6'12

F O C U S o m C O NC EPTS
Galileo Galilei, and Issac Newto n?
Q What are perturbatio ns?
What is the equato rial system ?
@ What causes the phases o f the m o o n?
~ he science o f astro no m y is a ratio nal way o f kno wing and understanding the o rigins o f Earth the
so lar system , and the universe. Earth was o nce tho ught to be unique, different in every way fro m
, anything else in the universe. Ho wever, thro ugh the science o f astro no m y, we have disco vered
that Earth and the S un are sim ilar to o ther o bjects in the universe and that the physical laws that apply
i o n Earth seem to apply everywhere in the universe
Ho w did o ur understanding o f the universe change so drastically? In this chapter we exam ine the
transfo rm atio n fro m the ancient view o f the universe, which fo cused o n the po sitio ns and m o vem ents
o f celestial o bjects, to the m o dern perspective, which fo cuses o n understanding ho w these o bjects
cam e to be and why they m o ve the way they do
To assist yo u in learning the im po rtant co ncepts in this chapter, fo cus o n the fo llo wing questio ns
Q What is the geo centric view o f the universe and ho w do es it differ fro m the helio centric view?
Q What o ccurred during the Go lden Age" o f early astro no m y and where was it lo cated?
Q Ho w do es Pto lem ys m o del acco unt fo rthe o bserved m o tio ns o f the celestial bo dies including retro grade m o tio n?
G Who was the first m o dern astro no m er to advo cate a helio centric m o del fo r the so lar system ?
What were the co ntributio ns to m o dern astro no m y o f Nico laus C o pernicus, Tycho Brahe, Jo hannes Kepler
Q Ho w do es m o dern astro no m y use co nstellatio ns?
What are so m e o f the prim ary m o tio ns o f Earth?
Q What is the difference between a syno dic m o nth and a sidereal m o nth?
Q What causes a so lar eclipse? What causes a lunar eclipse?
Ancient Astro no m y
Lo ngbefo re reco rded histo ry, peo ple were aware o f the clo se rela-
tio nship between events o n Earth and the po sitio ns o f heavenly
bo dies. They realized that changes in the seaso ns and o o ds o f
great rivers such as the Nile in Egypt o ccurred when certain celes-
tial bo dies, including the S un, Mo o n, planets, and stars, reached
particular places in the heavens. Early agrarian cultures, who se
survival depended o n seaso nal change, believed that if these
heavenly o bjects co uld co ntro l the seaso ns, they co uld also
stro ngly inuence all Earthly events. These beliefs undo ubtedly
enco uraged early civilizatio ns to begin keeping reco rds o f the
po sitio ns o f celestial o bjects.
The o rigin o f astro no m y began m o re than 5,000 years ago
when hum ans began to track the m o tio n o f celestial o bjects so
they knewwhen to plant their cro ps o r prepare to hunt m igrating
herds The ancient C hinese, Egyptians, and Babylo -
nians are well kno wn fo r their reco rd keeping. These cultures
reco rded the lo catio ns o f the S un, Mo o n, and the five visible plan-
ets as these o bjects m o ved slo wly against the backgro und o f xed
stars. Eventually, it was no t eno ugh to track the m o tio ns o f celes-
i= F LY 51P i -* 'i i C ho m sung Dae O bservato ry in Kyo ngju, Ko rea This
sim ple structure, with a central o pening in the ro o f, resem bles a
num ber o f ancient o bservato ries fo und aro und the wo rld ( Pho to by
S teven Vidler/Eurasia Press/C O RBIS )
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1T1-Pi The Bayeux Tapestry that hangs in Bayeux, F rance,
sho ws the apprehensio n caused by Halleys co m et in A.D. 1066. This
event preceded the defeat o f King Haro ld by William the C o nquero r.
( S ighting o f a co m et. Detail fro m Bayeux Tapestry. Musee de la Tapisserie, Bayeux.
With special autho rizatio n o f the C ity o f Bayeux. " Bridgem an-Giraudo n/Art
Reso urce, NY )
tial o bjects;predicting their future po sitio ns ( to avo id gettingm ar-
ried at an unfavo rable tim e, fo r exam ple) becam e im po rtant.
A study o f C hinese archives sho ws that the C hinese reco rded
every appearance o f the fam o us Halleys C o m et fo r at least 10 cen-
turies. Ho wever, because this co m et appears o nly o nce every 76
years, they were unable to link these appearances to establish that
what they saw was the sam e o bject m ultiple tim es. Like m o st
ancients, the C hinese co nsidered co m ets to be m ystical. Gener-
ally, co m ets were seen as bad o m ens and were blam ed fo r a vari-
ety o f disasters, fro m wars to plagues In additio n,
the C hinese kept quite accurate reco rds o f guest stars. To day we
kno w that a guest star is a no rm al star, usually to o faint to be
visible, which increases its brightness as it explo sively ejects gases
fro m its surface, a pheno m eno n we call a no va ( no uns = new) o r
superno va.
The Go lden Age o f Astro no m y
The Go lden Age o f early astro no m y ( 600 B.C .A.D. 150) was cen-
tered in Greece. Altho ugh the early Greeks have been criticized,
and rightly so , fo r using purely philo so phical argum ents to explain
natural pheno m ena, they em plo yed o bservatio nal data as well.
The basics o f geo m etry and trigo no m etry, which they develo ped,
were used to m easure the sizes o f and distances to the largest-
appearing bo dies in the heavens-the S un and the Mo o n.
The early Greeks held the inco rrect geo centric ( geo :Earth,
centric = centered) view o f the universewhich pro fessed that
Earth was a sphere that rem ained m o tio nless at the center o f the
universe. O rbiting Earth were the Mo o n, S un, and kno wn plan-
etsMercury, Venus, Mars, Iupiter, and S aturn. The S un and
Ancient Astro no m y 613
Mo o n were tho ught to be perfect crystal spheres. Beyo nd the
planets was a transparent, ho llo w celestial sphere o n which the
stars were attached and traveled daily aro und Earth. ( Altho ugh it
appears that the stars and planets m o ve acro ss the sky, this effect
is actually caused by Earths ro tatio n o n its axis.) S o m e early
Greeks realized that the m o tio n o f the stars co uld be explained
just as easily by a ro tating Earth, but they rejected that idea
because Earth exhibits no sense o f m o tio n and seem ed to o large
to be m o vable. In fact, pro o f o f Earths ro tatio n was no t dem o n-
strated until 1851.
To the Greeks, all o f the heavenly bo dies, except seven,
appeared to rem ain in the sam e relative po sitio n to o ne ano ther.
These seven Wanderers ( planetai in Greek) included the S un, the
Mo o n, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Iupiter, and S aturn. Each was
tho ught to have a circular o rbit aro und Earth. Altho ugh this sys-
tem was inco rrect, the Greeks refined it to the po int that it
explained the apparent m o vem ents o f all celestial bo dies.
The fam o us Greek philo so pher Aristo tle ( 3 84-3 22 B.C .) co n-
cluded that Earth is spherical because it always casts a curved
shado w when it eclipses the m o o n. Altho ugh m o st o f Aristo tles
teachings were co nsidered infallible by m any fo r centuries after his
death, his belief in a spherical Earthwas lo st duringthe Middle Ages.
Measuring the Earth's C ircum ference The rst successful
attem pt to establish the size o f Earth is credited to Erato sthenes
( 276194B.c.). Erato sthenes o bserved the angles o f the no o nday
S un in two Egyptian cities that were ro ughly no rth and so uth
o f each o therS yene ( presently Aswan) and Alexandria
..-/-Ii). F inding that the angles o f the no o nday sun differed
by 7 degrees, o r 1/ 50 o f a co m plete circle, he co ncluded that the
The C hinese reco rded the sudden appearance o f a
guest star" in 1054A.D. The scattered rem ains o f that superno va is
the C rab Nebula in the co nstellatio n Taurus. This im age co m es fro m
the Hubble S pace Telesco pe. ( NAS A)
614 C HAPTER 21 O rigins o f Mo dern Astro no m y
arm - - 7.
.. W. |
NL:
i. 1,
.,, , __ _ Po st at
. . 7 angle. Alexandria
C enter , S ' P
' o fEarth _ T . ' E.
7-..ang|e* _ 7 _ It at S yene
( /50 o fa circle) -
"L;-F l
~ (
* S un's rays
E.i..fi O rientatio n o f the S un's rays at S yene ( Aswan) and
Alexandria in Egypt o n June 21 when Erato sthenes calculated
Earth's circum ference.
circum ference o f Earth m ust be 50 tim es the distance between
these two cities. The cities were 5,000 stadia apart, giving him a
m easurem ent o f 250,000 stadia. Many histo rians believe the
stadia was 157.6 m eters ( 517 feet), which wo uld m ake Erato s-
theness calculatio n o f Earths circum ference3 9,400 kilo m eters
( 24,428 m iles)very clo se to the m o dern value o f 40,075 kilo -
m eters ( 24,902 m iles).
A S un-C entered U niverse? The first Greek to pro fess a S un-
centered, o r helio centric ( helio s = S un, centric = centered),
universe was Aristarchus ( 3 12-23 0 B.c.). Aristarchus also used sim -
ple geo m etric relatio ns to calculate the relative distances fro m Earth
to the S LH1 and the Mo o n. He later used these data to calculate their
sizes. As a result o f an o bservatio nal erro r beyo nd his co ntro l, he
cam e up with m easurem ents that were m uch to o sm all. Ho wever,
he did disco ver that the S un was m any tim es m o re distant than the
Mo o n and m any tim es larger than Earth. The latter fact m ay have
pro m pted him to suggest a S un-centered universe. Nevertheless,
because o f the stro ng inuence o f Aristo tles writings, the Earth-
centered view do m inated Western tho ught fo r nearly 2,000 years.
