PHYS 1210 Exploring the Universe

Spring 2017
Prof. Tim Cook
Lecture #2
 Contact information
• My e-mail address is
Timothy_Cook@uml.edu.
• My office is 101B Olney Hall
• My office hours are 11:00 am to 11:50 am
MWF and Wednesday afternoon 1:30 pm to
3:30 pm
 TA Contact information

• The TA for this class is Sarah Adb El-latief

• Her address is
sarah_abdellatief@student.uml.edu.
• She is available to answer your questions
about the homework and to help you with
anything else about this class.
 Class details - labs
• If you are registered for this class (PHYS 1210)
you must also register for the lab (PHYS 1210L)
• Labs meet every other week.
• The lab schedule is posted on Blackboard.
• Friday labs will first meet on Monday
January 23rd.
• All other labs will start after that.

Questions concerning labs?

Check your Blackboard account or see me after class.
 Class details - assignments

• Homework will be due each Sunday starting

on January 22nd.
• There will be an on-line quiz each week
th
starting on January 27 .
• All homework assignments and quiz
information can be found on Blackboard
 Class details - homework

The homework assignment due Sunday
night/Monday morning is given in the week 1
folder on Blackboard.
• You will need to make a single PDF file with your
answers in it.
• You will then need to upload the homework onto
the Blackboard site.
• You may upload as many versions as you need to.
We will only grade the last one.
• We will NOT accept any homework any other way.
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How we talk about where things are:
The Celestial Sphere

• Vast distances to stars

prevent us from
sensing their true 3-D
arrangement
• Naked eye
observations treat all
stars at the same
distance, on a giant
celestial sphere with
the Earth at its center
 Diurnal vs. Annular Motion

• Diurnal Motion • Annual Motion

– “Daily Motion” – “Yearly Motion”
– Sun, Moon, planets,
and stars rise in the east
– Due to the Earth’s
and set in the west revolution (orbit
– Due to the Earth’s around the Sun)
rotation – Causes the Sun to
move around the
Celestial Sphere
over the year.
 Diurnal Motion
• Daily motion can be
explained by the rotation
of the Earth underneath
the celestial sphere
• The north and south
celestial poles are
located directly above
the Earth’s north and
south poles
• The celestial equator lies
directly above the
Earth’s equator.
Star trails

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120712.html
 In class question 2a
If the angle between this
point and the horizon
is 30 degrees then:
A) You are at the north
pole.
B)You are at 60 degrees
latitude.
C)You are at 30 degrees
north latitude.
D)You are at 30 degrees
south latitude.
E) You are at 60 degrees
south latitude.
 Annual Motion

• Other motions (like annual motion) are the motion of

things around on the celestial sphere.
• We talk about motions compared to the celestial sphere
but we tell time by where the Sun is.
 Annual Motion
• A given star rises 3
minutes 56 seconds
earlier each night
• This annual motion is
caused by the Earth’s
motion around the Sun,
the result of projection
• We use the periodic
annual motion to mark
the year
The Ecliptic
• The path of the Sun
through the stars on
the celestial sphere is
called the ecliptic
• The constellations
along the ecliptic are
the Zodiac.
 Question 2b
The motion of the sun across the celestial
sphere is caused by ____ and the motion of
the celestial sphere is caused by _____.
1) the Earth's rotation; the Earth's orbit
2) the Sun's rotation; the Earth's rotation
3) the Earth's orbit; the Earth's rotation
4) the Sun's rotation; the Earth's orbit
 How astronomers describe
numbers
• Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-
bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the
road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• To describe space we use different units. Things like
– Astronomical Units (AU)
– Light years
– Parsecs
• We can also use metric prefixes like kilo-, mega-, giga- etc.
• But some times there's no way around it and we need to compare
very big numbers to very small ones.
• To do that we use exponents, logarithms, and scientific notation.
 Combining Exponents
If we want to multiply numbers (factors)
together we must ADD the exponents:
2 x 10 = 20
Log(2)=0.3
Log(10)=1
0.3 1 1.3
10 x 10 =10
 Combining Exponents
If we want to divide numbers (factors)
together we must SUBTRACT the
exponents:
10 / 2 = 5
Log(10)=1
Log(2)=0.3
101 / 100.3=100.7
 Combining Exponents
If we want to raise a number to a power
together we must multiply the exponents:
2
20 = (2 x 10)
2

1 2
=(2 x 10 )
1 2
= 2 x (10 )
2

2
=4 x 10
=400
 But let’s come back to this a minute...

