Material Detail

This activity has students use internet resources to learn about celestial coordinates, and how to use an emphemeris to locate planets on a horizon sky map. The sky maps are then used for outdoor observing. A more advanced application has students draw maps in celestial coordinates. They first learn about the celestial coordinate system astronomers use and then they generate a position, or ephemeris, for a planet at a certain time on a certain night and plot that position on an appropriate sky map. While engaged in this activity, students will learn to use star maps for finding a planet, plot a planet path on star maps with coordinate grids, and be able to find out when a planet is visible.

Disciplines:

• Science and Technology  / Astronomy