Astronomy:

Astronomy:

1. Page 9 to 11 in astronomy handbook. Go over basic first aid for hypothermia, heat stroke, bites, and stings. Explain that one should never look directly at the sun, especially through a telescope, even if that telescope has a sun filter. Instead, one should observe the sun by projection (see page 45).

2. Light pollution is when light gets trapped in the atmosphere, as with the greenhouse effect, bouncing in between the air particles. This causes a corona of light to form around the source (if land based) or around the planet (in the case of the sun). It has a tendency to outshine the distant stars, causing them to appear faint or seem to disappear entirely.

3. Binoculars and telescopes allow you to see farther away. Binoculars are smaller and easier to handle, but they cannot see as far as a telescope. They also produce clear images of (relatively) near objects such as the moon, and allow the user to use their depth perception (provided by the use of both eyes). Telescopes are better suited to studying the stars than planets and moons. They can see farther, but are much bulkier. Refracting telescopes have a tendency to flip viewed images upside down, which is annoying if you want to view the moon or a planet, but quite fine if your viewing a star that is so distant that you wouldnt be able to tell top from bottum anyway. Reflecting telescopes are even bigger and bulkier, but they serve the same perpose as refracting telescopes without turning the viewed object upside down.

4. You should be able to see the following constellations: ursa major, ursa minor, Cassiopia, Draco, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila, Bootes, Scorpius, and Sagitarius, of which Leo, virgo, libra, scorpius, and sagitarius are in the zodiac. The stars Arcturus (Bootes), Vega (Lyra), Altair (Aquila), Antares (Scorpius), and Spica (Virgo) are or a magnitude higher than 1. Other conspicuous stars include Polaris (Ursa Minor), Alkaid (Ursa Major), and Caph (Cassiopia). When we see the milky way, we see the outer edge and the center because we are inside or it rather than outside of it. This is similar to how one does not see the entire earth as a sphere, because we are on it.

5. The five most vissable planets are mercury, venus, mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The planets tend to move across the zodiac, in tune with the rotation of the sun.

6. Look on pages 40 and 41 for lunar seas and craters. The moon keeps in orbit through a balancing of inertia and gravity. Gravity pulls the moon towards earth, but the moons inertia causes it to overshoot its target, so it ends up falling in the other direction and missing, and missing, and missing. Its trajectory puts it into a circular motion. See pages 41 through 45 for the moons phases and the eclipses.

7. The sun is composed of hydrogen and helium ions as well as other ions constantly undergoing nuclear fusion and held together by intense mutual gravitational forces. It is an average, medium temperature and medium size star. Its rays heat upt the air on earth, causing temperature differences that cause wind. It also evaporates water, which then condences and rains. Durring a solar flare, the suns rays can even penetrate earths atmosphere and short out communications. Sunspots are cooler parts of the sun caused by twin magnetic poles located therein. They often twist around each other and that causes the magnetic field lines eminating from them to twist. When enough tension builds, the magetic field actually snaps, shooting charged particles out into space in a solar flare. A blue star is the hottest, as it gives of the highest energy light. A red star is the coldest, as it gives of the lowest energy light. A yellow star is in between. An example of a blue star is Rigel in Orion. An example of a yellow star is capella in Auriga. An example of a red star is Antares in scorpius.

8. See instructions.

9. See instructions.