If we want to multiply numbers (factors)

together we must ADD the exponents:
2 x 10 = 20
Log(2)=0.3
Log(10)=1
0.3 1 1.3
10 x 10 =10
 Logarithms
Multiplying numbers is the same as adding
their logs:
log(A x B) = log(A) + log(B)

On a “log plot” similar distances are similar

factors (i.e. doubling a number will always
be the same distance regardless of the size
of the number.)
 Logarithms
2 x 10 = 20 2 x 100=200 2 x 1,000=2,000
Log(2) = 0.3 Log(2) = 0.3 Log(2)=0.3
Log(10) = 1 Log(100)=2 Log(1,000)=3
0.3+1 =1.3 0.3+2=2.3 0.3+3=3.3
1.3=Log(20) 2.3=log(200) 3.3=log(2,000)
1.3 2.3 3.3
10 =20 10 =200 10 =2,000
Number Log Logarithmic Interval
1 0.0
1.2

2 0.3 1

4 0.6
0.8

0.6

8 0.9
0.4

16 1.2 0.2

32 1.5 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2

64 1.8
Object Distance Period Logarithmic Plot
Mercury 0.387 0.2409
Planet Data
Venus 0.723 0.6152 3

Earth 1.000 1.0000 2.5

2
Mars 1.52 1.88
1.5

Jupiter 5.20 11.86

Log Period 1

Saturn 9.58 29.46 0.5

Uranus 19.2 84.01 -1 -0.5

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2

-0.5
Neptune 30.0 164.79
-1

Pluto 39.5 247.68 Log Distance

 Log – Log plot
Quantities which make a straight line on a log
plot are related by powers or the quantities.
In this case period squared = distance cubed
The slope of the line tells us the powers of the
quantities
This type of relationship is called a “Power
Law”
 The Celestial Sphere
• The north and south
celestial poles are
located directly above
the Earth’s north and
south poles
• The celestial equator lies
directly above the
Earth’s equator.
• The ecliptic doesn't line
up with... anything.
The Ecliptic’s Tilt
 Solstices and Equinoxes
• Points on horizon where Sun rises and sets changes periodically
throughout year
• In summer months of Northern hemisphere, the Sun rises north
of east and sets north of west
• In winter months of Northern hemisphere, the Sun rises south of
east and sets south of west
• The solstices (about June 21 and December 21) are when the Sun
rises at the most extreme north and south points
• The equinoxes (equal day and night and about March 21 and
September 23) are when the Sun rises directly east
• Ancients marked position of Sun rising and setting to determine
the seasons (e.g., Stonehenge)
Solstices and Equinoxes
 Question 2c
This canal in
Tempe AZ runs
due east-west.
This photo was
taken near:
A) the Summer
Solstice
B) the Winter
Solstice
C) the Equinox

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100321.html
 Angular size
An object’s angular size is how big it appears.
Larger, more distant, objects have the same angular size as
smaller, less distant ones.

Sun
Us

An object's angular size is proportional to it's radius and

inversely proportional to its distance.
 Planets and the Zodiac

• The planets (Greek for • Motion and location of the

“wanderers”) do not follow
the same cyclic behavior of
the stars
• The planets move relative to
the stars in a very narrow
band centered about the
ecliptic
planets in the sky is a
combination of all the planets’
orbits being nearly in the same
plane and their relative speeds
about the Sun
 Planets and the Zodiac

• Apparent motion
of planets is
usually from west
to east relative to
the stars, although
on a daily basis,
the planets always
rise in the east
 Planets and the Zodiac

• We can measure the position

of planets (or anything else)
in ecliptic coordinates.
• The angle of an object above
or below the line of the
ecliptic is an object's ecliptic
latitude.
• The angle of an object around
the ecliptic is an object's
ecliptic longitude.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecliptic_coordinate_system
 Orbits of planets
Planets all orbit the Sun in
roughly the same plane –
the ecliptic.
Two planets orbit closer to
the Sun than the Earth.
The other planets orbit
farther than the Earth from
the Sun
 Motion in the Sky

A planet is in conjunction
when its ecliptic longitude is
the same as the sun's.

