Astronomical distances
SI System of measurement
All units are expressed in terms of metres,
Kilograms and seconds
The size of these units can often be much larger
or smaller than is convenient to work with.
Prefixes (milli-, nano-, Mega- etc) can be added to
change the size usually by x103
Alternatively they can be written using scientific
notation eg 1.5 x 10-9
It is always correct to give a measurement using
SI units.
Astronomical Unit
The average
distance from the
Earth to the Sun.
149,597,870 km
Used to measure
distances within the
solar system
Parsec
1 s e c o n d o f a rc
1 p a rs e c
Unit for expressing
distances to stars and
galaxies,
Used by professional
astronomers.
It represents the distance
at which the radius of the
earth's orbit subtends an
angle of one second of arc
1pc = 3.26 light-years
= 3.09 1013 km
1 A U
relative limits to trigonometric parallax distance
determinations using recent ground-based and
space-based telescopes
Ground based
Baseline has a maximum of 2 AU
Limit of angular measurement
depends on the size of the circle
used to measure angular shift
Resolution / seeing limits the
confidence in the measurement
very small parallax angles
Space based
Baseline > 2 AU this increases
size of parallax angle and allows
us to detect parallax shift at
distances greater than ~ 40 pc in
the ratio of the max baselines
Smaller circles of reference
reduce accuracy as to the
direction the telescope is pointing
Resolution & seeing are much
better as there is no atmosphere
smaller parallax can be measured
with confidence.
Light-Year
The distance that light travels in 1 year
The speed of light (in a vacuum) is
3 x 108 ms-1
A light-second = 300,000 km
A light-year = about 9.46053 10 12 km
1 AU 8 light-minutes
1 pc = 3.262 l.y.
Distances to stars
The closest star (other than the sun) to
Earth is about 4 l.y. away (Alpha
Centauri [a.k.a. Rigel Kentaurus]
Distances to about 50 pc can be
measured using astronomical parallax
The distance to other stars can be
estimated by comparing their actual
brightness to their apparent brightness
Astronomy - TERMS
ECLIPTIC
A group of stars, [as
seen from Earth] that
seem to form a pattern [
or picture ? ] in the sky.
ZODIAC
A group of 12
constellations that lie on
the ecliptic.
ASTRONOMER
CONSTELLATION
The part of the sky that
the sun, moon and
planets move through.
AZIMUTH
Someone who studies
stars.
The direction of a object
measured as an angel
clockwise from North.
ELEVATION
The height of an object
measured as an angle
above the horizon.
directly up (90o is called
the ZENITH
The movement of the stars
Stars are so far away from us that we
can not see any movement of one star
relative to another.
We can observe, however, apparent
motion of the stars , due to the daily
rotation of the earth about its axis and
its yearly orbit about the sun.
The movement of the stars
Stars rise in the EAST & set in the WEST.
Stars rotate clockwise about the South
celestial Pole
A star ( near the celestial equator ) will
move through 15o of sky every hour.
The same star will change its position, at
the same time each night, by 1o per day.
AZIMUTH
Azimuth is the direction of
a star given as a compass
bearing.
NORTH
0O
EAST
90O
SOUTH
180O
WEST
270
The star s azimuth is 80o
N
80O
ELEVATION
This is the angle
that the star appears
above the horizon.
A point is the sky
with an elevation of
90o is called the
ZENITH.
The star in this
diagram has an
elevation of 60o
60o
Right Ascension & Declination
Because the stars are so far away, they
seem to be fixed on a celestial sphere.
The equator of this sphere is divided up
into 24 divisions or hours (Rt Ascension)
These act like longitude
The latitude lines are angles above or
below the equator. These are measured in
degrees. (Declination)
Right Ascension & Declination
The main advantage of this system over
azimuth & elevation is that it is not
dependant on the observers location &
time.
The disadvantage is that the user has to
be able to recognise the celestial equator.
STAR TRAILS
We can take photographs
of stars using a time
exposure.
The camera should be
mounted on a tripod (or
similar).
You should be away from
all lights with no moon.
use a medium aperture
( eg f5.6 ) . and leave the
shutter open for a long
time eg 20 minutes.
If you are using a colour
film then set the focus on
10 m .
The star trails will seem
to form circles about the
south celestial pole. (c/f
colour plate fig 2.6 )
Assignment
Select a star or a constellation and measure its
azimuth & elevation at the same time every night for
a month. Record your data in a table.
Record the positions of the star / constellation on a
skychart at the start and the end of the month.
Identify the following constellations:
Crux (southern cross) and Pointers, Scorpio , (These next
two in the summer months.) Orion and Gemini
Identify the following constellations
Alpha & Beta Centauri, Sirius, Rigel, Betelgeuse, and
Aldebaran
