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Unit 7: Astrophysics Page 56
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, Most star charts available to the
Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and public, however, show the position
Spitzer Space Telescope). Anyone of stars, connecting them like a
can apply for time on the telescope game of dot-to-dot, creating odd
(you do not need to be affiliated pictures that don’t even remotely
with any academic institution or look like their description.
company), but it’s a tight squeeze “Sagittarius”, for example, looks
to get on the schedule. more like a teapot than a great
archer. Let’s see if we can make
The HST orbit zooms high in the sense of these sky maps.
upper atmosphere to steer clear of
the obscuring haze of molecules in The first thing to star chart is the
the sea of air. Hubble’s orbit is Big Dipper, or other easy-to-find
slowly decaying over time and constellation (alternates:
sometime after 2010, if left Cassiopeia for northern hemisphere
unchecked, will begin to spiral back or the Southern Cross for the
into Earth. southern hemisphere). The Big
Dipper is always visible in the
Experiment: Star Charting northern hemisphere all year long,
so this makes for a good target.
If you want to get from New York
to Los Angeles by car, you’d pull Use glow in the dark stars instead
out a map. If you want to find the of rocks, and charge them with a
nearest gas station, you’d pull out quick flash from a camera (or a
a smaller map. What if you wanted flashlight). Keep your hand as still
to find our nearest neighbor as you can while the second person
outside our solar system? lines the rock into position. You can
also unroll a large sheet of
A star chart is a map of the night (butcher or craft) paper and use
sky, divided into smaller parts markers to create a more
(grids) so you don’t get too permanent star chart.
overwhelmed. Astronomers use
these star charts to locate stars, Experiment: Build a REAL
planets, moons, comets, asteroids, Scale Model of the Solar
clusters, groups, binary stars,
System
black holes, pulsars, galaxies,
planetary nebulae, supernovae,
Ever wonder exactly how far away
quasars, and more wild things in
the planets really are? Here's the
the intergalactic zoo.
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