Learning Astronomy, Teaching Astronomy
In this post we will learn how to use one bright star of Orion’s belt to visualize the Earth’s equator.
When you look up at the winter sky in the northern hemisphere, Orion and his famous belt are impossible to miss. The belt is made up of three stars of equal brightness.
One of these stars is called Mintaka and it is a guidepost for finding the Earth’s equator in space. Click here to continue reading…
Use this technique to understand how seasons happen on the Earth. The Earth is tilted. When the northern part (your forehead and eyes) tilts away from the Sun the season is winter. When the northern part tilts toward the Sun the season is summer.
The Earth is tilted as it spins daily – it is not straight up and down like a top, but more like the Leaning Tower of Pisa (if the tower could spin!). As it goes through its yearly orbit, the Sun hits the northern and then the southern parts of the Earth.
In this model, when the northern part (your forehead and eyes) tilts away from the Sun the season is winter. When the northern part tilts toward the Sun the season is summer.
Did you like this season model? Any questions? Type in the comments to send me a message.
When you are in the southern hemisphere, the moon looks upside down.
When I came back to the US from living in Australia for 4 years, I published a poster with a picture of the moon on in and I placed it “upside down” – someone pointed it out and I looked at the moon and said “the moon is upside down.” This was true – in the Northern Hemisphere – but to people living in the Southern Hemisphere the moon appears “upside down.”
I was shocked, but the claim was true – in the Northern Hemisphere! But to Australians and other people living in places in the Southern Hemisphere the moon appears “upside down.”
In this exercise called “The Sky Below Us” you will learn to see the Earth as a giant ball and understand that the Earth is floating in space. This will allow you to see the sky below us.
Learn to see the ecliptic
The sun follows the same path through the sky every day.
Sun up. Noon. Sun down.
The sun starts the day in the east in the morning, rises high in the sky at noon, and settles down again in the west for a nap at night.
Here is an exercise to discover that path – the ecliptic.
Learning to do Physical Astronomy? Stellarium is the perfect tool for you. It helps you learn to see patterns in the sky. In this article you will learn how to use the Time Control features of Stellarium.Click here to continue reading…
A “Life Star” is a visible star that could host life. This is a name I came up with in February 2017 (around the time of the TRAPPIST announcement) to describe visible stars with confirmed planets orbiting in the habitable zone. “Life Star” is easier to say and explain. I hope it catches on!Click here to continue reading…
Practice the fundamental skills of observation. Learn to see the giant geometries of space.Click here to continue reading…
Just how tiny ARE we? The answer of course depends on the question: “Compared to what?”
Compared to the size of the universe we are very, very tiny.
Take a quick trip with me and you will begin to understand.
…no matter how long it has been traveling through space, ends its journey in your eye. The light hits your retina and is transformed into thought. As long as you let that star light stream into your view, the star itself lands in you and settles its motion.
When I was 17 years old I went on a weekend retreat run by the Christian Brothers near Melbourne, Australia. It was a weekend of spiritual teaching, introspection and reflection.
Saturday night, one of the other boys at the retreat surprised me. As we stood outside under the stars, he spoke in that matter-of-fact way typical of Australians.