Mapping the S tars Pro bably the greatest o f the early Greek
astro no m ers was Hipparchus ( 2nd century B.c.), best kno wn fo r
his star catalo gue. Hipparchus determ ined the lo catio n o f alm o st
850 stars, which he divided into six gro ups acco rding to their
brightness. ( This system is still used to day.) He m easured the
length o f the year to within m inutes o f the m o dern value and
develo ped a m etho d fo r predicting the tim es o f lunar eclipses to
within a few ho urs.
Altho ugh m any o f the Greek disco veries were lo st during the
Middle Ages, the Earth-centered view that the Greeks pro po sed
becam e entrenched in Euro pe. Presented in its finest fo rm by
C laudius Pto lem y, this geo centric o utlo o k becam e kno wn as the
Pto lem aic S ystem .
Pto lem ys Mo del
Much o f o ur kno wledge o f Greek astro no m y co m es fro m a l3 -vo l-
um e treatise, Alm agest ( the great wo rk), which was co m piled by
Pto lem y in A.D. I41. In additio n to presenting a sum m ary o f Greek
astro no m ical kno wledge, Pto lem y is credited with develo ping a
m o del o f the universe that acco unted fo r the o bservable m o tio ns
o f the celestial bo dies ( 1:% ii;_,u;ii~ s
i" -Pijiiiiifi . Ii The
i universe acco rding to
5 I- Pto lem y, seco nd
i century A.D. A. Pto lem y
' believed that the star-
studded celestial
sphere m ade a daily
trip aro und a
m o tio nless Earth. In
additio n, he pro po sed
that the S un, Mo o n,
and planets m ade trips
o f vario us lengths
alo ng individual o rbits.
B. A three-dim ensio nal
m o del o f an Earth-
centered system .
Pto lem y likely utilized
so m ething sim ilar to
this to calculate the
m o tio ns o f the
heavens. ( Pho to by The
Bridgem an Art Library)
A. B.
Ancient Astro no m y 6'15
?:'l..6 Retro grade ( backward) \
m o tio n o f Mars as seen against the .
backgro und o f distant stars. When
viewed fro m Earth, Mars m o ves
eastward am o ng the stars each day,
then perio dically appears to sto p and
reverse directio n. This apparent
westward drift is a result o f the fact
that Earth has a faster o rbital speed
than Mars and o vertakes it. As this
o ccurs, Mars appears to be m o ving
backward, that is, it exhibits
retro grade m o tio n.
In the Greek traditio n, the Pto lem aic m o del had the planets
m o ving in perfect circular o rbits aro und a m o tio nless Earth. ( The
Greeks co nsidered the circle to be the pure and perfect shape.)
Ho wever, the m o tio n o f the planets, as seen against the backgro und
o f stars, is no t so sim ple. Each planet, if watched night after night,
m o ves slightly eastward am o ng the stars. Perio dically, each planet
appears to sto p, reverse directio n fo r a perio d o f tim e, and then
resum e an eastward m o tio n. The apparent westward drift is called
retro grade ( retro = to go back, gradus = walking) m o tio n. This
rather o dd apparent m o tio n results fro m the co m binatio n o f the
m o tio n o f Earth and the planets o wn m o tio n aro und the S un.
The retro grade m o tio n o f Mars is sho wn in
Because Earth has a faster o rbital speed than Mars, it o vertakes its
neighbo r. While do ing so , Mars appears to be m o ving backward,
in retro grade m o tio n. This is analo go us to what a
driver sees o ut the side windo w when passing a
slo wer car. The slo wer planet, like the slo wer car,
appears to be go ingbackward, altho ugh its actual
m o tio n is in the sam e directio n as the faster-m o v-
ing bo dy.
It is difficult to accurately represent retro grade 1
m o tio n usingthe inco rrect Earth-centered m o del, I
but that is what Pto lem y was able to acco m plish
ztiii). Rather than using a single circle fo r
each planets o rbit, he pro po sed that the planets
o rbited o n sm all circles ( epicycles), revo lving alo ng
large circles ( deferents). By trial and erro r, he fo und
the right co m binatio n o f circles to pro duce the
am o unt o f retro grade m o tio n o bserved fo r each
planet. ( An interesting no te is that alm o st any
clo sed curve can be pro duced by the co m binatio n
o f two circular m o tio ns, a fact that can be veried
by anyo ne who has used the S piro graph design-
drawing to y.)
It is a tribute to Pto lem ys genius that he was
able to acco unt fo r the planets m o tio ns as well
as he did, co nsidering that he used an inco rrect m o del. The pre-
cisio n withwhich his m o del was able to predict planetary m o tio n
is attested to by the fact that it went virtually unchallenged, in
principle if no t in detail, until the 17th century. When Pto lem y's
predicted po sitio ns fo r the planets becam e o ut o f step with the
o bserved po sitio ns ( which to o k 100 years o r m o re), his m o del was
sim ply recalibrated using the new o bserved po sitio ns as a start-
ing po int.
With the decline o f the Ro m an Em pire aro und the 4th cen-
tury, m uch o f the accum ulated kno wledge disappeared as
libraries were destro yed. After the decline o f Greek and Ro m an
civilizatio ns, the center o f astro no m ical study m o ved east to Bagh-
dad where, fo rtunately, Pto lem ys wo rkwas translated into Arabic.
Later, Arabic astro no m ers expanded Hipparchuss star catalo g
iii-iii? :2;Pto lem y's explanatio n o f retro grade m o tio nthe backward m o tio n o f
planets against the backgro und o f fixed stars. In Pto lem y's m o del, the planets m o ve o n
sm all circles ( epicycles) while they o rbit Earth o n larger circles ( deferents). Thro ugh trial
and erro r, Pto lem y disco vered the right co m binatio n o f circles to pro duce the retro grade
m o tio n o bserved fo r each planet.
616 C HAPTER 21 O rigins o f Mo dern Astro no m y
and divided the sky into 48 co nstellatio nsthe fo undatio n o f o ur
present-day co nstellatio n system . It wasn't until so m e tim e after
the 10th century that the ancient Greeks co ntributio ns to as-
tro no m y were reintro duced to Euro pe thro ugh the Arabic
co m m unity. The Pto lem aic m o del so o n do m inated Euro pean
tho ught as the co rrect representatio n o f the heavens, which cre-
ated pro blem s fo r anyo ne who fo und erro rs in it.
C O NC EPT cnscx 2 1.1
Q Why did the ancients believe that celestial o bjects had so m e
inuence o ver their lives?
Q What is the m o dern explanatio n o f the guest stars that sud-
denly appeared in the night sky?
Q Explain the geo centric view o f the universe.
Q In the Greek m o del o f the universe what were the seven wan-
derers o r planets? Ho w were they different fro m stars?
Q Describe what pro duces the retro grade m o tio n o f Mars. What
geo m etric arrangem ents did Pto lem y use to explain this
m o tio n?
The Birth o f Mo dern
Astro no m y
Pto lem y's Earth-centered universe was no t discarded o vernight.
Mo dern astro no m ys develo pm ent was m o re than a scientific
endeavo r, it required a break fro m deeply entrenched philo -
so phical and religio us views that had been a basic part o f Western
so ciety fo r tho usands o f years. Its develo pm ent was bro ught abo ut
by the disco very o f a new and m uch larger universe go verned by
discernible laws. We exam ine the wo rk o f five no ted scientists
invo lved in this transitio n fro m an astro no m y that m erely
describes what is o bserved, to an astro no m y that tries to explain
what is o bserved and m o re im po rtantly why the universe behaves
the way it do es. They include Nico laus C o pernicus, Tycho Brahe,
Io hannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and S ir Isaac Newto n.
Nico laus C o pernicus
F o r alm o st 13 centuries after the tim e o f Pto lem y, very few astro -
no m ical advances were m ade in Euro peso m e were even lo st,
including the no tio n o f a spherical Earth. The rst great astro no m er
to em erge after the Middle Ages was Nico laus C o pernicus
( 1473 -1543 ) fro m Po land After disco vering
Aristarchuss writings, C o pernicus becam e co nvinced that Earth is
a planet, just like the o ther five then-kno wn planets. The daily
m o tio ns o f the heavens, he reaso ned, co uld be m o re sim ply
explained by a ro tating Earth.
Having co ncluded that Earth is a planet, C o pernicus co n-
structed a helio centric m o del fo r the so lar system , with the S un at
the center and the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Iupiter,
and S aturn o rbiting it. This was a m ajo r break fro m the ancient
and prevailing idea that a m o tio nless Earth lies at the center o f
all m o vem ent in the universe. Ho wever, C o pernicus retained a
it Po lish astro no m er Nico laus C o pernicus ( 1473 -1543 )
believed that Earth was just ano ther planet. ( Detlev van Ravenswaay/Pho to
Researchers, Inc.)
link to the past and used circles to represent the o rbits o f the plan-
ets. Because o f this C o pernicus was unable to accurately predict
the future lo catio ns o f the planets. C o pernicus fo und it necessary
to add sm aller circles ( epicycles) like tho se used by Pto lem y. The
disco very that the planets actually have elliptical o rbits o ccurred
a century later and is credited to Jo hannes Kepler.
