Astronomy Lab 2

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University of Nebraska, Omaha *

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1354

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Astronomy

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Feb 20, 2024

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Name: NAME_Paige Luft_____ CLASS_Astronomy Lab__ Instructions: Go to web site http://astro.unl.edu . Click on the Nebraska astronomy applet project and then go to NAAP Modules(at top of screen) and pick Basic Coordinates and Seasons. Read the materials and complete the guide below and complete the exercises and complete the document below—the background materials will help you answer the questions—the flash demonstration will help you complete the rest. NOTE: You are only doing the season’s part of this exercise. ON LINE LAB 02 Nebraska Astronomy Applet Project Student Guide to the Seasons – Student Guide Seasons and the Ecliptic Work through the introductory material on the page entitled Orbits and Light .  Open the Seasons and Ecliptic Simulator .  Note that there are three main panels (left, upper right, and lower right) each of which have two different views. Controls run along the bottom of the simulation that affect more than one panel. Click animate and then move through the six views to get an overview this simulator’s capabilities. We will address each of these six views separately.  Experiment with the various methods to advance time in the simulator. You may click the start animate/stop animation button, drag the yearly time slider, or drag either the sun or the earth in the left panel to advance time.  Note that this animation does not illustrate the rotation of the earth. Because the timescales of rotation and revolution are so different, it isn’t possible to effectively show both simultaneously. NAAP – Basic Coordinates & Motions 1/5

Tip: Once the stick figure is selected you can gain greater precision over its motion by moving the mouse a distance away from the figure. Left Panel – Orbit View  Practice clicking and dragging in this panel to change the perspective. Change the perspective so that you are looking directly down onto the plane of the Earth’s orbit  Click labels. Note that you can see how the direct rays of the sun hit at different latitudes throughout the year.  Experiment with this view until you can quickly create the two views shown below. Note that these images explain the shape of the elliptic on the celestial sphere. In the image on the left (summer solstice) an observer on the Earth sees the sun above the celestial equator. In the image on the right (winter solstice) an observer on the Earth sees the sun below the celestial equator. Left Panel – Celestial Sphere  This view shows the earth at the center of the celestial sphere. The celestial equator and the ecliptic with the sun’s location are shown. Note that you may click on the sun and drag it and read out its coordinates.  Experiment with this view until you can quickly create the image to the right – the direct rays of the sun hitting the earth on the summer solstice. Upper Right Panel – View from Sun  This view shows the earth as seen from the sun. It gives the best view of the subsolar point – the location on the earth where the direct rays of the sun are hitting. The noon observer’s location on the Earth is indicated by a red parallel of latitude which can be dragged to new latitudes (this affects the appearance of the lower right panel). It is possible for the red parallel to be at an inaccessible location in this view.  Create the image shown to the right – an observer at latitude 80°N on the summer solstice. Upper Right Panel – View from Side NAAP – Basic Coordinates & Motions 2/5 Tip: Note that if you click and drag the Earth, you will change the date and location rather than the perspective.

 This view shows the earth as seen from a location in the plane of the ecliptic along a line tangent to the Earth’s orbit. It allows one to easily see the regions of the Earth that are in daylight and those that are in shadow.  Dragging the stick figure allows one to very conveniently change latitude. Dragging the stick figure on top of the subsolar point effectively puts the observer at the latitude where the direct rays of the sun are hitting.  Although rotation is suppressed in this simulation, keep in mind that the stick figure is on a planet that is rotating with a period of 24 hours about an axis connecting the north and south poles. Thus, 12 hours later it will be on the other side of the earth.  Set up the simulator for the image at right – the winter solstice for an observer at 80  N. Since this observer’s parallel of latitude is located entirely in the shaded region, this observer will not see the sun on this day. Lower Right Panel – Sunbeam Spread  This view shows a “cylinder” of light coming from the sun. It is projected on a grid to convey the area over which the light is spread. As this light is spread over a larger area, its intensity decreases. Lower Right Panel – Sunlight Angle  This view shows the angle with which rays of sunlight are striking the Earth. It lists the noon sun’s angle with respect to the horizon (its altitude).  Verify that when the noon observer is at the latitude where the most direct rays of the sun are hitting, the sun is directly overhead making an angle of 90  with the ground.  Verify that when the noon observer is at the latitude where the least direct rays of the sun are hitting, the sun is on the horizon. Question 1: The table below contains entries for the coordinates for the sun on the ecliptic as well as the latitude at which the most direct and least direct rays of the sun are hitting. Use the simulation to complete the table. NAAP – Basic Coordinates & Motions 3/5

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