Lesson Four

Lesson 4: How can I locate things in the sky?

 

Overview

In this lesson students use a sky map to locate stars, planets, and constellations in the sky. They draw each of these as they see them, comparing what they see in the night sky to the maps. Then students measure the angular distance between stars in the sky. Students are also asked to observe the Moon, paying close attention to the terminator line.

 

Standards Addressed

NGSS DCI

  • A: Stars range greatly in size and distance from Earth and this can explain their relative brightness.

NGSS Crosscutting Concepts

  • Patterns
  • Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

 

Materials

  • Skymap (one for each student)
  • Red Flashlight (one per pair of students)
  • Student Instructions

 

Lesson Sequence

Stars and Constellations

We will begin observing with a tour of the night sky. This activity is intended to introduce you to the stars, planets, and constellations in the sky. It also introduces the concept of angular distances and how to make crude angular measurements.

 

  1. Identifying Stars and Constellations – You will use your skymap to locate various constellations and stars. On the skymap the various stars are labeled. WHEN ASKED TO DRAW CONSTELLATIONS, DRAW WHAT YOU SEE IN THE SKY, NOT WHAT IS ON THE SKYMAP. In order to begin using the skymap you will need to know the direction that you are facing. Locate North, South, East and West.
  2. You will need to measure some angles in this activity. For this we will use the Fist Method. If you make a fist and hold it at arm’s length, with your elbow extended, then the angle that your fist covers is roughly 10 degrees.
    1. Find and draw Ursa Minor, Draco, and Ursa Major. Label on the drawing the star, Polaris (The North Star).
    2. Next find and draw Leo, Virgo and Bootes. Label the stars Regulus, Spica and Arcturus.
    3. Next find and draw Cygnus, Lyra, Hercules, and the Corona Borealis and label the stars, Deneb, Vega, and Altair. (Note: These three stars make a large triangle on the sky which is called the Summer Triangle.)
    4. Finally find and draw Scorpius and Sagittarius and label the star Antares.
  3. Estimating Angular distance – Use the fist technique to measure the angular distances between the following stars. We will be checking your results later so be as precise as possible. Each member of the group should make the measurement and then each group should average the measurements to get the best result.
    1. Northern Horizon to Polaris
    2. Vega to Deneb
    3. Altair to Arcturus
    4. Polaris to Antares
  4. Which measurement above (in #3) do you think is the most uncertain? Why?
  5. Which measurement has the greatest spread between the values found by each person?
  6. Do you think the average value is the “best” value? Why or why Not?

 

Moon Observations — Observing the terminator

If you remember that the Moon looks like a circle, then there is a dark portion and light portion of the Moon. The terminator is the name of the imaginary line that separates the dark and bright portions.

 

  1. Find the Moon in the sky. Carefully draw the Moon and pay special attention to the terminator. When you draw the Moon also draw the prominent celestial objects near the Moon. Does the terminator look like a straight line? Or does it curve? If it curves does it curve to the West or does it curve to the East? Be careful to draw the terminator on your Moon exactly as it looks in the sky.

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Real lesson 4