Like his predecesso rs, C o pernicus also used philo so phical
justificatio ns to suppo rt his po int o f view: . . . In the m idst o f all
stands the S im . F o r who co uld in this m o st beautiful tem ple place
this lam p in ano ther o r better place than that fro m which it can at
the sam e tim e illum inate the who le?
S tudents S o m etim es Ask...
If Pto lem y's theo ry was so successful, why was it
rejected?
The disco very o f Jupiter's strated that Earth was no t the
m o o ns sho wed that there was a center o f all m o tio n. C o nse-
fundam ental aw in the Pto le- quently, at least o ne o f the basic
m aic theo ry, which described tenets o f the Pto lem aic m o del
m o tio n in the universe. Acco rd- had to be inco rrect.
ing to Pto lem y's Earth-centered Astro no m ers so o n dem o n-
m o del, all heavenly bo dies strated that the o ther basic
revo lved aro und Earth. When assum ptio ns o f the Earth-
Galileo , using a crude telesco pe, centered m o del were also
saw fo ur m o o ns revo lving inco nsistent with o bservatio ns.
aro und Jupiter, he dem o n-
C o pernicuss m o num ental wo rk, De Revo lutio nibus, O rbium
C o elestiurn ( O n the Revo lutio n o f the Heavenly S pheres), which
set fo rth his co ntro versial S un-centered so lar system , was pub-
lished as he lay o n his deathbed. Hence, he never suffered the
criticism s that fell o n m any o f his fo llo wers. Altho ugh C o perni-
cuss m o del was a vast im pro vem ent o ver Pto lem ys, it did no t
attem pt to explain ho w planetary m o tio ns o ccurred o r why.
The greatest co ntributio n o f the C o pernican system to m o dern
science is its challenge o f the prim acy o f Earth in the universe. At the
tim e this was co nsidered heretical by m any Em o peans. Pro fessing
the S un-centered m o del co st at least o ne perso n his life. Gio rdano
Bruno was seized by the Inquisitio n, a C hurch tribunal, in 1600, and,
refusingto deno ruice the C o pem ican theo ry, was burned at the stake.
Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe ( 1546-1601) was bo rn o f Danish no bility 3 years after
the death o f C o pernicus. Repo rtedly, Tycho becam e interested in
astro no m y while viewing a so lar eclipse that had been predicted
by astro no m ers. He persuaded King F rederick II to establish an
o bservato ry near C o penhagen, which Tycho headed. There he
designed and built po inters ( the telesco pe wo uld no t be invented
fo r a few m o re decades), which he used fo r 20 years to system at-
ically m easure the lo catio ns o f the heavenly bo dies in an effo rt to
dispro ve the C o pernican theo ry Lt-i-)_His o bservatio ns,
particularly o f Mars, were far m o re precise than any m ade previ-
o usly and are his legacy to astro no m y.
Tycho did no t believe in the C o pernican m o del because he
was unable to o bserve an apparent shift in the po sitio n o f stars
that sho uld result if Earth traveled aro und the S un. His argum ent
went like this:If Earth o rbits the S un, the po sitio n o f a nearby star,
when o bserved fro m two lo catio ns in Earths o rbit 6 m o nths apart,
sho uld shift with respect to the m o re distant stars. Tycho was co r-
rect, but his m easurem ents did no t have great eno ugh precisio n
to sho w any displacem ent. The apparent shift o f the stars is called
stellar parallax and to day it is used to m easure distances to the
nearest stars. ( S tellar parallax is dis cussed in Apendix D, page 720.)
The principle o f parallax is easy to visualize:C lo se o ne eye,
and with yo ur index finger vertical, use yo ur eye to line up yo ur
finger with so m e distant o bject. No w, witho ut m o ving yo ur fin-
ger, viewthe o bject with yo ur o ther eye and no tice that the o bjects
po sitio n appears to change. The farther away yo u ho ld yo ur fin-
ger, the less the o bject's po sitio n seem s to shift. Herein lay the
aw in Tycho s argum ent. He was right abo ut parallax, but the
distance to even the nearest stars is eno rm o us co m pared to the
width o f Earths o rbit. C o nsequently, the shift that Tycho was lo o k-
ing fo r is to o sm all to be detected witho ut the aid o f a telesco pe-
an instrum ent that had no t yet been invented.
With the death o f his patro n, the King o f Denm ark, Tycho
was fo rced to leave his o bservato ry. Kno wn fo r his arro gance
and extravagant nature, Tycho was unable to co ntinue his wo rk
under Denm ark's new ruler. As a result, Tycho m o ved to Prague
in the present-day C zech Republic, where, in the last year o f his
life, he acquired an able assistant, Jo hannes Kepler. Kepler
retained m o st o f the o bservatio ns m ade by Tycho and put them
to exceptio nal use. Iro nically, the data Tycho co llected to refute
the C o pernican view o f the so lar system wo uld later be used by
Kepler to suppo rt it.
The Birth o f Mo dern Astro no m y 617
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Tycho Brahe ( 1546-1601) in his o bservato ry, in
U ranibo rg, o n the Danish island o f Hveen. Tycho ( central figure) and
the backgro und are painted o n the wall o f the o bservato ry within the
arc o f the sighting instrum ent called a quadrant. In the far right,
Tycho can be seen "sighting" a celestial o bject thro ugh the "ho le" in
the wall. Tycho 's accurate m easurem ents o f Mars enabled Jo hannes
Kepler to fo rm ulate his three laws o f planetary m o tio n. ( C o urtesy o f The
Bridgem an Library Internatio nal)
Jo hannes Kepler
If C o pernicus ushered o ut the o ld astro no m y, Io hannes Kepler
( 1571-163 0) ushered in the new Arm ed with
Tycho s data, a go o d m athem atical m ind, and, o f greater im po r-
tance, a stro ng belief in the accuracy o f Tycho s wo rk, Kepler
derived three basic laws o f planetary m o tio n. The first two laws
resulted fro m his inability to fit Tycho s o bservatio ns o f Mars to a
circular o rbit. U nwillingto co ncede that the discrepancies were a
result o f o bservatio nal erro r, he searched fo r ano ther so lutio n.
This endeavo r led him to disco ver that the o rbit o f Mars is no t a
perfect circle but is slightly elliptical Abo ut the sam e
tim e, he realized that the o rbital speed o f Mars varies in a pre-
dictable way. As it appro aches the S un, it speeds up, and as it
m o ves away, it slo ws do wn.
618 C HAPTER 21 O rigins o f Mo dern Astro no m y
Lei Germ an astro no m er Jo hannes Kepler ( 1571-163 0)
helped establish the era o f m o dern astro no m y by deriving three laws
o f planetary m o tio n. ( Pho to by Im agno /Getty Im ages)
In 1609, after nearly a decade o f wo rk, Kepler pro po sed his
first two laws o f planetary m o tio n:
1. The path o f each planet aro und the S un, while alm o st cir-
cular, is actually an ellipse, with the S un at o ne fo cus
( F igure 21.11).
2. Each planet revo lves so that an im aginary line co nnecting
it to the S un sweeps o ver equal areas in equal intervals o f
tim e 1" . = ; F 1). This law o f equal areas geo m etrically
expresses the variatio ns in o rbital speeds o f the planets.
F igure 21.12 illustrates the seco nd law. No te that in o rder fo r
a planet to sweep equal areas in the sam e am o unt o f tim e, it m ust
travel m o re rapidly when it is nearer the S un and m o re slo wly
when it is farther fro m the S un.
Kepler was devo ut and believed that the C reato r m ade an
o rderly universe and that this o rder wo uld be reected in the po si-
tio ns and m o tio ns o f the planets. The unifo rm ity he tried to find
eluded him fo r nearly a decade. Then in 1619, Kepler published
his third law in The Harm o ny o f the Wo rlds:
3 . The o rbital perio ds o f the planets and their distances to
the S un are pro po rtio nal.
l
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;I:'.l~ fl.--; -. Drawing ellipses with vario us eccentricities. U sing
two straight pins fo r fo ci and a lo o p o f string, trace o ut a curve while
keeping the string taut, and yo u will have drawn an ellipse. The
farther the pins ( the fo ci) are m o ved apart, the m o re attened ( m o re
eccentric) is the resulting ellipse.
In its sim plest fo rm , the o rbital perio d is m easured in Earth
years, and the planets distance to the S un is expressed in term s
o f Earths m ean distance to the S un. The latter yardstick is called
the astro no m ical unit ( AU ) and is equal to abo ut 150 m illio n
kilo m eters ( 93 m illio n m iles). U sing these units, Keplers third law
states that the planet's o rbital perio d squared is equal to its m ean
so lar distance cubed. C o nsequently, the so lar distances o f the
planets can be calculated when their perio ds o f revo lutio n are
kno wn. F o r exam ple, Mars has an o rbital perio d o f 1.88 years,
which squared equals 3 .54. The cube ro o t o f 3 .54is 1.52, and that
Kepler's law o f equal areas. A line co nnecting a planet
( Earth) to the S un sweeps o ut an area in such a m anner that equal
areas are swept o ut in equal tim es. Thus, Earth revo lves slo wer
when it is farther fro m the S un ( aphelio n) and faster when it is
clo sest ( perihelio n). The eccentricity o f Earth's o rbit is greatly
exaggerated in this diagram .
-Q
F aster
Jem o 9
January S un July
T
,1
~ n-
The Birth o f Mo dern Astro no m y 619
is the average distance fro m Mars to the S un, in astro no m ical units
( Table 21.1).
