The Effects of Precession

What changes do you expect in these things (or phenomena)

13,000 years later when the Earth’s rotation axis is pointed
toward Vega?

A. World Atlas (map of Earth)?

B. Star chart (map of sky)?
C. Seasons?
D. Constellations?

 Answer
 The Night Sky
What we observe in the sky during the night…
• Stars move across the sky during the night…
− Some move faster
− Some move very little
− One doesn’t seem to move at all!
• The positions of stars with respect to each others seem to be
fixed…
• Star patterns repeat itself about every 24 hours…
− Star patterns do not change much from night to night.
− Star patterns in the winter are different from that in the summer.
• Positions of stars (with respect to the horizon and the zenith) in the
sky are different at different locations (latitudes) on Earth.
• Some ‘stars’ seem to wander around with respect to other stars
(you have to be real patient and careful to see this).
− The motion of the Moon is quite different from the other celestial objects.
The appearance and motion of the moon is a subject by itself.
 Fixed Star
Patterns—The
Constellations
Star patterns appear fixed, because…
A. Stars are very, very far away from
Earth?
B. Earth and the stars are not
moving with respect to each
other?

The fixed star patterns are assigned

names…
• There are a total of 88
constellations—defined by IAU
(International Astronomical
Union) in 1928.
– The stars in the same
constellation are usually not
physically close to each other.
 Answer
 The Night Sky
What we observe in the sky during the night…
• Stars move across the sky during the night…
− Some move faster
− Some move very little
− One doesn’t seem to move at all!
• The positions of stars with respect to each others seem to be
fixed…
• Star patterns repeat itself about every 24 hours…
− Star patterns do not change much from night to night.
− Star patterns in the winter are different from that in the summer.
• Positions of stars (with respect to the horizon and the zenith) in the
sky are different at different locations (latitudes) on Earth.
• Some ‘stars’ seem to wander around with respect to other stars
(you have to be real patient and careful to see this).
− The motion of the Moon is quite different from the other celestial objects.
The appearance and motion of the moon is a subject by itself.
Why are star patterns in the winter
different than those in the summer?
Summer Sky

Your horizon

Your Location

Sun Earth

Day Side Night Side

Summer Sky

Your horizon

Your Location---24 hours later

Earth
Sun

Day Side Night Side

 Winter Sky
• Due to Earth’s revolution around the Sun, we
look at different part of the sky during different
season…
Your horizon

Your Location

Earth Sun

Night Side Day Side

If we see different part of the sky during
different season, how come we can see the
Polaris and nearby region in the sky all night
low and all year round?

Draw pictures similar to the previous two to

show how this can happen…
 The Zodiac Constellations
As the Earth orbits the Sun, the
Sun appears to move eastward
along the ecliptic
• The constellations along
the ecliptic are the zodiac
constellations
• The zodiac constellation at
any given date is the
constellation behind the
Sun in the sky, not the one
opposite the Sun, or the
one you see at midnight

Your birthday is August 21st, so

your constellation is Leo. Can
you go out and find Click on image to start animation
constellation Leo in the night of
your birthday?
 All-Sky View
What is the bright band with
dark clouds across the sky?

Milky Way Galaxy!

All-sky image of the southern hemisphere.

Photo by Wei-Ho Wang
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/%7Ewang/

 Northern hemisphere all-sky view

from Mauna Kea
 The Night Sky
What we observe in the sky during the night…
• Stars move across the sky during the night…
− Some move faster
− Some move very little
− One doesn’t seem to move at all!
• The positions of stars with respect to each others seem to be
fixed…
• Star patterns repeat itself about every 24 hours…
− Star patterns do not change much from night to night.
− Star patterns in the winter are different from that in the summer.
• Positions of stars (with respect to the horizon and the zenith) in the
sky are different at different locations (latitudes) on Earth.
• Some ‘stars’ seem to wander around with respect to other stars
(you have to be real patient and careful to see this).
− The motion of the Moon is quite different from the other celestial objects.
The appearance and motion of the moon is a subject by itself.
The Portion of Sky We See Depends on Where We Are
On Earth—Northern Hemisphere

Your horizon

You would not see

these stars because
they are under your Your Location
horizon

Day Side Night Side

Sun Earth
 If You Live Down Under

You would not see these

stars because they are
under your horizon
Your horizon

Day Side Night Side

Your Location
Sun Earth

Your horizon
Why Do We See Different Sky at
Different Latitude?
 White Night at North Pole
Arctic Circle
During arctic summer, the rotation axis of the Earth is
tilted toward the Sun, and you can still see the Sun at
midnight if you are within the arctic circle—The Sun
never set!

