Macomb Science Olympiad Starry Starry Night (SSN) Macomb Website macombso.org/ Starry Night page http://macombso.org/index.php/esoevents/starystarrynight Updated 12/30/2018
Revolution & Rotation Key concepts: What is the difference between revolution vs. rotation? Describe the basis for day, month, year View the motion of the earth relative to the sun, and the moon Video Clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-pt_p8_7gm&feature=related Need to know: - How many earth rotations / how many days in one revolution around the sun. - How many hours/days for one earth rotation. - How many earth rotations/days for the moon to revolve around the earth. - How many times does the moon rotate / how many months in one revolution around the earth. - How many times does the moon revolve around the earth in one earth revolution around the sun.
Seasons As the earth revolves around the sun, different areas are more exposed to more sunlight. This is caused by the constant 23.5 tilt of the earth s axis.
Seasons In June, the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun and gets more sun energy, southern gets less.
Seasons The earth is at the farthest point from the sun in July not the cause of summer!
8 Phases of the Moon Video Clip: Moon Phase Animation https://vimeo.com/39263630
Solar Eclipse In a solar eclipse, the moon casts a shadow on the earth.
Solar Eclipse As the earth rotates, the moon draws a path of shadow on the earth.
Solar Eclipse Three basic types of eclipse Partial Annular Total Which you see is determined by the relative positions of the sun, earth and moon, and where you are on the earth.
Lunar Eclipse In a lunar eclipse, the earth casts a shadow on the moon.
Lunar Eclipse Over a few hours, the moon will pass through the earth s shadow.
Solar and Lunar Eclipses Video Clip: Explanation and Animation of Total and Annular Solar Eclipse, and Lunar Eclipse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgbk2fzffdw Be able to draw a diagram of both Solar and Lunar Eclipse. Know the definition of Umbra and Penumbra. Know the difference between Partial, Annual and Total Eclipse. Know the phase of the moon during both Solar and Lunar Eclipses.
The Sun chromosphere - The lower level of the solar atmosphere between the photosphere and the corona. convection Fluid circulation driven by temperature gradients in the presence of gravity. corona The crown, or uppermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere that lies above the chromosphere. filament - A strand of cool gas suspended over the Sun s photosphere by magnetic fields, which appears dark as seen against the Solar disk. flare - A sudden eruption of energy on the solar disk lasting minutes to hours, from which radiation and particles are emitted. photosphere - The visible surface of the Sun the part we see. prominence - A strand of relatively cool gas that protrudes outward from the limb of the Sun, and appears bright against the blackness of space. solar wind A stream of high-energy, charged particles (plasma), primarily made of electrons and protons, flowing outward from the Sun at high speed (250-750 km/sec). stellar core Center of a star in which pressure and temp are high enough for fusion to occur. sunspot - A region on the Sun's photosphere with strong magnetic fields that are cooler, and thus darker, than the surrounding region.
Selected Planet Characteristics Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Distance from the Sun (Average in 000 km) 57,909 108,209 149,598 227,943 778,340 1,426,666 2,870,972 4,498,252 Mean Equatorial Radius (km) 2,440 (0.38 x Earth) 6,052 (0.95 x Earth) 6,371 3,390 (0.53 x Earth) 69,911 (10.97 x Earth) 58,232 (9.14 x Earth) 25,559 (4.01 x Earth) 24,764 (3.88 x Earth) Density (g/cm 3 ) 5.43 5.24 5.51 3.93 1.33 0.69 1.30 1.76 Rotation Period (Earth Days) Negative indicates Opposite Direction from Earth 58.6-243 0.997 1.03 0.414 0.444-0.720 0.671 Orbit Period (Earth Years) 0.241 0.615 1.00 1.88 11.9 29.4 84 165 Orbit Eccentricity (deviation from a perfect circle, lower numbers indicate more like a perfect circle) 0.21 0.0068 0.017 0.093 0.048 0.054 0.047 0.0086 Inclination of Equator to Orbit (degree) 0 177 23.4 25.2 3.1 26.7 97.9 29.6 Minimum / Maximum Surface Temperature degrees in Celsius -173/427 Major Atmospheric Constituents 462 Average Carbon Dioxide / Nitrogen -88/58-87/-5 Nitrogen / Oxygen Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen, Argon Hydrogen, Helium Hydrogen, Helium Hydrogen, Helium, Methane Last Updated August 2018 Moons None None One Two 79 63 27 14 Rings No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Hydrogen, Helium, Methane
Selected Planet Characteristics Students do not need to know specific numbers listed on the previous page. Some of the things the students may need to know: - List the planets in order by distance. - List the planets in order by size. - Planets with most / least Density - The inner rocky planets are more dense than the gas giants. - Planets with longest / shortest days. - Planets the rotate in the same direction / opposite direction as Earth. - Planets with the longest / shortest years. - Planets with most / least Eccentricity - Planets with most / least Inclination - Major components of the Atmosphere - Planets with most / least Moons - If The Planet does or does not have Rings
Celestial Sphere The celestial sphere is an imaginary ball surrounding the earth, with all the stars plotted on it.