Keplers laws assert that the planets revo lve aro und the S un,
and therefo re suppo rt the C o pernican theo ry. Kepler, ho wever,
did no t determ ine the fo rces that act to pro duce the planetary
m o tio n he had so ably described. That task wo uld rem ain fo r
Galileo Galilei and S ir Isaac Newto n.
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei ( 1564-1642) was the greatest Italian scientist o f the
Renaissance 1. Y ~ :. .. ' ). He was a co ntem po rary o f Kepler and,
like Kepler, stro ngly suppo rted the C o pernican theo ry o f a S un-
centered so lar system . Galileo s greatest co ntributio ns to science
were his descriptio ns o f the behavio r o f m o ving o bjects, which
he derived fro m experim entatio n. The m etho d o f using experi-
m ents to determ ine natural laws had essentially been lo st since
the tim e o f the early Greeks.
All astro no m ical disco veries befo re Galileo 's tim e were m ade
witho ut the aid o f a telesco pe. ln 1609, Galileo heard that a Dutch
lens m aker had devised a system o f lenses that m agnied o bjects.
Apparently witho ut ever seeing a telesco pe, Galileo co nstructed
his o wn, which m agnied distant o bjects three tim es the size seen
by the unaided eye. He im m ediately m ade o thers, the best having
a m agnificatio n o f abo ut 3 0 .1? 151.1% . ti).
With the telesco pe, Galileo was able to view the universe in a
new way. He m ade m any im po rtant disco veries that suppo rted
the C o pernican view o f the universe, including the fo llo wing:
1. The disco very o f ]upiters fo ur largest satellites, o r
m o o ns 1% ). This find dispelled the o ld idea
that Earth was the so le center o f m o tio n in the universe;
fo r here, plainly visible, was ano ther center o f m o tio n-
Iupiter. It also co untered the frequently used argum ent
that the Mo o n wo uld be left behind if Earth revo lved
aro und the S un.
2. The disco very that the planets are circular disks rather
than just po ints o f light, as was previo usly tho ught. This
indicated that the planets m ust be Earth-like as o ppo sed
to star-like.
TABLE 21.1 Perio d o f Revo lutio n and S o lar Distances
o f Planets
S o lar Distance Perio d Ellipticity
Planet ( AU ) ( years) 0 = circle
Mercury 0.3 9 p 0.24 0.205
Venus 0.72 0.62 0.007
Eith iii 1.00* H 1.00 i g F L017
Mars 1.52 1.88 0.094
Jupiter 5.20 11.86 0.049
S aturn 9.54 29.46 if 0.057
U ranus 19.18 84.01 0.046
Neptune 3 0.06 164.80 0.011
* AU = astro no m ical unit
;l~ . Italian scientist Galileo Galilei ( 1564-1642) used a
new inventio n, the telesco pe, to o bserve the S un, Mo o n, and planets
in m o re detail than ever befo re. ( Nim atallah/Art Reso urce, N.Y .)
itL "1;-I. . O ne o f Galileo 's telesco pes. Altho ugh Galileo did no t
invent the telesco pe, he built severalthe largest o f which had a
m agnificatio n O f 3 0. ( Pho to by Gianni To rto li/Pho to Researchers, Inc.)
620 C HAPTER 21 O rigins o f Mo dern Astro no m y
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1 '-" .S ketch by Galileo o f ho w he saw Jupiter and its fo ur
largest satellites thro ugh his telesco pe. The po sitio ns o f Jupiter's fo ur
largest Mo o ns ( drawn as stars) change nightly. Y o u can o bserve
these sam e changes with bino culars. ( Y erkes O bservato ry Pho to graph!
U niversity o f C hicago )
3 . The disco very that Venus exhibits phases just as the Mo o n
do es and that Venus appears sm allest when it is in full
phase and thus is farthest fro m Earth .: r).
This o bservatio n dem o nstrates that Venus o rbits its
so urce o f lightthe S un. In the Pto lem aic system , sho wn
in F igure 21.16A, the o rbit o f Venus lies between Earth
and the S un, which m eans that o nly the crescent phases
o f Venus sho uld ever be seen fro m Earth.
4. The disco very that the Mo o ns surface is no t a sm o o th
glass sphere, as the ancients had pro claim ed. Rather,
Galileo saw m o untains, craters, and plains, indicating that
the Mo o n was Earth-like. He tho ught the plains m ight be
bo dies o f water, and this idea was stro ngly pro m o ted by
o thers, as we can tell fro m the nam es given to these fea-
tures ( S ea o f Tranquility, S ea o f S to rm s, etc.).
5. The disco very that the S un ( the viewing o f which m ay
have caused the eye dam age that later blinded him ) had
sunspo tsdark regio ns caused by slightly lo wer tem pera-
tures. He tracked the m o vem ent o f these spo ts and esti-
m ated the ro tatio nal perio d o f the S un as just under a
m o nth. Hence, ano ther heavenly bo dy was fo und to have
bo th blem ishes and ro tatio nal m o tio n.
Each o f these o bservatio ns ero ded a bedro ck principle held by
the prevailing view o n the nature o f the universe.
In 1616, the C hurch co ndem ned the C o pernican theo ry as
co ntrary to S cripture because it did no t put hum ans at their right-
ful place at the center o f C reatio n, and Galileo was to ld to aban-
do n this theo ry. U ndeterred, Galileo began writing his m o st
fam o us wo rk, Dialo gue o f the Great Wo rld S ystem s. Despite po o r
health, he co m pleted the pro ject and in 163 0 went to Ro m e, seek-
ing perm issio n fro m Po pe U rban VIII to publish. S ince the bo o k
was a dialo gue that expo unded bo th the Pto lem aic and C o perni-
can system s, publicatio n was allo wed. Ho wever, Galileo s detrac-
to rs were quick to realize that he was pro m o ting the C o pernican
view at the expense o f the Pto lem aic system . S ale o f the bo o kwas
quickly halted, and Galileo was called befo re the Inquisitio n. Tried
and co nvicted o f pro claim ing do ctrines co ntrary to religio us
teachings, he was sentenced to perm anent ho use arrest, under
which he rem ained fo r the last 10 years o f his life.
Despite this restrictio n, and his grief fo llo wing the death o f
his eldest daughter, Galileo co ntinued to wo rk. In 163 7 he becam e
to tally blind, yet during the next fewyears he co m pleted his finest
scientific wo rk, a bo o k o n the study o f m o tio n in which he stated
that the natural tendency o f an o bject in m o tio n is to rem ain in
m o tio n. Later, as m o re scientic evidence in suppo rt o f the C o per-
nican system was disco vered, the C hurch allo wed Galileo 's wo rks
to be published.
S ir Isaac Newto n
S ir Isaac Newto n ( 1642-1727) was bo rn in the year o f Galileo s
death ( 1 5 . His m any acco m plishm ents in m athem at-
ics and physics led a successo r to say, Newto n was the greatest
genius that ever existed.
S tudents S o m etim es Ask...
Did Galileo dro p balls o f iro n and wo o d fro m the Leaning
To wer o f Pisa?
legend, Galileo pro bably did no t
attem pt this experim ent. In fact,
it wo uld have been inco nclusive
because o f the effect o f air
weight. Acco rding to so m e resistance. Ho wever, nearly fo ur
acco unts, Galileo m ade this dis- centuries later, this experim ent
co very by dro pping balls o f iro n was dram atically perfo rm ed o n
and wo o d fro m the Leaning the airless Mo o n when David
To wer o f Pisa to sho w that they S co tt, an Apo llo 15 astro naut,
wo uld fall to gether and hit the dem o nstrated that a feather and
gro und at the sam e tim e. a ham m er do , indeed, fall at the
Despite the po pularity o f this sam e rate.
Thro ugh experim entatio n,
Galileo disco vered that the
acceleratio n o f falling o bjects
do es no t depend o n their
The Birth o f Mo dern Astro no m y 621
\ j_'.".:.,-~ :.' i 5 ._.'
|
Venus has phases just like the Mo o n. A. In the Pto lem aic
J U sing a telesco pe, Galileo disco vered that
l ( Earth-centered) system , the o rbit o f Venus lies between the
A. Phases o f Venus as seen fro m Earth in
the Earth-centered m o del.
B. Phases o f Venus as seen fro m C .
Earth in the sun-centered m o del.
Altho ugh Kepler and tho se who fo llo wed attem pted to explain
the fo rces invo lved in planetary m o tio n, their explanatio ns were
less than satisfacto ry. Kepler believed that so m e fo rce pushed the
planets alo ng in their o rbits. Galileo , ho wever, co rrectly reaso ned
that no fo rce is required to keep an o bject in m o tio n. Instead,
Galileo pro po sed that the natural tendency fo r a m o ving o bject
that is unaffected by an o utside fo rce is to co ntinue m o ving at a
unifo rm speed and in a straight line. This co ncept, inertia, was
later fo rm alized by Newto n as his first law o f m o tio n.
The pro blem , then, was no t to explain the fo rce that keeps the
planets m o ving but rather to determ ine the fo rce that keeps them
fro m go ing in a straight line o ut into space. It was to this end that
Newto n co nceptualized the fo rce o f gravity. At the early age o f 23 ,
he envisio ned a fo rce that extends fro m Earth into space and ho lds
the Mo o n in o rbit aro und Earth. Altho ugh o thers had theo rized the
existence o f such a fo rce, he was the rst to fo rm ulate and test the
law o f universal gravitatio n. It states:
Every bo dy in the universe attracts every o ther bo dy with a
fo rce that is directly pro po rtio nal to their m asses and inversely
pro po rtio nal to the square o f the distance between them .
