Lecture 1

Naked-eye
Observations:
Sun & Moon

Total Solar Eclipse, 2012 Nov 13,

Australia

Part 1 - Sun

Sunrise, 2008 Summer Solstice,

Stonehenge

Sunrise
The direction of the
rising Sun changes
throughout the
year.
Only on the
equinoxes are the
rising point due
east.

Arny & Schneider, FIGURE 1.13A

Changing Direction
The Sun will always rise and set furthest to
the south during the day of Winter
Solstice, and furthest to the north during
Summer Solstice.

Greec
e

Earths Rotation &

Revolution
The period from one noon to the next
is the 24-hour solar day. The daily
progress of the Sun across the sky is
a consequence of Earths rotation.
Earth rotates on its central axis while
at the same time resolving around
the Sun.
Earth takes 365 days to orbit the Sun.

Inclination of Rotation Axis

Earths rotation axis is inclined at an angle of
23.5 to the plane of its orbit.
The summer solstice represents the location
in Earths orbit where our planets North pole
comes closest to pointing in the direction of
the Sun. This occurs on or near June 21.
Six months later, the North Pole points
farther from the Sun. We have reached the
winter solstice.
The vernal (autumnal) equinox occurs in
northern spring (fall), on or near March 21
(September 21).

Stonehenge
Perhaps the best-known
archaeoastronomical
site.
It dates from the Stone
Age.
Researchers think it was
an early astronomical
observatory of sortsa
kind of three-dimensional
calendar or almanac.
The largest stones weigh
up to 50 tons and were
transported from
quarries many miles
away.
US four-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson ran around
Stonehenge with the London 2012 flame at sunrise Thursday in
what he called a "magic" moment.

Ancient Stone Circle

Reconstruction drawing of
Stonehenge as it might have
appeared in 1000BC.

Heel Stone

On summer solstice, as seen

from the center of the stone
circle, the Sun rose directly over
the heel stone.

Apparent Motion of the Sun

On the equator, we
will observe that the
Sun is farthest north
during summer
solstice and farthest
south during winter
solstice.
Solar altitude is the
same during both
summer and winter
solstice.

Northern Hemisphere
On the northern
and southern
hemisphere, the
noontime Sun is
highest in the sky
during summer
solstice and lowest
in the sky during
winter solstice.

Apparent Motion of the Sun

2008
June,
Summer
Solstice
2008
March,
Vernal
Equinox
2007 Dec,
Winter
Solstice

The picture is a composite of hourly images

taken of the Sun above Bursa, Turkey.

Seasons
The tilt of Earths rotation axis is
responsible for the seasons.
Two factors combine to cause the
seasons.
1. There are more hours of daylight during
the summer than in winter.
2. When the Sun is high in the sky in summer,
rays of sunlight striking Earths surface are
more concentrated than in winter. As a
result, the Sun feels hotter.

Hours of Daylight
At the equinoxes,
exactly half of the
sun's circular path
lies above the
horizon.
In June, considerably
more than half of the
circle is above the
horizon.
In December, much
less than half the
circle is visible.

Solar Heights
summ
er

If you took a picture of

the Sun at the same
time each day, the
Sun would trace out
an analemma over
the course of a year.

wint
er

A composite of 46 separate Sun

photographs taken during 2003 in

Analemma
Because of the Earth's annual revolution
around the Sun in an orbit that is elliptical
and tilted relative to the plane of the
equator, an observer at a fixed point on
the Earth sees the Sun appear to move in
an analemma around a mean position,
taking a year to do so.
For an object with a circular orbit, the
analemma would be a figure of eight with
northern and southern lobes equal in size.
For an object with an no axial tilt, the
analemma would be a straight line.

Earths Elliptical Orbit

This composite neatly compares two

pictures of the Sun taken with the
same telescope and camera on the
dates of Perihelion (closest

Sunset

The Sun appears orange and dimmer than at noon.

Orange & Dim

Rayleigh found that blue light is much more easily
scattered than red light, basically because the
wavelength of blue light (400 nm) is closer to the
size of air molecules than the wavelength of red
light (700 nm)Rayleigh scattering.

Rainbow at
Sunset

Near the Horizon

At dusk, with the Sun
near the horizon,
sunlight must pass
through much more
atmosphere.
The blue component of
the Suns light is
almost entirely
scattered out of the
line of sight, and even
the red component is
diminished in intensity.

