PHYS 1210 Exploring the Universe

Spring 2017
Prof. Tim Cook
Lecture #3
 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.
• The half of the Monday labs are meeting
today.
• All other labs will start over the next two weeks.

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
 Blackboard On-Campus Access Information for Students
Login Information:
1. Go to https://lowell.umassonline.net/
2. Select the Lowell On Campus Login button
3. Enter your UMass Lowell username and password and click the Login button.
• Use your @student.uml.edu credentials

How to Get Technical Help:

If you are having problems with Blackboard, you can request help in three ways:
• Enter your own service desk ticket: helpdesk.uml.edu
• Email: Help@uml.edu
• Phone: (24/7)
• On campus, dial ext. 4-4357 or
• Call toll free: 866-435-7437

Blackboard Tutorials:
Once logged into Blackboard, information for students can be found by selecting
the Student tab in the blue ribbon near the top of the page.
 Registering your clicker

1) Go to Blackboard
2) Open the “Start Here” folder
3) Go to the “UML Turning Account Registration” link to
register your clicker and license.
4) Use the left icon to register your license and the center icon
to register your clicker.
 Clicker grades

Bring your response pad (clicker) to every class as questions will
be given in each lecture.

No makeup questions will be given.

In-class questions for the first 6 lectures will be for practice only
and will not count toward your grade.

Correct answers to In class questions will count for 3 points.
Incorrect answers will count for 2 points.

Using more than one response pad constitutes academic
dishonesty.

See http://www.uml.edu/catalog/undergraduate/policies/academic_dishonesty.htm.
 Clicker help
Students can stop at any Help Center to seek
assistance with clickers.

Walk-In:
1. University Crossing, Suite M50 - 8:30 a.m. to
5:00 p.m.
2. Lydon Library, 1st floor - 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
3. O'Leary Library, 1st floor - during the academic
year 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
 Question 3a

The correct answer is C.

 Question 3b
How much time is there
between when a star
rises and when it sets?
A) Less than 12 hours.
B) About 12 hours.
C) More than 12 hours.
D) It depends on the http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120712.html
star.
Measuring the Diameter of Astronomical Objects

α
l= 2πd× °
360
l – linear size of object
d – distance to object
α – angular size of object
We measure angles in
degrees, arcminutes, and
arcseconds.
 Planets and the Zodiac

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

“wanderers”) do not follow planets in the sky is a
the same cyclic behavior of combination of all the planets’
the stars orbits being nearly in the same
• The planets move relative to plane and their relative speeds
the stars in a very narrow about the Sun
band centered about the
ecliptic
 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. http://www.spacestationinfo.com/phases-of-venus.htm

This is called 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
 Question 3c
Venus is observed in a narrow
crescent phase. 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
 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 understanding how planets orbit we can explain retrograde

motion.
• The “inside” planet has a smaller period, it goes faster, and 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
More images

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

http://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/nightsky/retrograde/
 Tycho Brahe Johannes Kepler
(1546-1601) (1571-1630)

•Designed and built Using Tycho Brahe’s data, found

instruments of far greater the laws that describe how
accuracy than any earlier ones planets move in the sky. He
•Made meticulous found that they move around the
Sun, in ellipses with the Sun
measurements of the planets located at one of the two foci.
 Ellipses and eccentricity

An ellipse is a type of conic e=1
section. e=2

The size of ellipse is described by it
semi-major axis.

The shape of a conic section is
described by its eccentricity (e). e=0.5 e=0
F

If a conic section has e=0 it is a
circle.
If a conic section has e between 0
and 1 it is an ellipse.

If a conic section has e = 1 it is a
parabola.

If a conic section has e>1 it is a
hyperbola. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabolic_trajectory
 Kepler’s 1 Lawst

• Planets move in
elliptical orbits with
the Sun at one focus
of the ellipse
 Kepler’s 2nd Law
• The orbital speed of a
planet varies so that a
line joining the Sun
and the planet will
sweep out equal areas
in equal time intervals
• The closer a planet is
to the Sun, the faster it
moves
 Kepler’s 3rd Law
• The amount of time a
planet takes to orbit
the Sun is related to its
orbit’s size
• The square of the
period, P, is
proportional to the
cube of the semimajor
axis, a
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

 Kepler’s 3rd Law
• This law implies that a
planet with a larger
average distance from
the Sun, which is the
semimajor axis
distance, will take
longer to circle the
Sun
• Third law hints at the
nature of the force
holding the planets in
orbit
 Kepler’s 3rd Law
• Third law can be
used to determine
the semimajor axis,
a, if the period, P, is
known, a
measurement that is
not difficult to
make
 Question 3c
In the orbit to the
right, the planet is
going the fastest at
the:

1) brown spot
2) red spot
3) green spot
4) blue spot
 Question 3d

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/questions/ancientastro
/ca_ancientastro_northpoint.html
 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
During a
solar
eclipse
the
moon
almost
exactly
covers
the Sun.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131108.html
 Angular size
The Sun is much larger than the Moon but the Sun is much farther
away than the Moon.
These two things combine to give them both the same angular size.

Sun
Us
Moon

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

and inversely proportional to its distance.
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
 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)
 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
 Question 3g
If a small weather satellite is orbiting the Earth at an altitude
very far above the surface and the large International Space
Station is orbiting the Earth at an altitude close to the surface,
what can you say about the length of time it takes each object
to orbit Earth once if neither is using rocket propulsion?

A)The nearby, large space station has a longer orbital period.

B)The distant, small weather satellite has a longer orbital
period.
C)They have the same orbital period.
D)Neither can orbit if they are not using rocket propulsion.
 Question 3e

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/questions/anc
ientastro/ca_ancientastro_horizontozenith.html
 Question 3f

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/questions/ancientastro/ca_
ancientastro_keymound.html