S un and Earth, as sho wn in F igure 21.5A. Thus, in an Earth-
centered so lar system , o nly the crescent phase o f Venus
wo uld be visible fro m Earth. B. In the C o pernican ( S un-
centered) system , Venus o rbits the S un and hence all o f the
phases o f Venus sho uld be visible fro m Earth. C . As Galileo
o bserved, Venus go es thro ugh a series o f Mo o nlike phases.
Venus appears sm allest during the full phase when it is
farthest fro m Earth and largest in the crescent phase when
it is clo sest to Earth. This verified Galileo 's belief that the
S un was the center o f the so lar system . ( Pho to co urtesy o f Lo well
O bservato ry)
Thus, gravitatio nal fo rce decreases with distance, so that two
o bjects 3 kilo m eters apart have 3 2 o r 9, tim es less gravitatio nal
attractio n than if the sam e o bjects were 1 kilo m eter apart.
The law o f gravitatio n also states that the greater the m ass o f
an o bject, the greater its gravitatio nal fo rce. F o r exam ple, the large
m ass o f the Mo o n has a gravitatio nal fo rce stro ng eno ugh to cause
o cean tides o n Earth, whereas the tiny m ass o f a co m m unicatio ns
satellite has very little effect o n Earth.
With his laws o f m o tio n, Newto n pro ved that the fo rce o f
gravityco m bined with the tendency o f a planet to rem ain in
straight-line m o tio nwo uld result in a planet having an ellip-
tical o rbit as established by Kepler. Earth, fo r exam ple, m o ves
fo rward in its o rbit abo ut 3 0 kilo m eters ( 18.5 m iles) each sec-
o nd, and during the sam e seco nd, the fo rce o f gravity pulls it
to ward the S un abo ut 0.5 centim eter ( I/8 inch). Therefo re, as
Newto n co ncluded, it is the co m binatio n o f Earths fo rward
m o tio n and its falling m o tio n that defines its o rbit
If gravity were so m eho w elim inated, Earth wo uld
m o ve in a straight line o ut into space. C o nversely, if Earths fo r-
ward m o tio n suddenly sto pped, gravity wo uld pull it, crashing
into the S un.
622 C HAPTER 21 O rigins o f Mo dern Astro no m y
'.-i.i= .1i it:.. English scientist S ir Isaac Newto n ( 1642-1727)
explained gravity as the fo rce that ho lds planets in o rbit aro und the
S un. ( The Granger C o llectio n)
Thus far, we have discussed Earth as if the o nly fo rces
invo lved in its m o tio n were caused by its gravitatio nal relatio n-
ship with the S un. Ho wever, all bo dies in the so lar system have
gravitatio nal effects o n Earth and o n each o ther. F o r this reaso n,
the o rbit o f Earth is no t the perfect ellipse determ ined by Kepler.
There are slight variances in the o rbits o f the planets fro m their
predicted paths. These are called perturbatio ns ( perturb =
disturb). F o r exam ple, lupiters gravitatio nal pull o n S aturn sho rt-
ens S aturns o rbital perio d by nearly o ne week fro m what it wo uld
be if Jupiter did no t exist. The applicatio n o f this co ncept led to
the disco very o f the planet Neptune. When astro no m ers applied
Newto ns laws to the o rbit o f U ranus, it becam e clear that a large,
unkno wn bo dy ( Neptune) was gravitatio nally affecting the
m o tio n o f U ranus.
Newto n used the law o f universal gravitatio n to express
Keplers third law, which defines the relatio nship between the
o rbital perio ds o f the planets and their so lar distances. In its new
fo rm , Keplers third law takes into acco unt the m asses o f the bo d-
ies invo lved and thereby pro vides a m etho d fo r determ ining the
m ass o f a bo dy when the o rbit o f o ne o f its satellites is kno wn. F o r
exam ple, the m ass o f the S un is kno wn fro m Earths o rbit, and
Earths m ass has been determ ined fro m the o rbit o f the Mo o n. In
fact, the m ass o f any bo dy with a satellite can be determ ined. The
m asses o f bo dies that do no t have satellites can be determ ined
;i'.i?4:i.-"1 .'i.tT: O rbital m o tio n o f Earth and o ther planets.
o nly if the bo dies no ticeably affect the o rbit o f a neighbo ring bo dy,
o r o f a nearby artificial satellite.
C O NC EPT cnncx 2 1.2
Q What m ajo r change did C o pernicus m ake in the Pto lem aic
system ? Why was this change philo so phically different?
Q What data did Tycho Brahe co llect that was useful to Io hannes
Kepler in his quest to describe planetary m o tio n?
Q Who disco vered that planetary o rbits were ellipses rather than
circles?
Q Do es Earth m o ve faster in its o rbit near perihelio n ( January)
o r near aphelio n ( July)?
Q Explain why Galileo 's disco very o f a ro tating S un suppo rts the
C o pernican view o f a S un-centered universe.
Q Newto n disco vered that the o rbits o f the planets are the result
o f o ppo sing fo rces. Briey explain these fo rces.
Po sitio ns in the S ky
If yo u gaze at the stars away fro m city lights, yo u will get the dis-
tinct im pressio n that the stars pro duce a spherical shell sur-
ro unding Earth. This im pressio n seem s so real that it is easy to
understand why the early Greeks regarded the stars as being fixed
to a crystalline celestial sphere. Altho ugh we realize that no such
sphere exists, it is co nvenient to use this co ncept to m ap the stars
and o ther celestial o bjects. We describe two m apping system s
that use the co ncept o f celestial sphere:( 1) the divisio n o f the sky
into areas called co nstellatio ns and ( 2) the extensio n o f Earth s
lines o f lo ngitude and latitude into space ( the equato rial system ).
C o nstellatio ns
The natural fascinatio n peo ple have with the star-studded skies
led them to nam e the patterns they saw ( see Bo x 21.1). These co n-
figuratio ns, called co nstellatio ns ( co n = with, stella = star),
were nam ed in ho no r o f m ytho lo gical characters o r great hero es,
Po sitio nsin the S ky 623
..-Bo x2'1.'1.i
tl _l _J. _ '-,.':"f'~ ~ |_ .- 1.7 H - "-1 ' ' " = j - -
ii = 1? i " -.i Ii, "i 5":: i-_i __"= -_-.l-
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1...-.L_ ||lI-IH.-_
I
l
Astro lo gythe
F o rerunner o f
Astro no m y
Many peo ple co nfuse astro lo gy and astro n-
o m y to the po int o f believing these term s to
be syno nym o us. Astro no m y is a scientific
pro bing o f the universe aim ing to determ ine
the pro perties o f celestial o bjects and the
laws under which the universe o perates.
Astro lo gy, o n the o ther hand, is based o n
ancient superstitio ns that ho ld that an indi-
vidual's actio ns and perso nality are based
o n the po sitio ns o f the planets and stars
no w, and at the perso n's birth. S cientists do
no t accept astro lo gy, regarding it as a pseu-
do science ( false science). To day, m any peo -
ple read ho ro sco pes as a pastim e and do no t
let them inuence daily living.
Apparently astro lo gy had its o rigin m o re
than 5,000 years ago when the po sitio ns o f
the planets were plo tted as they regularly
m igrated against the backgro und o f the
"fixed" stars. Because the so lar system is
"at," like a whirling F risbee, the planets
o rbit the S un alo ng nearly the sam e plane.
E --F -* 5 7"" P-.1-
= -__.:_J _.-P-= -= ' -
r .
.|-7-.3 .-.
f
,.i i\ ..
_ -\ B;_
F IGU RE 21.B S to nehenge, an ancient o bservato ry in England. O n June 21-22
( sum m er so lstice), the S un can be o bserved rising abo ve the heelsto ne. ( Ro bin
S cagell/S cience Pho to Library/Pho to Researchers, Inc.)
Therefo re, the planets, S un, and Mo o n all
appear to m o ve alo ng a band aro und the sky
kno wn as the zo diac. Because Earth's Mo o n
cycles thro ugh its phases abo ut 12 tim es
each year, the Babylo nians divided the
zo diac into 12 co nstellatio ns ( F igure 21.A).
Thus, each successive full Mo o n can be seen
against the backdro p o f the next co nstella-
tio n o f the zo diac.
The do zen co nstellatio ns o f the zo diac
( Zo ne o f Anim als, " so nam ed because I
so m e co nstellatio ns represent anim als) are
Aries, Taurus, Gem ini, C ancer, Leo , Virgo ,
Libra, S co rpio , S agittarius, C aprico rn,
Aquarius, and Pisces. These nam es m ay be
fam iliar to yo u as the astro lo gical signs o f
the zo diac. When first established, the first
F IGU RE 21.A The 12 co nstellatio ns o f the zo diac. Earth is sho wn in its autum n
( S eptem ber) po sitio n in o rbit, fro m which the S un is seen against the
backgro und o f the co nstellatio n Virgo .
C elestial
sphere
No rth celestial po le
day o f spring ( vernal equino x) o ccurred
when the S un was viewed against the co n-
stellatio n Aries. Ho wever, during each suc-
ceeding vernal equino x, the po sitio n o f the
S un shifts very slightly against the back-
gro und stars. No w, o ver 2,000 years later,
the first day o f spring o ccurs when the S un
is in Pisces. In abo ut 600 years, it will o ccur
when the S un appears in the co nstellatio n
Aquarius. ( Hence, the Age o f Aquarius" is
co m ing.)