Celestial Sphere
Constellations You do not need to know all of these Constellations. These are tricks leading you from one constellation to the next to navigate the skies. See the Starry Starry Night Rules for the Constellations you will need to know for the Competition. 1. Learn the circumpolar constellations; they are in the sky year-round - e.g., Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Draco 2.Create your own navigating tricks to find other constellations - Ursa Major Points to Polaris in Ursa Minor - Ursa Minor pours into Ursa Major - Ursa Major leaks into Leo - Arc (in Ursa Major) to Arcturus, which is the bottom of Bootes. - Spike down to Spica in Virgo - Follow the Zodiac signs around the Ecliptic - Orion s belt up/right to Taurus and down/left to Canis Major - The Summer Triangle Cygnus (Deneb), Aquila (Altair), and Lyra (Vega) - Constellations along the Milky Way Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Perseus, Andromeda, Auriga, Cygnus, Sagitta, Delphinus, Lyra, Aquila, etc.
Asteroids, Comets and Meteoroids Composition Location and Orbits Origin Fun Facts Asteroids Comets Meteoroids Rocky Metallic Bodies. Sometimes referred to as minor planets. Most Asteroids revolve within the Asteroid Belt. A few have eccentric orbits and wander outside the region between Mars and Jupiter. Some Asteroids cross Earth s orbit. The most commonly accepted theory is that Asteroids are pieces of matter that never coalesced to form a Planet. The mass of Ceres is 25% of the combines mass of all of the Asteroids. Mixture of ice and dust. Sometimes called dirty snowballs. Short period Comets complete their orbit in 200 years or less. Long period Comets take longer than 200 year to orbit the sun, and have more elliptical orbits. Most short period Comets originate in the Kuiper Belt. Most long period Comets originate in the Oort Cloud. The tail only exists when the Comet is near the Sun. The tail always points away from the Sun. Small grains or chunks of stone or metal that are capable of intersecting the Earth s orbit. If a meteoroid enters the Earth s atmosphere, it is known as a meteor or shooting star. If the meteor doesn t entirely disintegrate in the atmosphere and strikes the Earth s surface, it is called a meteorite. From Comets that cast off debris when they are near the sun, from Asteroids that collided within the Asteroid Belt, collision impact debris ejected from bodies such as the Moon or Mars, or debris from Planetesimals created in the early formation of Planets within the Solar System. The largest Meteorite founds was 60 metric tons and was found on a farm in Namibia.
Dwarf Planets Ceres Pluto Haumea Makemake Eris Definition of a DWARF PLANET: 1. It is in direct orbit of the Sun 2. It is massive enough for its gravity to crush it into a spheroid (sphere or ellipse-like sphere) 3. It has not cleared the neighborhood of other material around its orbit. NOTE: A PLANET is the same except for #3 (It has cleared the neighborhood of other material around its orbit.)
Dwarf Planet Characteristics Eris Pluto Haumea Makemake Ceres Year of Discovery 2003 1930 2003 2005 1801 Diameter (miles) 1,445 1,430 892.3 882 591.8 Orbital Period (in Earth years) 561.4 247.9 281.9 305.34 4.6 Distance from Sun (times Earth distance) 68 39.5 43.1 45.3 2.8 Rotation Period 25.9 hrs 6.39 Earth days 3.9 hrs 22.5 hrs 9.1 hrs Moons Location Characteristics 1 - Dysnomia Scattered Disc (sparsely populated with icy minor planets thought to have been scattered by Neptune) Most Massive Dwarf Planet 5 Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. 2 - Hiʻiaka and Namaka 0 0 Kuiper Belt Kuiper Belt Kuiper Belt Asteroid Belt Spins backwards, like Uranus and Venus. Reddish-brown cap of north pole of Charon is composed of tholins, organic macromolecules that may be ingredients for the emergence of life. One of the fastest rotating large objects in our solar system. Secondbrightest Kuiper belt object after Pluto Largest object in the Asteroid Belt, ~ 1/3 the mass of the entire Asteroid Belt. May have a remnant internal ocean of liquid water under the layer of ice.
Selected Dwarf Planet Characteristics Students do not need to know specific numbers listed on the previous page. Some of the things the students may need to know: - Year of Discovery - List the dwarf planets in order by size. - Dwarf Planets with longest / shortest years. - List the Dwarf Planets in order by distance. - Dwarf Planets with longest / shortest days. - Number and names of Dwarf Planet Moons. - Know the location of the Dwarf Planets. - Know key characteristics.
Planet Moons Mars Jupiter s Galilean Moons Phobos (larger) Deimos (smaller) In order of increasing distance from Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system. Saturn s Moons Mimas Enceladus Hyperion Iapetus Titan Neptune Triton
Kuiper Belt The Kuiper Belt is a circumstellar disc in the outer Solar System, extending from the orbit of Neptune. It is similar to the asteroid belt, but is far larger 20 times as wide and 20 to 200 times as massive. Like the asteroid belt, it consists mainly of small bodies or remnants from when the Solar System formed. While many asteroids are composed primarily of rock and metal, most Kuiper belt objects are composed largely of frozen volatiles (termed "ices"), such as methane, ammonia and w ater.
The Oort Cloud The Oort cloud is a hypothetical spherical cloud of up to a trillion icy objects that is thought to be the source for all long-period comets and to surround the Solar System at roughly 50,000 AU (around 1 light-year (ly)), and possibly to as far as 100,000 AU (1.87 ly). It is thought to be composed of comets that were ejected from the inner Solar System by gravitational interactions with the outer planets. Oort cloud objects move very slowly, and can be perturbed by infrequent events, such as collisions, the gravitational effects of a passing star, or the galactic tide, the tidal force exerted by the Milky Way