alt) system, and
The Right Ascension-Declination (RA/Dec)
system.

The Az/Alt System

Alt / Az system defines the position of an object in the
sky in terms of its:
azimuth = angle along the horizon, (0 to 359 degrees)
(N = 0o, E = 90o, S = 180o, W = 270o)
altitude = angle above the horizon (0 to 90 degrees)
Object in
o
o
(0 = horizon, 90 = zenith)
the sky
Observer (you)

E.g.
Az = a =70o
Alt = b = 60

Estimating Az and Alt:

The Hand and Fist Method
Your hand span, closed fist and fingers can be
used as a measure of angle to estimate angles.

The RA/Dec System

RA / Dec system defines the position of an object in
the sky in terms of its position on the Celestial
Sphere.
The RA / Dec system is analogous to the Longitude /
Latitude system of defining the location of places on
the Earth, i.e., RA is similar to lines of Longitude
and Declination is similar to lines of latitude.
Units of RA are measured in hours, minutes and
seconds. (00h:00m:00s --> 23h:59m:59s)
Units of Dec are measured in degrees north and
south of the celestial equator. (-90S --> +90N)

 The point in the constellation of Aries where the

ecliptic crosses the celestial equator marks
00h:00m:00s in RA - Vernal Equinox. This is
analogous to Greenwich, England in the Earthbased system of Longitude/Latitude.
The North Celestial Pole mark the position of +90o
degrees Dec;
The South Celestial Pole marks the position of -90o
degrees Dec; and
The Celestial equator is defined as 0odegrees Dec.
These positions are analogous to the North pole of the
Earth (+90o Lat); South Pole (-90o Lat), and the equator
(0o Lat)

Model of the Celestial Sphere

Celestial Sphere (C.S) - an Observers model for
studying the motions of the heavenly bodies.

Lines and Points on the C.S.

Celestial Poles - Points about which the C.S.
appears to rotate; analogous to the poles on the
earth. [N.B. The Altitude of the south celestial
pole above the southern horizon is the same as the
latitude of the observer.]
Celestial Equator - A great circle on the C.S. 90o
from the celestial poles; a projection of the Earths
equator onto the C.S.
Zenith - The point on the C.S. directly above the
observer, or 90o from the celestial horizon.

Lines and Points on the C.S.

Nadir - The point on the C.S. directly below the
observer, or -90 degrees from the celestial horizon.
Ecliptic - The apparent path of the sun and planets
on the C.S.
Meridian - The great circle on the C.S. that passes
through the observers zenith and to the north or
south of the celestial poles. (Objects on the
meridian are at the maximum altitude above the
horizon from a north or south perspective).