A part of ASTRONOMY 101 is
actual observing experience -- real time spent observing the heavens.
This project,
added on March 19, will satisfy that requirement, and serve as an alternative
to the observatory visit project (which may be difficult if observatories are
closed on account of COVID-19).
The
“wandering stars” (the planets) have been an important part of this class. But few students
have seen the “wandering stars” for themselves.
In this project you will see them for
yourself. This project is not hard, but
it does require planning, and cannot be completed in
less than two weeks (and that is if the weather is perfect, which it rarely
is). So, if you
decide to do this project, it is best to start in March.
To do this
project, you will first download a sky app to your phone. These apps turn your phone into a “sky map”,
which changes as you move your phone around, to help you find and identify
objects in the sky. There are many of these
apps, such as Google Sky Map, Stellarium Mobile,
Night Sky, etc. Many are free. Those that are not free are usually
cheap. The most elaborate ones work with
your phone’s camera to provide an “augmented reality” view of the sky. Make sure that whichever app you choose has a
“find” feature that will allow you to enter the name of an object, and then
guide you to that object using arrows or similar indicators.
You will then
use your phone to find and photo some planets.
Your task is to find Venus in the evening sky (visible right after
sunset), and to find Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn in the morning sky (visible
right before sunrise):
·
Observe
Venus on three different
nights. The nights must be at least 3
days apart—so if you observe Venus on Wednesday night you cannot observe it
again until Saturday night, for example.
The reason for this is to see if you can tell that it “wanders” over
time. On each night, take a “selfie” of you
and Venus (you might need a flashlight or other source to illuminate you a
bit).
·
Also observe Mars/Jupiter/Saturn on three different mornings. The mornings must be at least 3 days apart—so
if you observe it on Wednesday morning you cannot observe it again until
Saturday morning, for example. The
reason for this is to see if you can tell that they
“wander” over time. On each morning,
take a “selfie” of you and these planets (you might need a flashlight or other
source to illuminate you a bit)—they are all in the same area of the sky.
It may be
hard to see some of the planets in your photos—do the best you can.
Write a 500 word discussion on what you saw and
what you learned by watching the wandering stars.
What to turn in (put everything into a single
WORD or PDF file—make sure your name is on everything):
o Your 500 word discussion on what you saw and
what you learned by watching the wandering stars.
o Your six photos (3 of Venus in the evening; 3
of Mars/Jupiter/Saturn in the morning).
Note the date and time for each photo.