Stars 1 Pathfinder Honor - Arnold's Assorted...

Stars 1 Pathfinder Honor August – December 2011

Stars 1 Lessons.docx page 1 of 12

How fast does light travel in empty space? 299,792,458 meters/second (~186,000 miles/second, ~300,000 kilometers/second) How far does light travel in a year? 1 light-year, ~5.88 trillion (5.88x1012] miles (~6 trillion [6x1012] miles) Earth’s diameter: 7,900 miles Earth’s circumference: 25,000 miles Light goes around earth 7.5 times in 1 second. Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor? Moon Average Distance: 238,857 miles (~240,000 miles, ~386,000 kilometers) Closest: 225,622 miles Farthest: 252,088 miles How do we know so accurately? Reflectors on the moon. Light to moon: 1.28 seconds Closest star: Sun (93x106 miles) Light to sun: 8 minutes 19 seconds Diameter: 865,000 miles sun = basketball earth = housefly head, 84 feet away Next closest star: Proxima Centauri (4.2 light-years) Light to Proxima Centauri: 4.2 years sun = basketball ~22,500 miles Los Angeles to New York City the other way What is the Milky Way? A large gathering of stars and bodies making up one of many galaxies. The portion visible in the night sky of Earth is only a flat view of the galaxy because our solar system is part of it. What is the difference between planets and fixed stars? The word planet means wanderer because the planets appear to wander about the sky relative to the stars. The stars do not move in relation to one another (although they all appear to move together because of the Earth's rotation on its axis). What is a shooting star? A shooting star is not a star at all, but rather a meteor. A meteor is any celestial body (usually quite small) that falls to the Earth. Most burn up in the atmosphere before reaching the surface, leaving a bright, short-lived streak in the sky. What is a constellation? A constellation is a group of stars visibly related to each other in a particular configuration or pattern.



Name and point out 6 constellations. Orion

Ursa Major (Big Dipper)



Ursa Minor (Little Dipper)

Draco

Cassiopeia



Cepheus

Name 2 constellations visible all year. Ursa Major Ursa Minor

Draco Cassiopeia

Cepheus



Draw a chart of the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, and the North Star.

Identify in the sky 8 fixed stars. Betelgeuse (see Orion diagram) Rigel (see Orion diagram) Polaris (in constellation Ursa Minor/Little Dipper)

Sirius (in constellation Canis Major)



Make a diagram of our solar system and be able to name the planets in order from the sun.

1. Mercury 2. Venus 3. Earth

4. Mars 5. Jupiter 6. Saturn

7. Uranus 8. Neptune

My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Noodles

This only shows the order of the planets and their relative sizes (including Pluto, a dwarf planet). The distances of the planets from the Sun are not to scale. Diagram relative positions and movements of earth, sun, and moon. See this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W47Wa7onrIQ. It shows the relative motion of the Earth and Moon around the Sun. It does NOT show the correct speeds, distances, or sizes. What governs tides? The tides are governed by the Moon, and to a lesser extent, by the Sun. What causes eclipse? When the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in a direct line with one another. Solar eclipse: The Moon is between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon's shadow falls on the Earth (blocking the Sun from our view). Lunar eclipse: The Earth is between the Sun and the Moon, and the Earth's shadow falls on the moon. Show positions and area events for eclipses of the sun and moon. See video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqreLkR0MoM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W47Wa7onrIQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqreLkR0MoM



What is the morning star and evening star? Why does it carry both names? This is not a star at all but the Planet Venus. Venus never appears on the opposite horizon from the sun due to its relative location to the sun and Earth. Therefore, it can only be seen in the morning or evening. Explain zenith and nadir. Zenith: Zenith is the point in space directly overhead. Nadir: Nadir is the direction pointing directly below a particular location. Early Writings, page 41: December 16, 1848, the Lord gave me a view of the shaking of the powers of the heavens. I saw that when the Lord said "heaven," in giving the signs recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, He meant heaven, and when He said "earth" He meant earth. The powers of heaven are the sun, moon, and stars. They rule in the heavens. The powers of earth are those that rule on the earth. The powers of heaven will be shaken at the voice of God. Then the sun, moon, and stars will be moved out of their places. They will not pass away, but be shaken by the voice of God. Dark, heavy clouds came up and clashed against each other. The atmosphere parted and rolled back; then we could look up through the open space in Orion, whence came the voice of God. The Holy City will come down through that open space. I saw that the powers of earth are now being shaken and that events come in order. War, and rumors of war, sword, famine, and pestilence are first to shake the powers of earth, then the voice of God will shake the sun, moon, and stars, and this earth also. I saw that the shaking of the powers in Europe is not, as some teach, the shaking of the powers of heaven, but it is the shaking of the angry nations.



Bonus Material What is the aurora borealis? What causes it? Aurora is a luminous glow of the upper atmosphere which is caused by energetic particles that enter the atmosphere from above. The particles originate in the magnetosphere, energized by the solar wind, and are directed by the Earth's magnetic field into the atmosphere. Atmospheric atoms are excited by collisions with the energetic particles, and emit photon as they return to the ground state. See video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaSFAbATPvk. Identify in the sky 8 fixed stars. Arcturus (in constellation Boötes)

Capella (in constellation Auriga)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaSFAbATPvk



Procyon (in constellation Canis Minor)

Castor and Pollux (in constellation Gemini)



Aldebaran (in constellation Taurus)

Deneb (in constellation Cygnus)



Vega (in constellation Lyra)

Altair (in constellation Aquila)

Aids to finding stars

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