...What is the brightest and most noticeable object in our sky? If someone had asked you this question; your answer would be the Sun. Now your answer to the question is correct but, aside from the Sun, the Moon is also the brightest and most noticeable object in our sky. The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite. The Moon is a roughly spherical, rocky body that orbits the Earth and its diameter is about one-fourth Earth’s diameter (“Moon”). This object does more than orbits the Earth and light up the night sky. The Moon goes through a lunar phase, cause eclipses, and has a strong effect on Earth’s tides, but before the Moon could do this it had to be formed. How did our Moon form? There is a strong hypothesis suggests that it formed as the result...
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...Astronomy Project A Lunar Eclipse is an eclipse in which the full moon passes partially or wholly through the umbra of the earth's shadow (Merriam-Webster, 2012). When this happens, the moon appears darker as it passes into the earth's shadow. One thing that I found interesting is that there are different types of eclipses. When I first read more information on the lunar eclipse I was confused about what those differences are. I found out that during the five thousand year period from 2000 BCE through 3000 CE, there are 7,718 eclipses (both partial and total) of the Moon (Espenak). The two types of eclipses are the lunar eclipse and the solar eclipse. A solar eclipse can only be viewed from a small area of the world but a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth. According to Keith Cooley, there are three different types of lunar eclipses. They are as follows: * Partial Lunar Eclipse - A portion of the Moon passes through the Earth's umbral shadow. These events are easy to see, even with the unaided eye. * Penumbral Lunar Eclipse - The Moon passes through the Earth's penumbral shadow. These events are subtle and quite difficult if not impossible to observe. During a penumbral eclipse the moons light is dimmed but does not go dark due to the fact that the penumbral shadow is not dark enough to black out the sun's light. A penumbral eclipse is sometimes referred to as an appulse eclipse. * Total Lunar Eclipse - The entire Moon passes...
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...kilometers per hour. On eclipse-viewing expeditions, this phenomenon is frequently accompanied by a marriage proposal. The beautiful symmetry of a total solar eclipse happens because—by pure chance—the sun is 400 times larger than the moon but is also 400 times farther from Earth, making the two bodies appear the exact same size in the sky. In case you were thinking about relocating: Earth is the only place in the solar system where that happens. The Chinese word for solar eclipse is shih, meaning “to eat.” In ancient China people traditionally beat drums and banged on pots to scare off the “heavenly dog” believed to be devouring the sun. Tidal friction, which causes that lengthening of the day, is also making the moon drift away. In about 600 million years it will appear too small to cover the sun, and there will be no more total solar eclipses. In ancient times, people thought an eclipse was a sign that the gods were angry or that bad things were about to happen. Medieval folk believed that sex during an eclipse would result in ugly demon-filled children Europeans in the Middle Ages thought that you should never get it on during a lunar eclipse, because any “moon children” would be born with ugly demons inside them. Then you’d have to pay for their food and shelter, when all they’re going to be good for is being burned at the stake. A modern superstition also has it that a pregnant woman shouldn’t touch her belly during a lunar eclipse. Doing so will cause...
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...east at 9pm tonight? When will it rise tomorrow night? f. 4 minutes earlier -8:56 pm – the next sidereal day 7. What does the word sidereal mean? what is a sidereal day? g. Anything relative to the stars – The time is takes for a start to come up in the same position in the sky the next day (approx. 23 hours 56 minutes) 8. Are we closer to the sun in winter or in summer? h. Winter 9. What is the ecliptic? What are the two ways of using it to describe Earth or the Sun seen from the Earth. i. The path of the sun’s motion as seen from the Earth throughout the year j. It’s the plane of Earth’s orbit is space 10. Define heliocentric and geocentric. k. heliocentric- Sun was center of the solar system – proposed by Copernicus l. geocentric – earth-centered model, idea that moon, sun, stars, revolve around earth 11. What is the celestial sphere? What are the major lines (circles) and important points on it? m. it’s as if we expanded the earth’s equator and north/south poles out into space. n. Celestial equator, North Celestial Pole, South Celestial Pole 12. When is the Sun...
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...the Solar System. It is the largest natural satellite of a planet in the Solar System relative to the size of its primary, a quarter the diameter of Earth and 1⁄81 its mass . The Moon is the second densest satellite after Io. It is in synchronous rotation with Earth, always showing the same face; the near side is marked with dark volcanic maria among the bright ancient crustal highlands and prominent impact craters. It is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun, although its surface is actually very dark, with a similar reflectance to coal. Its prominence in the sky and its regular cycle of phases have since ancient times made the Moon an important cultural influence on language, calendars, art and mythology. The Moon's gravitational influence produces the ocean tides and the minute lengthening of the day. The Moon's current orbital distance, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth, causes it to appear almost the same size in the sky as the Sun, allowing it to cover the Sun nearly precisely in total solar eclipses. The Moon is the only celestial body on which humans have landed. While the Soviet Union's Luna programme was the first to reach the Moon with unmanned spacecraft in 1959, the United States' NASA Apollo program achieved the only manned missions to date, beginning with the first manned lunar orbiting mission by Apollo 8 in 1968, and six manned lunar landings between 1969 and 1972—the first being Apollo 11. These missions returned over 380 kg of lunar rocks...