Part 2 - Moon
Full Moon

Near the horizon, the lunar orb

may have seemed to loom large,
swollen in appearance by the
famous Moon illusion.

Crescent
Moon

Moon Illusion
The Moon appears to
be very nearly the
same size no matter
its location on the sky.
Foreground objects
make a horizon Moon
seem farther in the
distance. The mind
interprets more
distant objects as
wider.

Lunar Phases
The Moons appearance undergoes a
regular cycle of changes, taking roughly
29.5 days to complete.
The word month derives from Moon ( ).
The Chinese and Islamic calendars in use
today are still based squarely on the lunar
cycle, each month beginning with the new
Moon.
The modern Western calendar retains months
as convenient subdivisions, but they have no
particular lunar significance.

Moon Orbits Earth

The Moon emits no light of its own.
Instead, it shines by reflected sunlight.
Half of the Moons surface is
illuminated by the Sun at any instant.
Because the Moon orbits Earth, the
visible fraction of the lunar sunlit face
varies from night to night.
YouTube: The Phases of the Moon

Crescent Moon

This telescopic image captures

strong Earthshine from a
crescent Moon.

Earthshine is Earthlight
illuminating the Moon's

More Crescent Moons

Lunar
Eclips
e?

Crescent Lunar
Phase
Lunar
Eclipse?

Lunar Eclipses
Earths shadow
sweeps across the
Moon, temporarily
blocking the Suns
light and darkening
the Moon.

Arny & Schneider, FIGURE 1.21

Partial Eclipse
2012 June 4

We see that the Earths shadow

on the Moon is curved.

Earths Curved Shadow

2008 August

This composite image uses successive pictures

recorded to trace out a large part of the umbra's

Total Eclipse

2011
December

CNA: Singaporeans gather to

see lunar eclipse

Deep Red Coloration

During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon often
acquires an eerie, deep red coloration.
A small amount of sunlight is reddened by
Earths atmosphere (Rayleigh scattering) and
refracted (bent) onto the Moons surface.

Fix, FIGURE 9.11

Solar Eclipses

Partial Eclipse
When the Moon and
the Sun are in exactly
the same direction,
as seen from Earth,
an eclipse occurs.
In a partial solar
eclipse, the Moons
path is slightly off
center, and only a
portion of the Suns
face is covered.

2012 May 20, Texas,

USA

Total Eclipse
The day is briefly
turned into night.
Planets and some
stars become
visible in the
daytime.
Time-Lapse: A Total
Solar Eclipse
2008 August, Great Wall,
China

Corona
We can see the
Suns ghostly outer
atmosphere, or
corona.
Movie: 1994
Eclipse

2010
July

Easter Island

Diamond Ring
2012 Nov
13

As the total phase the solar

eclipse came to an end, sunlight
streaming past the edge of the
Moon created the fleeting
appearance of a glistening
diamond ring in the sky.

Diamond
s

Sunlight streaming through

gaps in the rugged profile of
the lunar limb creates the
brilliant but fleeting Baily's

Annular Eclipse

1992
January

The Moons orbit is

not exactly circular.
The Moon may be
far enough from
Earth that its disk
fails to cover the
disk of the Sun
completely.
Roughly half of all
solar eclipses are
annular.

Moons Elliptical Orbit

Future Eclipses
Because we know the orbits of Earth
and the Moon to great accuracy, we
can predict eclipses far into the
future.
Weblinks: NASA Eclipse Web Site
Eclipse Calculator Solar Eclipses in
Singapore

Two Eclipse Seasons

The Moons orbit is slightly inclined to the
ecliptic (at an angle of 5.2).
In an unfavorable configuration, the Moon
lies above or below the plane of the ecliptic.
In a favorable configuration, Earth, Moon,
and Sun are precisely aligned, and an
eclipse occurs.
There are two periods, known as eclipse
seasons, at which an eclipse can occur.
Simulation: Eclipses

Moons Orbital Inclination

Precession of Moons Orbit

The eclipse seasons gradually
progress backward through the
calendar, occurring about 19 days
earlier each year.
The gravitational tug of the Sun
causes the Moons orbital orientation
to change slowly with time.
Animation: Precession of Moons Orbit

The Visibility of an Eclipse

A total solar eclipse
can be seen from
only a small
portion of Earths
daytime side.
A lunar eclipse is
simultaneously
visible from all
locations on
Earths night side.
Fix, FIGURE 9.12

Moons Shadow

Annular Solar Eclipse, 2012 May 20