|
 


 

  

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Use SkyGazer or StarCal to
find out!
 ë

 


   



  

 
 




  


@o. If it is, then

± The northern and southern hemisphere should have
the same season, not opposite season like we have.
± We should experience real seasonal changes in
Hawaii also.
±«
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· 
 n

 is one of two opposite points
on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator and
ecliptic intersect.
·  
  
is either of the two times of the Ecliptic Plane
year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the
Spring Equinox
equator. Winter Solstice

± Spring Equinox ~ March 21

± Summer Solstice ~ June 21
± Fall Equinox ~ September 22
Celestial Equator
± Winter Solstice ~ December 21

· ë







 Fall Equinox
 


± The actual length of a year is about 365 ¼ days (365
days, 5 hours, 49 minutes), not exactly 365 days. We Fall Solstice
have to add an extra day to a year every four years to
keep the seasons synchronized with the seasons (leap
year). Over a longer period of time, we need to skip a
leap year to compensate the extra minutes we add in
every leap year to keep the calendar in sync.
 ë

 
 

 



· The seasons
 are caused by the 23.5º tilt of its
rotation axis, and its revolution around the Sun.
· lthough the distance of the Earth to the Sun changes
slightly as it orbits around the Sun, its effect is not big
enough to cause the four seasons.
· The seasons for other planets may be due to the
changing distance to the Sun, not the tilt of their
rotation axis«For example, the orbit of Pluto has a
very large eccentricity.
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. World tlas (map of Earth)? @o change.

B. Star chart (map of sky)?
' Location of celestial north would be different
 
 

U We will still have four seasons, since the tilt of the rotation axis of
Earth with respect to the ecliptic plane is not changed. But the time of
the season would be changed. Summer would be in January, and
winter would be in July.
D. Constellations?
U The patterns of stars in the sky would not change much«but their
position with respect to celestial north would be different).
l homework#2
 ë


  


!
· We see the moon changes its
appearances and position in
the sky with approximately
30-day cycle.
· Unlike the stars, Moon can
also be seen during the day.
· We also see that the Moon is
always involved in eclipses,
and
· Its position seems to be well
correlated with the tide of the ë 
   
ocean. 

  

· Understanding the motion of 
  
the Moon with respect to the 
  
Sun and the Earth will explain 
÷
½
these phenomena.
 
 

"
" # 

1. Earth orbits the Sun every 365 ¼ days
2. Moon orbits Earth every 29 ½ days
3. The orbit of the Moon around Earth is
tilted about 18.5 degrees with repect to
the ecliptic plane
4. Moon¶s orbit around Earth precesses with a
period of 18.5 years

Click on the image to start animation:

This is what the orbit of the Moon looks
like«
Click on the image to
start animation
· The changing phase of the Moon«
· The un-changing face of the Moon«
· Eclipses
± Lunar Eclipse
± Solar Eclipse
 ë


 
 


· The  
(how much and which side of the Moon is
illuminated) of the Moon changes with about one month
period«
· The (
(the features on the surface of the Moon) does not
change at all«
 ë
 
 


The phase of the

Moon depends on
the relative position
between the Sun,
the Earth, and the
Moon«
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The rotation period of the Moon with respect to the universe is
 

as
the rotation period of the Moon around the Earth.

Is this a coincidence? @
)l *
+ 

,
· The changing phase of the Moon«
· The un-changing face of the Moon«
· 

± $


± 

 
$




The total or partial obscuring
of one celestial body by
another«

The obscuration can be either

· One celestial body blocking
the view to the other:
± Solar eclipse---Moon
blocking Earth¶s view to the
Sun«
· One celestial body is in the
shadow of another:
± Lunar eclipse---Moon is in
the shadow of the Earth«

Lunar eclipse image from http://www.mreclipse.com

 

The solar corona is
revealed during a 



· The corona is about one
millionth times fainter
than the disk of the Sun.
· Similar to observing stars
next to the Sun, the light
from the disk must be
blocked (by the moon, or
by special occulter in the
telescope) before we can
see the solar corona.
 O 


· The Earth and Moon cast shadows.
· When either passes through the other¶s shadow, we have an

.
· Because the Sun is an extended bright object, there are two different
regions of the shadow:
± Penumbra is partially illuminated
± Umbra is completely dark