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...Celestial Pole on the horizon? A the Arctic Circle B the equator C the North Pole D the South Pole E there are many latitudes where this occurs 5. Galileo's observations of the phases of Venus helped convince him that A the Moon goes around the Earth B the Sun goes around the Earth C Venus goes around the Earth D Venus goes around the Sun E Ptolemy's model of the solar system was correct 6. The angular distance of an object in the sky, above the observer's horizon is called its A azimuth B altitude C declination D latitude E right ascension 7. The ecliptic is A the line passing from north to south directly overhead B the orbit of the Moon C the path of a star in the sky D the path of the Earth's north pole in the sky E the path of the Sun in the sky 8. Which of the following statements about the Copernican solar system model is correct? A it did away with the need for epicycles B it had the Earth motionless C it provided a physical explanation of why the planets moved D it used uniform circular motion E it was the first time we know of that anyone regarded the Sun as the center of the solar system 9. Suppose you are a space shuttle astronaut taking a space...
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...1) The phase of the Moon during a total solar eclipse is a new moon. In a solar eclipse, the Moon is in between the Sun and the Earth. The Moon blocks some sunlight creating a the Earth to become dark for a few minutes at specific locations. The phase of the Moon during a total lunar eclipse is a full moon. In a lunar eclipse, the Earth is in between the Sun and the Moon. The Earth blocks the Moon from the Sun. The Earth casts its shadow on the Moon, giving it a red color. 2) Earth’s core is spilt into two sections, the outer core and inner core. The liquid outer core is made up of iron, nickel, and perhaps sulfur. The solid inner core is made of iron and nickel. The mantle is made up of silicates. We know this because of seismic waves that are generated by earthquakes. The seismic waves move at a certain speed depending on the material which they travel through....
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...Earth-centered * Solar system: the Sun and all the objects that orbits it * Our solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago * Galaxy: great island of stars in space, having from a few hundred million to a trillion or more stars * Milky Way Galaxy contains more than 100 billion stars; our Milky Way is in the Local Group * Galaxy cluster: collection of galaxies bound together by gravity. Small collections (up to a few dozen) are generally called groups, while larger collections are called clusters * Supercluster: gigantic region of space where many individual galaxies and many groups and clusters of galaxies are packed more closely together than elsewhere in the universe * Universe (cosmos): the sum total of all mater and energy * Observable Universe: the portion of the entire universe that can be seen from Earth * Universe is expanding, Big Bang occurred 14 billion years ago * Planet: moderately sized object that orbits a star and shines primarily by reflecting light from its star; an object is a planet if it (1) orbits a star, (2) is large enough for its own gravity to make it round, and (3) has cleared most other objects from its orbital path * Dwarf planet: object that meets the first two criteria but not the third, like Pluto * Moon (or satellite): an object that orbits a planet * Asteroid: a relatively small and rocky object that orbits a star * Comet: a relatively small and ice-rich object that orbits a star * Small solar system...
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...Benjamin Banneker Benjamin Banneker was born on November 9th, 1731 in Baltimore, Maryland. His father and mother were slaves that earned their freedom . He also had three younger sisters who loved to play with him even when he is busy. Benjamin was mostly self taught because he worked on a farm to help his dad with chores. Although he was self taught, he did go to a school once in awhile to acel his learning. At the age of twenty he built a working clock to help keep time around the farm. Benjamin eventually inherited the farm from his grandparents and he grew tobacco and sold it to make money. He was not only a farmer but an astronomer. One of the things he did in astronomy is calculated when the solar and lunar eclipses would appear in...
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...Stonehenge is not only the most famous stone circle in Britain, but also the best-known ancient monument in the World, with at least ½ a million visitors each year. Located on Salisbury Plain, north of Salisbury, England, it is famous for the debate, mystery, and speculation surrounding it. Stonehenge was not built all in one single step, but rather in four separate stages, dating from approximately 3100BC to 1500BC. The modern visitor to Stonehenge is viewing the ruins of the final phase of construction site. The monument itself consists of four concentric ranges of stones. The oldest part, called Stonehenge I, consists of little more than a circular ditch dug in the chalky soil of the Salisbury Plain, with the soil taken from the ditch piled up to make an enbankment about 6 ft tall. This part of the monument is about 320 ft across. Inside this large circle are the things that we normally think of as Stonhenge proper; circles of stones that once stood upright, and the most photogenic, the large horseshoe arrangements of standing stones at the center. These last, the so-called trillithons, consist of upright stones supporting horizontal lintels, and the largest of them weigh in around 45 tons. These massive stones have been placed in unison with these circles to create Stonehenge and along with that bring about the curiosity of why one would build such a structure as that of Stonehenge. The location of Stonehenge was not simply a coincidental happening, for the latitude is very...