Altho ugh astro lo gy is no t a science and
has no basis in fact, it did co ntribute to the
science o f astro no m y. The po sitio ns o f the
Mo o n, S un, and planets at the tim e o f a per-
so n's birth ( sign o f the zo diac) were co nsid-
ered to have great inuence o n that perso nls
life. Even the great astro no m er Kepler was
required to m ake ho ro sco pes part o f his
duties. To m ake fo rward-lo o king ho ro sco pes,
astro lo gers attem pted to predict the future
po sitio ns o f the celestial bo dies. C o nse-
quently, astro no m ical o bservato ries were
built in o rder to o btain m o re accurate predic-
tio ns o f events such as eclipses, which were
co nsidered highly significant in a perso n's
life.*
Even prehisto ric peo ple built o bservato -
ries. The structure kno wn as S to nehenge, in
England, was undo ubtedly an attem pt at
better so lar predictio ns ( F igure 21.B). At the
tim e o f m idsum m er in the No rthern Hem i-
sphere ( June 21-22, the sum m er so lstice),
the rising S un em erges directly abo ve the
heel sto ne o f S to nehenge. Besides keeping
the calendar, S to nehenge m ay also have pro -
vided a m etho d o f determ ining eclipses. The
rem nants o f o ther early o bservato ries exist
elsewhere in the Am ericas, Euro pe, Asia,
and Africa.
It is interesting to no te that 2,000 years ago a perso n bo rn
o n Iuly 28 was co nsidered a Leo because the S un was in
that co nstellatio n. During m o dern tim es the S un appears
in the co nstellatio n C ancer o n this date, but individuals
bo rn during this tim e are still dubbed Leo s.
624 C HAPTER 21 O rigins o f Mo dern Astro no m y
such as O rio n the hunter S o m etim es it takes a bit
o f im aginatio n to m ake o ut the intended subjects, as m o st co n-
stellatio ns were pro bably no t tho ught o f as likenesses in the first
place. Altho ugh we inherited m any o f the co nstellatio ns fro m the
Greeks and their nam es fro m Greek m ytho lo gy, it is believed that
Greeks acquired m o st o f their co nstellatio ns fro m the Babylo ni-
ans, Egyptians, and Meso po tam ians.
Altho ugh the stars that m ake up co nstellatio ns all appear to
be the sam e distance fro m Earth, this is no t the case. S o m e are
m any tim es farther away than o thers. Thus, the stars in a partic-
ular co nstellatio n are no t asso ciated with each o ther in any im po r-
tant physical way. In additio n, vario us cultural gro ups, including
Native Am ericans and the C hinese, attached their o wn nam es,
pictures, and sto ries to the co nstellatio ns. F o r exam ple, the co n-
stellatio n O rio n the hunter was kno wn as the White Tiger to
ancient C hinese o bservers.
To day, 88 co nstellatio ns are reco gnized, and they are used to
divide the sky into units, just as state bo undaries divide the U nited
S tates. Every star in the sky is within the bo undaries o f o ne o f these
co nstellatio ns. Astro no m ers use co nstellatio ns when they want
to ro ughly identify the area o f the heavens they are o bserving. F o r
the student, co nstellatio ns pro vide a go o d way to beco m e fam il-
iar with the night sky.
~ ; .. '-. 2': C o nstellatio n O rio n the hunter. A. Artist's depictio n o f O rio n based o n descriptio ns
fro m Greek m ytho lo gy. B. Pho to sho wing the brightest stars in O rio n. The bright star in the upper left
iS nam ed Betegeusea red supergiant. ( Pho to by Jo hn C hum ack/Pho to Researchers, Inc.)
A.
B.l
S o m e o f the brightest stars in the heavens were given pro per
nam es, such as S irius, Arcturus, and Betelgeuse. In additio n, the
brightest stars in a co nstellatio n are generally nam ed in o rder o f
their brightness by the letters o f the Greek alphabet-alpha ( a),
beta ( B), and so o nfo llo wed by the nam e o f the parent co nstel-
latio n. F o r exam ple, S irius, the brightest star in the co nstellatio n
C anis Majo r ( Larger Do g), is also called Alpha ( o z) C anis Majo ris.
The Equato rial S ystem
The equato rial system divides the celestial sphere into co o rdi-
nates that are sim ilar to the latitude and lo ngitude system we use
fo r establishing lo catio ns o n Earths surface _ _1;).55
Because the celestial sphere appears to ro tate aro und an im agi-
nary line extending fro m Earths axis, the no rth and so uth celes-
tial po les are aligned with the terrestrial No rth Po le and S o uth
Po le. The no rth celestial po le happens to be very near the bright
star who se vario us nam es reflect its lo catio n:po le star, Po laris,
and No rth S tar. To an o bserver in the No rthern Hem isphere, the
stars appear to circle Po laris, because it, like the No rth Po le, is in
the center o f m o tio n ( :1 sho ws ho w to
lo cate the No rth S tar using two stars in the easily lo cated co n-
stellatio n the Big Dipper.)
No w, im agine a plane thro ugh
Earth's equato r, a plane that extends
o utward fro m Earth and intersects
the celestial sphere. The intersectio n
o f this plane with the celestial sphere
is called the celestial equato r ( F ig-
ure 21.20). In the equato rial system ,
the term declinatio n is analo go us to
latitude, and the term right ascensio n
is analo go us to lo ngitude ( F ig-
ure 21.20). Declinatio n ( cleclinare =
to turn away), like latitude, is the
angular distance no rth o r so uth o f
the celestial equato r. Right ascen-
sio n ( ascenclere = to clim b up) is the
angular distance m easured eastward
alo ng the celestial equato r fro m the
po sitio n o f the vernal equino x. ( The
vernal equino x is at the po int in the
sky where the S un cro sses the celes-
tial equato r, at the o nset o f spring.)
While declinatio n is expressed in
degrees, right ascensio n is usually
expressed in ho urs, where each ho ur
is equivalent to I5 degrees. ( Earth
ro tates 15 degrees each ho ur.) To
visualize distances o n the celestial
sphere, it helps to rem em ber that the
Mo o n and S un have an apparent
width o f abo ut 0.5 degree.
55Latitude and lo ngitude are described in Appen-
dix B, Earth's Grid S ystem .
The Mo tio ns o f Earth 625
No rth celestial po le
C elestial
sphere S tar
.-_
C elestial
equato r
S o uth celestial po le
111% iii Q-iizl it .;% ti Astro no m ical co o rdinate system o n the celestial sphere.
C O NC EPT cnrzcrc 2 1.3
Q Ho w do m o dern astro no m ers use co nstellatio ns?
Q Ho w m any co nstellatio ns are currently reco gnized?
Q Ho w are the brightest stars in a co nstellatio n deno ted?
Q Briey describe the equato rial system .
f.ii..?.'l. S tar trails in the regio n o f Po laris ( no rth celestial po le) o n a tim e expo sure. ( Pho to
by Do uglas Kirkland/C O RBIS )
iii1:5-iiliiiii Lo cating the No rth S tar ( Po laris) fro m the po inter stars
in the Big Dipper, which is part o f the co nstellatio n U rsa Majo r. The
Big Dipper is sho wn so o n after sunset in Decem ber ( lo wer figure),
April ( upper figure), and August ( left).
The Mo tio ns o f Earth
The two prim ary m o tio ns o f Earth are ro tatio n and revo lutio n.
A lesser m o tio n is axial precessio n. Ro tatio n is the turning, o r
spinning, o f a bo dy o n its axis. Revo lutio n is the m o tio n o f a
bo dy, such as a planet o r m o o n, alo ng a path aro und so m e po int
in space. F o r exam ple, Earth revo lves aro und the S un, and the
Mo o n revo lves aro und Earth. Earth also has ano ther very slo w
m o tio n kno wn as axial precessio n, which is the gradual change
in the o rientatio n o f Earths axis o ver a perio d o f 26,000 years.
Ro tatio n
The m ain co nsequences o f Earths ro tatio n are day and night.
Earths ro tatio n has beco m e a standard m etho d o f m easuring
tim e because it is so dependable and easy to use. Y o u m aybe sur-
prised to learn that Earths ro tatio n is m easured in two ways, m ak-
ing two kinds o f days. Mo st fam iliar is the
m ean so lar day, the tim e interval fro m o ne
no o n to the next, which averages abo ut 24
ho urs. No o n is when the S un has reached
its highest po int in the sky.
The sidereal ( sicler :star, at = pertaining
to ) day, o n the o ther hand, is the tim e it takes
fo r Earth to m ake o ne co m plete ro tatio n ( 3 60
degrees) withrespect to a star o ther than o ur
S un. The sidereal day is m easured by the tim e
required fo r a star to reappear at the identical
po sitio n in the sky. The sidereal day has a
perio d o f 23 ho urs, 56 m inutes, and fo ur sec-
o nds ( m easured in so lar tim e), which is
alm o st 4m inutes sho rter than the m ean so lar
day. This difference results because the direc-
tio n to distant stars changes o nly innitesi-
m ally, whereas the directio n to the S un
changes by alm o st I degree each day. This
difference is sho wn in .-ij-:i_..'T-ii
626 C HAPTER 21 O rigins o f Mo dern Astro no m y
The difference between a so lar day and a sidereal day. Lo catio ns X and Y are directly o ppo site each o ther. It
takes Earth 23 ho urs and 56 m inutes to m ake o ne ro tatio n with respect to the stars ( sidereal day). Ho wever, no tice that
after Earth has ro tated o nce with respect to the stars, po int Y is no t yet returned to the no o n po sitio n" with respect to the
S un. Earth has to ro tate ano ther 4 m inutes to co m plete the so lar day.