You cannot see the sun at midnight if you are

here
 The Night Sky
What we observe in the sky during the night…
• Stars move across the sky during the night…
− Some move faster
− Some move very little
− One doesn’t seem to move at all!
• The positions of stars with respect to each others seem to be
fixed…
• Star patterns repeat itself about every 24 hours…
− Star patterns do not change much from night to night.
− Star patterns in the winter are different from that in the summer.
• Positions of stars (with respect to the horizon and the zenith) in the
sky are different at different locations (latitudes) on Earth.
• Some ‘stars’ seem to wander around with respect to other stars
(you have to be real patient and careful to see this).
− The motion of the Moon is quite different from the other celestial objects.
The appearance and motion of the moon is a subject by itself.
 Do Stars Move?
Stellar Parallax
Parallax
• Because of Earth’s orbit
around the Sun, stars
closer to Earth will appear
to move in the sky with
respect to the stars much
further away…

*The motions are exaggerated…

 Parallax with Your Eyes
• Put your thumb up in front of you at the arm’s
length.
• Look at your thumb alternatively with your left
and right eye. Compare the position of the
thumb with respect to the background (that’s
sufficiently far away, like more than six feet).
– You should see the position of your thumb with
respect to the background changes as you switch
your eyes.
In using parallax method to measure the distance to other stars, we assumed
that there are no appreciable relative motion between the Sun and the star
we are measuring. However, as we mentioned in the previous chapter, the
solar system is always moving with respect to the stars in the solar
neighborhood, as well as everything else in the Milky Way galaxy. The
apparent motion of stars in the sky can be cause by the relative motion
between the stars and the Sun also. How do you distinguish the apparent
motion caused by parallax and real motion of the stars?

– Apparent motion due to stellar parallax is periodical. The closer stars move
back and forth with respect to more distant stars.
– Apparent motion due to real fast relative motion of the stars does not move
back and forth in the sky. It will keep going in the same direction after six
months.
 The Planets
We have used two motions of the Earth to explain the motion
of the stars in the sky…

– The rotation of Earth with respect to distance star

– The revolution of Earth around the Sun

We also talked about the precession of Earth’s rotation axis

and its implication for the future.

However, the motions of some of the brightest objects of the

night sky–the planets–do not follow the pattern of most of the
stars, and cannot be explained by considering these motions
alone.
 The Planets—The Wanderers
Although the relative position between most of the stars are fixed, some of the brightest
celestial objects have peculiar motion in the sky…they wander among the constellations.
• planets rise in the east and set in the west, just like the ‘regular’ stars.
• With respect to the stars, planets usually move eastward from night to night relative to
the stars.
− You cannot see this motion on a single night, it is very slow.
• But sometimes they go westward for a few weeks or months. This is referred to as the
apparent retrograde motion
Why do the planets do that?
Retrograde motion of Mars, June to November, 2003
Retrograde motion of Jupiter, 2004-2005
 Ptolemaic Model
Circle-upon-Circles Greek philosopher
Claudius Ptolemy (A.D. 100-170)
proposed a planet model in which the
planets move around a small circle
which in turns orbits the earth, pretty
much like the moon is orbiting the Earth
while the Earth is orbiting the Sun. This
model can explain the retrograde motion
of the planets, and make prediction
about the position of the planets with a
few degrees accuracy. However, it
requires complicated motions (such as
even smaller circles upon the small
circles) to make the model well.
 Retrograde Motion of Planets
The retrograde motions of the planets are easily
explained when we consider the orbital motion of
both the Earth and the other planets—apparent
retrograde motion occurs when we pass the other
planet in the orbit.

This model place Earth and the other planets on

two concentric circles with the Sun at the center,
and is capable of making precise prediction on
the position of the planets. Only two circles are
required, which is simpler than Ptolemy circle-
upon-circle-upon-circle model.

More importantly, this model can make accurate

prediction of the motion of the planets.

Click on the image to start animation

 Summary—Movements of Stars
Pattern in the Sky
• Star pattern repeats itself about every 24 hours… because of the rotation of
Earth with respect to the distant stars!
• Star pattern in the winter is different from that in the summer… because of the
revolution of Earth around the Sun!
• Stars do move back a nd forth (a teeny-tiny bit) in the sky over the course of the
year also, due to the revolution of Earth around the Sun (stellar parallax). Note
that this motion is not possible to observe without the help of modern telescopes.
• Position of stars is different at different location (latitude)… because at any
given location on Earth, we can only see half of the sky.
• The retrograde motion of the planets are explained by considering the orbital
motion of both the Earth and the other planet.
• The celestial north pole will be pointed in the direction of Vega 13,000 years
later.
• The star pattern (constellation) will change over the course of hundred-of-
thousand years, because the stars are not sitting still in the galaxy.
 Fixed Star
Patterns—The
Constellations
Star patterns appear fixed, because…
A. Stars are very, very far away
from Earth!
B. Earth and the stars are not
moving with respect to each
other.

Star patterns are assigned names…

• There are a total of 88
constellations—defined by IAU
(International Astronomical
Union) in 1928.
– The stars in the same
constellation are usually not
physically close to each other.

 Back to Presentations
 The Effects of Precession
What changes do you expect in these things (or phenomena)
13,000 years later when the Earth’s rotation axis is pointed
toward Vega?

A. World Atlas (map of Earth)? No change.

B. Star chart (map of sky)?
 Location of celestial north would be different
C. Seasons?
− We will still have four seasons, since the tilt of the rotation axis of
Earth with respect to the ecliptic plane is not changed. But the time of
the season would be changed. Summer would be in January, and
winter would be in July.
D. Constellations?
− The patterns of stars in the sky would not change much…but their
position with respect to celestial north would be different).
How would the star chart be changed?  Back to Presentation