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...SCI/151 Week 1 Assignment Basics of Astronomy Outline I. Our place in the universe A. The modern view of the universe 1. The Sun is a star in our solar system that generates heat and light to our planet, Earth through nuclear fusion. 2. Our Milky Way galaxy is an island of stars in space with hundreds of billions of stars like our Sun. 3. The Big Bang is a theory of when the universe started expanding about 14 billion years ago. 4. The phase “looking out in the universe is looking back in time,” refers to the light from other stars we see at night happened in 1913 because light takes time to travel through space. B. Where are we in the universe? 1. Earth’s place in the solar system is the third planet nearest to the Sun, a star. It is very small but the only dense planet with life forms. 2. The nearest stars to the Sun and compare the distance between the Sun and Earth a. The nearest star system is Alpha Centauri that is 4.4 light-years away. b. The distance between the Earth, and the Sun is 92,600,000 miles; it takes eight minutes for light from the Sun to reach Earth. 3. The Milky Way galaxy is about one hundred thousand light-years in diameter. 4. It is estimated that one hundred billion stars are in our galaxy. 5. The Earth is only four and one-half billion years of age in comparison to the universe is 14 billion. C. Motion in the universe 1. Earth orbits the Sun at 66,000 miles per hour that is equal to 107,000 kilometers per hour, which is one...
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...Ancient civilizations used astronomy by studying the sky for centuries. When they did this, they recorded what they had seen. By doing this they could predict a lot of things such as lunar eclipses and solar eclipse. Because of all the information they had by studying the sky, they were able to make a calendar. It involved solar years and lunar months. Scientific studies have influenced the decisions of where people want to live. Scientists say that climate change has a lot to do with certain extreme weather events that have been happening lately. Climate change affects major storms such as hurricanes and typhoons. The storm that is most affected by it is tornadoes. Ever since these studies came out, people have been careful on where they want to buy their house....
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...Moon The Moon (Latin: Luna) is the Earth's only natural satellite.[e][f][8] Although not the largest natural satellite in the Solar System, it is, among the satellites of major planets, the largest relative to the size of the object it orbits (its primary) [g][h] and, after Jupiter's satellite Io, it is the second most dense satellite among those whose densities are known. The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth, always showing the same face with its near side marked by dark volcanic maria that fill between the bright ancient crustal highlands and the prominent impact craters. It is the most luminous object in the sky after the Sun. Although it appears a very bright white, its surface is actually dark, with a reflectance just slightly higher than that of worn asphalt. Its prominence in the sky and its regular cycle of phases have, since ancient times, made the Moon an important cultural influence on language, calendars, art, and mythology. The Moon's gravitational influence produces the ocean tides and the slight lengthening of the day. The Moon's current orbital distance is about thirty times the diameter of Earth, causing it to have an apparent size in the sky almost the same as that of the Sun. This allows the Moon to cover the Sun nearly precisely in total solar eclipse. This matching of apparent visual size is a coincidence. The Moon's linear distance from Earth is currently increasing at a rate of 3.82±0.07 cm per year, but this rate is not constant.[9] The Moon...
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...| | Please write your answers only excluding the original questions. | |1 |The sun is considered to be a star and is a hot ball of glowing gases. It is known as the heart of our solar system. | |2 |There are over 200 billion stars in the Milky Way. It is made up of the billions of stars as well as enough gas and dust to make a | | |billions more. The Milky Way is over 100,000 light years from one end to the other. | |3 |According to Reeves (1999), “Astronomers, believe that the universe began in a big bang roughly 14 billion years ago” (para. 5). They | | |believed that a bubble exploded suddenly and the birth of the universe began. Keep in mind this bubble was only about the size of a | | |pinhead. | |4 |You are looking back in time because of the speed of light. Light moves 186,000 miles per second. An example of this would be like we see| | |the sun, eight minutes after the fact. | |5 |The Earth is the 3rd planet from the Sun. Earth is where we live, and is the only planet that contains life. Earth is the only planet...
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...be credited to a countless number of people who, over hundreds of years, spent their time straining their necks to look up at our sky. The sun is the center of our solar system, but that does not mean that it was always central to the beliefs...
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