Why do we use the m ean so lar day to m easure tim e rather than
the sidereal day? C o nsider the fact that in sidereal tim e, no o n
o ccurs 4m inutes earlier each day. Therefo re, after a span o f 6
m o nths, no o n wo uld o ccur at m idnight. Ho wever, o bservato -
ries use clo cks that keep sidereal tim e because the stars appear to
m o ve thro ugh the sky in sidereal tim e. S im ply, if a star is sighted
directly so uth o f an o bservato ry at 9:00 P.M. ( sidereal
tim e) it will appear in the sam e directio n at that tim e K
Precessio n
A third and very slo w m o vem ent o f Earth is called axial preces-
sio n. Altho ugh Earths axis m aintains appro xim ately the sam e
angle o f tilt, the directio n in which the axis po ints co ntinually
changes ( i+ ign;i.-e :% 'i.;2s'n.). As a result, the axis traces a circle o n the
_ rr rto ttittt Earths o rbital m o tio n causes the apparent po sitio n o f the S un to
every ( sidereal) daY - shift abo ut 1 degree each day o n the celestial sphere.
Revo lutio n
Earth revo lves aro und the S un in an elliptical o rbit at an
average speed o f 107,000 kilo m eters ( 66,000 m iles) per
ho ur. Its average distance fro m the S un is 150 m illio n kilo -
m eters ( 93 m illio n m iles), but because its o rbit is an
ellipse, Earth's distance fro m the S un varies. At
perihelio n ( peri = near, helio s = sun) it is 147 m illio n kilo -
m eters ( 91.5 m illio n m iles) distant, which o ccurs abo ut
January 3 each year. At aphelio n ( apo = away, helio s =
sun) Earth is 152 m illio n kilo m eters ( 94.5 m illio n m iles)
distant, which o ccurs abo ut July 4.
Because o f Earths o rbital m o vem ent the S un
appears to be displaced am o ng the co nstellatio ns at a
distance equal to abo ut twice its width, o r I degree each
day. The apparent annual path o f the S un against the
backdro p o f the celestial sphere is called the ecliptic
;?1)i..; i4). The planets and the Mo o n travel in
nearly the sam e plane as Earth. Hence, their paths o n
the celestial sphere also lie near the ecliptic.
The im aginary plane that co nnects po ints alo ng the
ecliptic is called the plane o f the ecliptic. As m easured
fro m this im aginary plane, Earths axis is tilted abo ut
23 % degrees ( F igure 21.24). This angle is very im po r-
tant to Earths inhabitants because the inclinatio n o f
Earths axis causes the yearly cycle o f seaso ns, a to pic
discussed in detail in C hapter 16.
C elestial
sphere
/ No rth celestial po le
Mo tio ns o f the EarthMo o n S ystem 627
;~ 1."-'= ...i-.1'.":'= _~ ; Precessio n o f Earths axis. A. The precessio n o f
Earths axis causes the No rth Po le to trace a circle thro ugh the sky
during a 26,000-year cycle. C urrently, the No rth Po le po ints to ward
Po laris ( No rth S tar). In abo ut 12,000 years, Vega will be the No rth
S tar. Aro und 3 000 BC , the No rth S tar was Thuban, a bright star in the
co nstellatio n Draco . B. Precessio n illustrated by a spinning to y to p.
C . The circle sho ws the path o f the No rth Po le am o ng so m e
pro m inent stars and co nstellatio ns in the no rthern sky.
sky. This m o vem ent is sim ilar to the wo bble o f a spinning to p
( F igure 21.25B). At the present tim e, the axis po ints to ward the
bright star Po laris. In AD 14,000, it will po int to ward the bright star
Vega, which will then be the No rth S tar fo r abo ut a tho usand years
o r so ( F igure 21.25C ). The perio d o f precessio n is 26,000 years. By
the year 28,000, Po laris will o nce again be the No rth S tar. Preces-
sio n has o nly a m ino r effect o n the seaso ns because Earths angle
o f tilt changes o nly slightly.
In additio n to its o wn m o vem ents, Earth acco m panies the
S un as it speeds in the directio n o f the bright star Vega at 20 kilo -
m eters ( 12 m iles) per seco nd. Also , the S un, like o ther nearby
stars, revo lves aro und the galaxy, a trip that requires 23 0 m illio n
years to co m plete at speeds appro aching 250 kilo m eters ( 150
m iles) per seco nd. In additio n, the galaxies them selves are in
S tudents S o m etim es Ask...
O ur bo o k states that Earth is farthest fro m the S un in
July and clo sest to the S un in January. What wo uld the
seaso ns he like if this situatio n were reversed?
The situatio n yo u pro po sed will, planet is clo sest to the S un ( peri-
in fact, o ccur in abo ut 12,000 helio n). This is just the o ppo site
years because o f axial preces- o f the current situatio n. Thus,
sio n. ( Recall that variatio ns in 12,000 years fro m no w, average
EarthS un distance are no t the sum m er tem peratures in the
prim ary cause o f the seaso ns. No rthern Hem isphere will be
Nevertheless, they do affect warm er than they presently are.
average seaso nal tem pera- A sum m er in Mo ntreal, C anada,
tures.) Gradually, the po sitio n o f m ight be m o re akin to a typical
Earths axis will change so that sum m er in Washingto n, D.C .,
in 12,000 years the No rthern to day. Ho wever, no rthern lati-
Hem isphere will experience tudes will experience winter
winter when Earth is farthest tem peratures that are, o n aver-
fro m the S un ( aphelio n), and age, co lder than they presently
sum m er will o ccur when o ur are.
m o tio n. We are presently appro aching o ne o f o ur nearest galac-
tic neighbo rs, the Great Galaxy in Andro m eda.
In sum m ary, the m o tio ns o f Earth are m any and co m plex.
F o rtunately, o ne rarely has to co nsider all the m o tio ns at o nce.
F o r exam ple, since the so lar system m o ves as a unit in the galaxy,
and the galaxy m o ves as a unit thro ugh the universe, we do no t
have to co nsider these m o tio ns when discussing the m o tio ns o f
the Earth and Mo o n aro und the S un.
C O NC EPT cm zcx 2 1.4
Q Describe the three prim ary m o tio ns o f Earth.
Q Explain the difference between the m ean so lar day and the
sidereal day.
Q Define the ecliptic.
Q Why do es the axial precessio n have little effect o n the
seaso ns?
Mo tio ns o f the EarthMo o n
S ystem
Earth has o ne natural satellite, the Mo o n. In additio n to acco m -
panying Earth in its annual trek aro und the S un, o ur Mo o n o rbits
Earth abo ut o nce each m o nth. When viewed fro m a No rthern
Hem isphere perspective, the Mo o n m o ves co unterclo ckwise
( eastward) aro und Earth. The Mo o ns o rbit is elliptical, causing
the Earth-Mo o n distance to vary by abo ut 6 percent, averaging
3 84,401 kilo m eters ( 23 8,3 29m iles).
The m o tio ns o f the Earth-Mo o n system co nstantly change
the relative po sitio ns o f the S un, Earth, and Mo o n. The results
are so m e o f the m o st no ticeable astro no m ical pheno m ena,
628 C HAPTER 21 O rigins o f Mo dern Astro no m y
nam ely the phases o f the Mo o n and the o ccasio nal eclipses o f the
S un and Mo o n.
Lunar Mo tio ns
The cycle o f the Mo o n thro ugh its phases requires 29% daysa
tim e span called the syno dic m o nth. This cycle was the basis fo r
the first Ro m an calendar. Ho wever, this is the apparent perio d o f
the Mo o ns revo lutio n aro und Earth and no t the true perio d,
which takes o nly 27% days and is kno wn as the sidereal m o nth.
The reaso n fo r the difference o f nearly 2 days each cycle is sho wn
in .1-l". .f'-Ti-'-3 . No tice that as the Mo o n o rbits Earth, the
Earth-Mo o n system also m o ves in an o rbit aro und the S un. C o n-
sequently, even after the Mo o n has m ade a co m plete revo lutio n
aro und Earth, it has no t yet reached its starting po sitio n with
respect to the S un, which is directly between the S un and Earth
( new-Mo o n phase). This m o tio n takes an additio nal 2 days.
An interesting fact co ncerning the m o tio ns o f the Mo o n is that
its perio d o f ro tatio n aro und its axis and its revo lutio n aro und Earth
are the sam e27 - days. Because o f this, the sam e lunar hem i-
sphere always faces Earth. All o f the landings o f the m anned Apo llo
m issio ns were co nfined to the Earth-facing side. O nly o rbiting
satellites and astro nauts have seen the back side o f the Mo o n.
Because the Mo o n ro tates o n its axis o nly o nce every 27% days,
any lo catio n o n its surface experiences perio ds o f daylight and
darkness lasting abo ut 2 weeks. This, alo ngwith the absence o f an
atm o sphere, acco unts fo r the high surface tem perature o f 127C
( 261F ) o n the day side o f the Mo o n and the lo w surface tem per-
ature o f -173 C ( -280F )o n its night side.