A planet is in opposition
when its ecliptic longitude is
180 degrees from the Sun.

Mercury and Venus are at
maximum elongation when
they appear to be their farthest
from the Sun in the sky
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Positional_astronomy.svg
 Motion in the Sky

Venus and Mercury orbit
closer to the the Sun than
the Earth.

They are never seen in
opposition.

Maximum elongation is
between 18° and 28°for
Mercury.

Maximum elongation is
between 45° and 47°for
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Positional_astronomy.svg Venus.
 Appearance and Phases
When Venus is on the far
side of the Sun, it is
distant, small and full.
This is called superior
conjunction.
As Venus moves in between
Earth and the Sun it gets
larger and shows a smaller
phase. This is called http://www.spacestationinfo.com/phases-of-venus.htm

inferior conjunction.
 Appearance and Phases
At superior conjunction
Venus is small and as a
result not very bright.
At inferior conjunction
Venus is in a “new” phase
and not very bright.
Venus is brightest in
between these two
extremes. http://www.spacestationinfo.com/phases-of-venus.htm
 Retrograde Motion

• Occasionally, a planet will move from east to west relative to the

stars; this is called retrograde motion
• Explaining retrograde motion was one of the main reasons
astronomers ultimately rejected the idea of the Earth being located
at the center of the solar system
 Retrograde Motion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_retrograde_motion

• By applying Kepler's laws we can explain retrograde motion.

• Since the “inside” planet has a smaller period, it passes the
“outer” planet.
• As is passes the “outer” seems to be moving backwards.
Retrograde Motion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_retrograde_motion
 Retrograde Motion

http://twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3004739

http://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/nightsky/retrograde/
 Question 2d
Venus is observed in what we
could describe as first quarter
phase(i.e. Half light and half
dark). Venus therefore,
A) Is near inferior conjunction
B) Is near superior
conjunction
C) Is near opposition
D) Is near maximum
elongation http://www.spacestationinfo.com/phases-of-venus.htm
 The Moon
• Rises in the east and
sets in the west with
the celestial sphere
• The Moon moves
from west to east
relative to the
celestial sphere
(roughly the width of
the Moon in one
hour)
The Phases of the Moon
• During a period of
about 30 days, the
Moon goes through a
complete set of phases:
new, waxing crescent,
first quarter, waxing
gibbous, full, waning
gibbous, third quarter,
waning crescent
 The Phases of the Moon

– The phase cycle is the origin of the month (derived

from the word moon) as a time period
– The phases of the Moon are caused by the relative
positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon
 Lunar Rise and Set Times

• The Moon
rises roughly
50 minutes
later each day
 Eclipses

• An eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon

are directly in line with each other
• A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes
between the Sun and Earth, with the Moon casting
its shadow on the Earth causing a midday sky to
become dark as night for a few minutes
Solar Eclipse from Space
 Lunar Eclipses

• A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes

between the Sun and Moon, with the Earth
casting its shadow on the Moon giving it a dull
red color
 Rarity of Eclipses

• Because of the Moon’s tilt • Twice a year the Moon’s

relative to the ecliptic, orbit will pass through the
eclipses will not occur at Sun giving the possibility
every new and full Moon of an eclipse – these times
are called eclipse seasons
 Eclipse Seasons

• Since the Moon’s orbit tilts • When a solar eclipse occurs at

nearly in the same direction new Moon, conditions are
through the year, twice a year right for a lunar eclipse to
the Moon’s orbit will pass occur at the full Moon either
through the Sun giving the before or after the solar eclipse
possibility of an eclipse –
these times are called eclipse
seasons
 Eclipse Periods

• Eclipses do not occur every 30 days since the

Moon’s orbit is tipped relative to the Earth’s
orbit
• The tipped orbit allows the shadow of the
Earth (Moon) to miss the Moon (Earth)
 Question 2d
A)This image
was taken
during:
B) the peak of a
total solar eclipse
C) the peak of a
total lunar
eclipse
D) a partial solar
eclipse
E) a partial lunar
eclipse
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120606.html
During a
solar
eclipse
the
moon
almost
exactly
covers
the Sun.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131108.html