 

   






 $



· Lunar eclipses happens
when the Moon passes
through the shadow of the
Earth
± -



  


(  


 



· Lunar eclipses can be
, 

 , or
.
· Lunar eclipses can occur
only at 

Click on the image to start animation

 


· Solar eclipses occur when
the shadow of the Moon
falls on the surface of
Earth
± ´ 


 
 

 





· Solar eclipses can be
, 

%or 
· Solar eclipses can occur
only at

&

Click on the image to start animation

 

When total or ring solar eclipse happens«
· The diameter of the umbra of lunar shadow is no more than
270 km«you can see the total eclipse only if you are in a very
narrow and long eclipse path.
± In the 1990 total eclipse that passed through the big island of Hawaii,
people on Maui and Oahu cannot see the total eclipse!
· The diameter of the penumbra of the lunar shadow is about
7000 km (Earth¶s diameter is about 13,000 km). So, the region
that partial eclipse can be seen is quite large«and people on
Maui and Oahu could see partial eclipse!
l Eclipse Prediction
 ë

What¶s the difference between a 
and  eclipse?
The distance between the Earth and the Sun.

You don¶t see the Sun at all if (


(

you are in the umbra

 .

You see the partial Sun if

you are in the penumbra
Click on the Sun to
start animation
You see the whole Sun
outside of the shadow
 


·
ing eclipse happens when the Moon does not
completely block the Sun, like partial eclipses«

· The umbra is @OT

completely dark!
· You see a ring if you are (

(

in here

 .

You see the partial Sun if

you are in the penumbra
Click on the Sun to start
animation
You see the whole Sun if you are
outside of the shadow
  

'
&





 
· Like the Earth¶s orbit
around the Sun, the orbit of
the Moon around the Earth
is not a perfect circle.
± Eccentricity of Earth¶s orbit is
~ 0.016
· The distance between the
Moon and Earth change.
This is why we have 

and  eclipses
± Eccentricity of Lunar orbit is
~ 0.05
 





· What if the Moon is closer (say twice as close)
to the Earth?
· What if the Moon is farther (say twice as far)
away from the Earth?
· What if the Moon is two-time bigger?
· What if the Moon is two-time smaller?
 Ñ&( 



(
· Do we have one solar and one lunar eclipse every
month, since we have a full and a new Moon every
month?

 

   






 Ñ&( 



(
· Do we have one solar and one lunar eclipse every six month,
when the nodes line-up with the Earth-Moon line?
± @O! Because of the precession of the lunar orbit!

)
: the two

points when the
Moon crosses the
ecliptic plane
· Only when the
nodes are
located right
between the
Earth-Sun line
can solar
eclipses occur.
 ë



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( 
· The orbital motion of the
Moon around Earth slowly
precesses with an 18.6 year
cycle as the Earth orbit the
Sun«

Click on the image to start animation

 Ñ&( 



(
· The combination of these motions of the Moon
1. 29 ½ day orbital motion around Earth,
2. 5º tilt of the orbit w.r.t. the ecliptic, and
3. Precession of the lunar orbit w.r.t. the ecliptic,
· Eclipse occurs with a period of about 18 years and
11-1/3 days l 3

· But these eclipses don¶t happen at exactly the same
location over the Soras cycle«
 

 
Solar eclipses from 2004 to 2030
Knowing the orbit
of the Earth and
the Moon, we can
now calculate the
time and path of
solar eclipses with
great accuracy.

lBack to Eclipse Path

 
#
· The parties involved: Sun, Moon, and Earth
· Motion of the Moon around Earth:
1. 29 ½ day revolution of the Moon around the Sun
2. Tilt (~5º) of the lunar orbit (around the Earth) w.r.t. the  plane (Earth¶s
orbital plane around the Sun)
3. The precession of the lunar orbit w.r.t. Earth-Sun direction
· Solar eclipse happens when the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun.
· The size and distance of the Moon need to be just right for us to see total
eclipse.
± The changing distance between the Earth and the Moon explains the
occurrences of the total and ring solar eclipses.
± The changing distance between the Earth and the Sun, and the Earth and the
Moon explains the difference in the duration of the solar eclipses.
· Lunar eclipse happens when Earth is between the Moon and the Sun.