The Ringed Planet Saturn

The Moon Just Past

1st Quarter

The Pleiades Star Cluster

Astronomy and Life on Earth:

What’s the Connection?

We live right next to a star!The Sun is a star up close.

Other stars are Suns very far away.

Think of stars as Distant Suns.

The Main Points About Living Right Next to a Star:

What stars do: The Sun is a typical star that generates heat and light.

How that affects planets: The Sun is, ultimately, the source of ALL the energy that ultimately drives ALL weather,

ALL climate and is responsible for ALL life on the Earth.

Warmth

The Sun Moves Air in a Big Way

Winds are caused by the Sun. When the Sun warms up the oceans they warm the air around them causing the air to get stirred up. This creates wind. Weather is simply the Sun managing the Earth’s heat.

Seasons

"To the best of our knowledge, our Sun is the only star proven to grow vegetables." ----- Philip Scherrer, 1973

The Sun Regulates Animal Schedules

annual migrations, hibernations, mating seasons, and molting times are all triggered by sunlight.

Snowshoe rabbits, for example, completely change their appearance each fall.

The shortening days of fall also alert bears to the approach of winter.

Changing amounts of daylight prompt geese to fly south in the fall and north in the spring.

Monarch butterflies, caribou, salmon, and even turtles all respond to the changing length of days throughout each year.

Astronomers like to look at sunspots:

The Sun, Our Nearest Star, Influences Everything

There is not one single thing on Earth that is not influenced by the Sun. NOT ONE THING.

Astronomers Monitor Near and Distant Suns; they

Watch the Stars

…because we live right next door to one!

The Night Sky: An Endangered Natural

Resource

Maryland and Virginia

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The International Dark Sky Association

Distant Suns: The Stars

Star Counts on a Good Night On top of a skyscraper in downtown Manhattan

= 150 (only the very brightest stars) Within the confines of any metropolitan area

having a population of about one million persons = a few hundred

Bluebird Observatory (Ellicott City, MD) = 1500-2500

The American Southwest away from urban light pollution = 10,000+

Astronomy without a Telescope

Naked Eye Astronomy

Requirements for Naked Eye Observing

Zero budget Start tonight if weather permits Need only to want to learn plus… A good beginner’s astronomy book plus… A desire to find astronomical objects in the night sky Red flashlight Cheap compass (unless you already know how to find N, S, E, and

W in the dark) A place to go observe One year of your time on this planet Tenacity and clear skies

First Tips The best first telescope is a pair of binoculars; work with them for

a year

It doesn’t matter which telescope you buy as long as you spend more than $400.00 for it.

The $400.00+ first telescope will teach you everything you need to know about buying your second telescope.

“Highly recommended! Used it and still use it myself!-----Jerry Persall

The Best First Learning Tool: A Planisphere

Night Sky in Ursa Major – Tiny White Diamonds on Black Velvet

The Great Bear in Ursa Major

It’s a lovely day in the cosmic neighborhood. These are the constellation boundary lines.

The 110 Messier Objects

In tentative conclusion, because the story of the universe is always

constantly unfolding…

We live on an island in space…

Which is itself on yet another island in space of incredible proportions: the Milky Way Galaxy

And the Milky Way Galaxy is itself only one of billions and billions of similar island worlds in the cosmos

How we became astronomers: one night we looked up.

Thank you for your kind attention!