Grosse Pointe Public Schools



Astronomy Lab Names ______________________

Motions of the Constellations ______________________ Period ___

Introduction: You will use a model of the celestial sphere (a boiling flask and colored water) to understand how the constellations move through the night sky from different places on Earth.

CAUTION: Be careful when handling the flask. It is made of glass and will break easily. Don’t put it on a table or counter where it can roll!!

The flask should be already labeled as shown below. There should be 3 imaginary constellations in a line with each other: Soni (the headphones), Deplax (the toothbrush) and Vidcorder (the VCR). Polaris is at the North Pole of the flask, exactly opposite the stopper.

The water represents the ground, and the glass represents the sky.

Where the ground meets the sky is the horizon.

Every complete turn of the flask = 24 hours (one day). Always hold the flask by the neck and turn it in the same direction.

Imagine that you are inside the flask, standing on the surface of the water (the ground). The flask handle doesn’t represent anything, but the stopper indicates the location of the South Pole.

Part I. At the North Pole

Hold your flask in this position for questions 1-5:

1. Turn the flask one complete turn while watching

the movement of Polaris, the North Star. Which

statement below correctly describes how Polaris

moves?

a) Polaris moves in a circle around the sky.

b) Polaris remains stationary at the top of the sky.

c) Polaris rises in the east and sets in the west.

2. Based on your observations for question 1 what inference can be made about

Polaris?

a) At the North Pole, Polaris can always be seen in the sky.

b) At the North Pole, Polaris can sometimes be seen in the sky.

3. Turn the flask one complete turn, and compare the motion of Soni to

Deplax. Which statement below correctly describes what you see?

a) Deplax makes a larger circle than Soni.

b) Soni makes a larger circle than Deplax.

c) Soni and Deplax make the same size circles through the sky.

4. Based on your observations for question 3, which inferences below are

correct? Circle 2 statements, one from each group.

a) Soni takes more time to circle the sky than does Deplax.

b) Deplax takes more time to circle the sky than does Soni.

c) Soni and Deplax take the same amount of time to circle the sky.

d) Soni moves more quickly through the sky than Deplax.

e) Deplax moves more quickly through the sky than Soni.

f) Soni and Deplax move equally fast across the sky.

5. Turn the flask one complete turn, and observe the motion of Vidcorder. Based

on your observations, which inference below is correct?

a) If you are at the North Pole, you will never see Vidcorder.

b) If you are at the North Pole, you can sometimes see Vidcorder

c) If you are at the North Pole, Vidcorder is always seen in the sky.

Part II. At the Equator

Hold your flask in this position for questions 6-8:

6. Turn the flask one complete turn while watching the

movement of Polaris, the North Star. What do you

observe?

a) Polaris moves in a circle around the sky.

b) Polaris remains stationary at the horizon.

c) Polaris rises in the east and sets in the west.

7. Turn the flask one complete turn and watch the motions of Soni, Deplax and

Vidcorder. What do you observe?

a) all 3 constellations are sometimes visible from the Equator -

they rise and set.

b) all 3 constellations are always visible - they never set

8. Are there any circumpolar constellations (not individual stars) at the Equator?

(These are constellations that never set, regardless of the time of day or year.)

_______

Part III. In Michigan.

Hold your flask in this position for questions 9-14:

9. Turn the flask one complete turn while watching the

movement of Polaris, the North Star. What do you observe?

a) Polaris moves in a circle around the sky.

b) Polaris remains stationary in the sky.

c) Polaris rises in the east and sets in the west.

10. Based on your observations for question 9, which inference can be made about

Polaris?

a) In Michigan, Polaris can always be seen in the sky.

b) In Michigan, Polaris can only sometimes be seen in the sky.

11. Turn the flask one complete turn, and compare the motion of Soni to Deplax.

What do you observe?

a) Soni remains above the horizon longer than Deplax.

b) Deplax remains above the horizon longer than Soni.

c) Both Soni and Deplax remain above the horizon for an equal time.

12. Which constellation is the most likely to be a circumpolar constellation as seen

from Michigan?

a) Vidcorder b) Deplax c) Soni

13. Turn the flask one complete turn, and observe the motion of Vidcorder.

Which statement below correctly describes what you see?

a) Vidcorder is never visible in Michigan.

b) Vidcorder is always visible in Michigan.

c) Vidcorder is visible in Michigan for a short amount of time.

14. Is it possible in Michigan to see all the constellations in the real sky? _____

Part IV. South of the Equator

Hold your flask in this position for question 15:

15. Turn the flask one complete turn, as before. Observe the

motions of all the constellations. Circle all statements

below that are true.

a) Some constellations circle around the South Pole.

b) Some constellations rise in the west and set in the

east.

c) The constellations seem upside down.

d) There are circumpolar constellations at the South Pole.

Putting it all together.

16. If you wanted to build an observatory so that you could observe all of the

constellations in the entire sky, where would be the best place to locate it?

a) at the North Pole b) at the South Pole

c) at the Equator c) in Michigan

17. Do the stars move at different speeds through the sky? ______

If so, where in the sky do they move the fastest? _________________

18. Where do most of the stars appear to never rise or set?

a) at the North Pole b) at the Equator c) in Michigan

19. Think it through and explain: What is the exact relationship between

the altitude of Polaris and your latitude on Earth?

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