Week 3: Rising and setting

Objectives

You may have noticed from your work with the planisphere that some stars never set - they are always above the horizon - and that some constellations cannot be seen from Birmingham.

By the end of this lesson, you will

• be able to name and recognise  3 circumpolar constellations
• be able to name and recognise 3 constellations that rise and set at the latitude of Birmingham
• use the latitude of your location and the declination of a star to calculate (!) if a star rises or sets or is circumpolar

Web Links

Northern Circumpolar Constellations

This page describes the circumpolar constellations from the point of view of Oklahoma (latitude 35 degrees North). Do we need to change any of this page for Great Barr (at 52.5 degrees North)?

The Constellations

Page from the National Maritime Museum and Royal Greenwich Observatory about the constellations. The RGO museum in Greenwich has a huge collection of star charts, instruments and clocks, as well as the famous Greenwich Meridian.

Windows on the Universe - the Constellations

Quite a nice page on the constellations with seasonal divisions and graphics taken from older charts. Lots of information, and I especially like the choice of beginner, intermediate and advanced buttons on the page.

Sunrise Sunset

Nice page from Pat Holleran with some photos of sunsets and explanations of some of the features of sunrise and set, including the green flash. Pages like this are made by ordinary people - why not have a go yourself?

Activity

This week is a continuation of activity 1. If the evening is clear, we will go into the yard and try to identify some constellations that are circumpolar from Birmingham and some that will rise and set. You can check your suppositions using your planisphere from last week.
 

Keith Burnett
Last modified: 10th June 02