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    Daily Motion Lab

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    2e9818bd
    This document contains observations of the night sky made over a period of 4-5 hours. A constellation in the southern sky (Corvus) was observed moving from south to west and lowering in the sky. The Big Dipper was seen moving in a circular pattern around Polaris. Polaris maintained the same position in the sky throughout observations. Based on these observations, the document concludes that the Earth rotates from west to east while Polaris remains fixed.

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    Daily Motion Lab

    Uploaded by

    2e9818bd
    169 views3 pages
    This document contains observations of the night sky made over a period of 4-5 hours. A constellation in the southern sky (Corvus) was observed moving from south to west and lowering in the sky. The Big Dipper was seen moving in a circular pattern around Polaris. Polaris maintained the same position in the sky throughout observations. Based on these observations, the document concludes that the Earth rotates from west to east while Polaris remains fixed.

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    This document contains observations of the night sky made over a period of 4-5 hours. A constellation in the southern sky (Corvus) was observed moving from south to west and lowering in the sky. The Big Dipper was seen moving in a circular pattern around Polaris. Polaris maintained the same position in the sky throughout observations. Based on these observations, the document concludes that the Earth rotates from west to east while Polaris remains fixed.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    169 views3 pages

    Daily Motion Lab

    Uploaded by

    2e9818bd
    This document contains observations of the night sky made over a period of 4-5 hours. A constellation in the southern sky (Corvus) was observed moving from south to west and lowering in the sky. The Big Dipper was seen moving in a circular pattern around Polaris. Polaris maintained the same position in the sky throughout observations. Based on these observations, the document concludes that the Earth rotates from west to east while Polaris remains fixed.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    Daily Motion Lab

    NAME: ___________________________Course Section: __________ DATE: ____________



    On one night, shortly after sunset, find the Big Dipper (Ursa Major), the North Star
    (Polaris) and a constellation in the southern sky such as ORION, PEGASUS or
    SAGITTARIUS for example. NOTE!!! Stand in the exact same spot(s) each time you go
    out to look. Mark it with a stick in the ground or a rock or a crack in the sidewalk.

    1. Find a constellation in the south.) Note its position in the sky (e.g. SE, SSW, Azimuth
    150, and Altitude 30). At hourly intervals, for the next 4 or 5 hours, repeat the
    observations and record your findings below.

    Constellation Name Position in sky (direction + degrees above horizon) Time
    Corvus S Azimuth 182 , Alt 26 9 PM
    Corvus SW Azimuth 200 , Alt 24 10 PM
    Corvus SW Azimuth 213 , Alt 19 11 PM
    Corvus SW Azimuth 226 , Alt 11 12 PM
    Corvus SW Azimuth 237 , Alt 2 1 AM


    2. Find the BIG DIPPER (Ursa Major). Note the time and sketch its position in the sky.
    Record your observations below. At hourly intervals, for the next 4 or 5 hours, repeat the
    observations.


    Daily Motion Lab (page 2)



    3. Find POLARIS. Note its position in the sky. At hourly intervals, for the next 4 or 5
    hours, repeat the observations and record your findings below.


    Position in sky (direction + degrees above horizon) Time
    North - Azimuth 359, Alt 39 9 PM
    North - Azimuth 359, Alt 39 10 PM
    North - Azimuth 359, Alt 39 11 PM
    North - Azimuth 0, Alt 39 12 PM
    North - Azimuth 0, Alt 39 1 AM



    4. What conclusions do you draw about the daily motion in each of the three cases?

    Constellation in the southern half of the sky:

    We were watching the constellation Corvus for 4-5 hours and after that we can say
    that it kept moving from South to West at the same time it kept moving towards
    the horizon. So we can say that the part of Southern sky is moving from East to
    West which means the Earth is moving from West to East.

    Big Dipper:
    From our observations and plotting them on the given table we can say that Big
    Dipper moved from North to East and kept moving in a circular pattern around the
    Polaris.

    Polaris:
    The position of Polaris remained the same throughout our observation period.



    Daily Motion Lab (page 3)


    5. If you could see Polaris and these constellations in the sky 12 hours after you started
    observing, how would you describe how they moved and where would they be in the sky?

    Polaris would be at the same position but Big Dipper would be in the opposite
    position where we observed 12 hours before. While Corvus would not be visible
    after 12 hours as its azimuth and altitude keeps decreasing. Since we know that it
    was going towards South West and to the horizon it would be on the other side of
    the Earth from where we were standing.

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