We will begin the evening at Rainwater Observatory with a short overview of the night sky in the planetarium on site in the visitor's center. This should be a review of the information presented at the Sharpe Planetarium and in the Summer Sky webpage. After the overview, we will have a "Star Party" on the grounds of Rainwater. We will spend the early evening identifying summer constellations. We will use the star maps that were provided in the Summer Sky webpage. We will look for and identify the circumpolar constellations (Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor) along with the main summer constellations (Aquila and Cygnus, the Swan). Then, taking advantage of an extremely dark sky, we will look for some of the other constellations visible at this time of year. These constellations include, but aren't limited to: Capricorn, Pegasus, Aries, and Pisces.
In addition, depending on the phase of the Moon or the
visibility of any planets, we will use the on-site telescopes for observation.
There is a misconception by some that the best time to observe the Moon
is when it is full. But according to most observers, the best time
is when the Moon is either in the quarter or 
crescent
phase. At the time of the full Moon, light falls flatly on the face of
the Moon and it is hard to see much detail. Most observers like to view
the features of the Moon when they are near the "terminator" line (the
line where light and dark meet). Notice in this picture of the Moon that
the features that are near the terminator are easier to see and seem to
have more details.
At
the time of the writing of this webpage, the only planet that can be seen,
well, in the night sky is Mars. On the night of August 26-27, 2003, Mars
will be closer to the Earth than at any time in some 60,000 years, therefore
also making it brighter. Whenever Mars passes closest to Earth (near opposition)
and it is also nearest the Sun (perihelion), Mars becomes extremely bright
to observers on Earth. This actually happens about every 15-17 years. This
year Mars is closer (ever so slightly) than previous years and therefore
brighter. If we were actually doing our field trip this summer, Mars would
be a great morning object to observe from Rainwater. Other planets that
make for good observing targets at other times of the year are Saturn,
Jupiter, Venus and sometimes Mercury.
On the second day, we will begin our session in the morning.
We will begin with a short introduction to seasons. We will then work in
groups with flashlights and small globes simulating the movement of 
the
Earth around the Sun. Using this modeling method, participants will be
able to visualize what causes seasons. Students will then journal and draw
what they observed. Students should observe that there are several reasons
for seasons on Earth. These reasons are as follows: the tilt of the axis
(23.5 degrees), the fact that at different times of the year the Earth
receives more or less direct rays of the Sun and the rotation of the Earth
around the Sun.
Finally, we will have a short introduction to the Sun
and sun spots. We will then go outside and observe sunspots using telescopes
equipped with special filters for viewing the Sun. Sunspots are dark spots
on the surface of the Sun which are cooler than the areas surrounding the
spot. The temperature may measure approximately 3700 K within the center
of sunspot as 
compared
to 5700 K for the surrounding area. Sunspots typically last for several
days, but some can last for several weeks. Sunspots normally occur in groups
with two sets of spots. We know that these spots are extremely magnetic
reaching strengths thousands of times stronger than the Earth's entire
magnetic field. Sunspots are important because scientists track solar cycles
by counting sunspots. Scientists have been documenting the number of sunspots
since the early 1600's. Over the years, scientists have observed that there
are periods where there seem to be a large number of sunspots, an active
stage, and periods where there don't seem to be as many sun spots, an inactive
stage. A period of solar inactivity near the middle of the 1600's was observed
which corresponds to a cold climatic period called the "Little Ice Age".
There is evidence that the sun has gone through similar periods of inactivity
in the more distant past. Some scientists believe that sunspot inactivity
may be in some way connected with other cold periods on Earth. The connection
between climatic changes and solar inactivity is an area of on-going research
for these scientists. Pictured here is sunspot 409, a sunspot that is active
at the time of this writing (July 2003).
| Next site on the trip. |
|
 Questions/Comments? |
Space Weather.com, What's
Up in Space?, as Retrieved from the World Wide Web, (July 18, 2003).
Photos
Craigmont Planetarium,
seasons photograph, as Retrieved from the World Wide Web, (July 18, 2003).
Sky and Telescope, Mars photograph, as Retrieved from the World Wide Web, (July 18, 2003).
Space Weather.com, Sunspot 409, as Retrieved from the World Wide Web, (July 18, 2003).
Washington
University, Moon terminator photograph, as Retrieved from the World
Wide Web, (July 18, 2003).
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