Phases o f the Mo o n
The rst astro no m ical pheno m eno n to be understo o d was the reg-
ular cycle o f the phases o f the Mo o n. O n a m o nthly basis, we
o bserve the phases as a system atic change in the am o unt o f the
Mo o n that appears illum inated We will cho o se the
new-Mo o n po sitio n in the cycle as a startingpo int. Abo ut 2 days
after the newMo o n, a thin sliver ( crescent phase) can be seen with
the naked eye lo w in the western sky just after sunset. During the
fo llo wingweek, the illum inated po rtio n o f the Mo o n that is visible
fro m Earth increases ( waxing) to a half- circle ( rst-quarter phase)
that can be seen fro m abo ut no o n to m idnight. In ano ther week,
the co m plete disk ( fall-Mo o n phase) can be seen rising in the east
as the S un sinks in the west. During the next 2 weeks, the per-
centage o f the Mo o n that can be seen steadily declines ( waning),
until the Mo o n disappears alto gether ( new-Mo o n phase). The cycle
so o n begins anewwith the reappearance o f the crescent Mo o n.
The lunar phases are a co nsequence o f the m o tio n o f the
Mo o n and the sunlight that is reected fro m its surface
( F igure 21.27B). Half o f the Mo o n is illum inated at all tim es ( no te
the inner gro up o f Mo o n sketches in F igure 21.27A). But to an
earthbo und o bserver, the percentage o f the bright side that is vis-
ible depends o n the lo catio n o f the Mo o n with respect to the S un
and Earth. When the Mo o n lies between the S un and Earth, no ne
o f its bright side faces Earth, so we see the new-Mo o n ( no -
Mo o n) phase. C o nversely, when the Mo o n lies o n the side o f
Earth o ppo site the S un, all o f its lighted side faces Earth, so we
see the full Mo o n. At all po sitio ns between these extrem es, an
interm ediate am o unt o f the Mo o ns illum inated side is visible
fro m Earth.
C O NC EPT C HEC K 2 1.5
Q C o m pare the syno dic m o nth with the sidereal m o nth.
Q What is the appro xim ate length o f the cycle o f the phases o f
the Mo o n?
Q What pheno m eno n results fro m the fact that the Mo o n's
perio d o f ro tatio n and revo lutio n are the sam e?
Q The Mo o n ro tates very slo wly ( o nce in 27% days) o n its axis.
Ho w do es this affect the lunar surface tem perature?
Q What is different abo ut the crescent phase that precedes the
new-Mo o n phase and that which fo llo ws the new-Mo o n
phase?
Q What phase o f the Mo o n o ccurs appro xim ately o ne week after
the new Mo o n? Two weeks?
it The difference
between the sidereal m o nth
( 2 7 - days) and the syno dic m o nth
( 2 9 % days). Distances and angles
are no t sho wn to scale.
Eclipses o f the S un and Mo o n 629
F m
B. S
itPhases o f the Mo o n. A. The o uter figures sho w the phases as seen fro m Earth. B. C o m pare these pho to graphs with
the diagram . ( Pho to s U C Regents/Lick O bservato ry)
Eclipses o f the S un and Mo o n
Alo ng with understanding the Mo o ns phases, the early Greeks
also realized that eclipses are sim ply shado w effects. When the
Mo o n m o ves in a line directly between Earth and the S un, which
can o ccur o nly during the new-Mo o n phase, it casts a dark
shado w o n Earth, pro ducing a so lar eclipse ( eclipsis = failure to
appear) ?i'l'll.Ii-llili-). C o nversely, the Mo o n is eclipsed ( lunar
eclipse) when it m o ves within Earths shado w, a situatio n that is
po ssible o nly during the full-Mo o n phase I3 .l"'l.Tl'_,T -'i.fEIi).
Why do es a so lar eclipse no t o ccur with every new-Mo o n
phase and a lunar eclipse with every full Mo o n? They wo uld, if
the o rbit o f the Mo o n lay exactly alo ng the plane o f Earths o rbit.
Ho wever, the Mo o ns o rbit is inclined abo ut 5 degrees to the
plane o f the ecliptic. Thus, during m o st new-Mo o n phases, the
shado w o f the Mo o n passes either abo ve o r belo w Earth; and
during m o st full-Mo o n phases, the shado w o f Earth m isses the
Mo o n. An eclipse can o nly take place when a new- o r full-Mo o n
phase o ccurs while the Mo o ns o rbit cro sses the plane o f the
ecliptic.
63 0 C HAPTER 21 O rigins o f Mo dern Astro no m y
S o lar eclipse. A. O bservers in the zo ne o f the um bral shado w see a to tal so lar eclipse.
Tho se lo cated in the penum bra o nly see a partial eclipse. The path o f the so lar eclipse m o ves
eastward acro ss the Earth. B. During a to tal so lar eclipse, the blo tted-o ut so lar disk is surro unded by
an irregularly shaped halo called the co ro na. ( Pho to by Ro ger Ressm eyer/C O RBIS )
ii Lunar eclipse. A. During a to tal lunar eclipse the
Mo o n's o rbit carries it into the dark shado w o f Earth ( um bra). During
a partial eclipse o nly a po rtio n o f the Mo o n enters the um bra. B. During
a to tal lunar eclipse a dark, co pper-co lo red Mo o n is o bserved. The
co lo r is a result o f a sm all am o unt o f sunlight that is reddened by
Earth's atm o spherefo r the sam e reaso n sunsets appear red. This
light is refracted ( bent) to ward the Mo o n's surface. ( Pho to by Eckhard
S lawik/Pho to Researchers, Inc.)
Because these co nditio ns are
no rm ally m et o nly twice a year, the
usual num ber o f eclipses is fo ur.
These o ccur as a set o f o ne so lar and
o ne lunar eclipse, fo llo wed 6 m o nths
later with ano ther set. O ccasio nally
the alignm ent is such that three
eclipses can o ccur in a o ne-m o nth
perio dat the beginning, m iddle,
and end. These o ccur as a so lar
eclipse anked by two lunar eclipses,
o r vice versa. F urtherm o re, it o cca-
sio nally happens that the first set o f
eclipses fo r the year o ccurs at the very
beginning o f a year, the seco nd set in
the m iddle, and a third set o ccurs
befo re the calendar year ends, result-
ing in six eclipses in that year. Mo re
rarely, if o ne o f these sets co nsists o f
three eclipses, the to tal num ber o f
eclipses in a year can reach seven,
which is the m axim um .
Duringa to tal lunar eclipse, Earths
circular shado w m o ves slo wly acro ss
the disk o f the full Mo o n. When to tally
eclipsed, the Mo o n is co m pletely
within Earths shado wbut is still visible
as a co ppery disk, because Earths
atm o sphere bends so m e lo ng-wave-
length light ( red) into its shado w. S o m e
o f this light reects o ff the Mo o n and
back to us. A to tal eclipse o f the Mo o n can last up to 4ho urs and is
visible to anyo ne o n the side o f Earth facing the Mo o n.
During a to tal so lar eclipse, the Mo o n casts a circular shado w
that is never wider than 275 kilo m eters ( 170 m iles), abo ut the size
o f S o uth C aro lina. This shado w traces a stripe o n Earths surface.
Anyo ne o bserving in this regio n will see the Mo o n slo wly blo ck the
S un fro m view and the sky darken ( i% i.li"i% gttre ;iit..sc). Near to tality, a
sharp dro p in tem perature o f a few degrees is experienced. The
so lar disk is co m pletely blo cked fo r a m axim um o f o nly 7 m in-
utes, because the Mo o ns shado w is so sm all. At to tality, the dark
S tudents S o m etim es Ask...
Why do we so m etim es see the Mo o n in the daytim e?
During the full-Mo o n phase, the is visible in the daytim e sky. F o r
Mo o n and the S un are o n o ppo - exam ple, the waning-gibbo us
site sides o f Earth, which phase can be seen in the early
causes the Mo o n to rise aro und m o rning ho urs and the waxing-
sunset and set at sunrise. Thus, gibbo us Mo o n in the afterno o n
the full m o o n tends to be visible ( see F igure 21.27). Altho ugh the
o nly at night. Ho wever, during crescent Mo o n is "o ut" sho rtly
the o ther phases o f the lunar befo re sunset and after sunrise,
cycle, the Mo o n and the S un are yo u pro bably wo n't see it in the
no t directly o ppo site each o ther, daytim e. Why no t?
and the lit po rtio n o f the Mo o n
Eclipses o f the S un and Mo o n 63 1
Mo o n is seen co vering the co m plete so lar disk, and o nly the S uns
brilliant white o uter atm o sphere is visible ( F igure 21.28). To tal
so lar eclipses are visible o nly to peo ple in the dark part o f the
Mo o n's shado w ( um bra), while a partial eclipse is seen by tho se
in the light po rtio n ( penuntbra) ( F igure 21.28).
Partial so lar eclipses are m o st co m m o n in the Po lar regio ns,
because it is these areas that the pentunbra blankets when the dark
um bra o f the Mo o ns shado wjust m isses Earth. A to tal so lar eclipse
is a rare event at any given lo catio n. The next o ne that will be visi-
ble o m the co ntiguo us U nited S tates will o ccur o n August 21, 2017.
C O NC EPT cnrzcx 21 .6
Q S ketch the lo catio ns o f the S un, Mo o n, and Earth during a
so lar eclipse and during a lunar eclipse.
Q Ho w m any eclipses no rm ally o ccur each year?
Q S o lar eclipses are slightly m o re co m m o n than lunar eclipses.
Vllhy, then, is it m o re likely that yo ur regio n o f the co untry will
experience a lunar eclipse?
Q Ho w lo ng can a to tal eclipse o f the Mo o n last? Ho w abo ut a
to tal eclipse o f the S un?
I;5' This sequence o f pho to s starting fro m the upper left
to the lo wer right sho ws the stages o f a to tal so lar eclipse. ( F ro m
F o undatio ns o f Astro no m y, Third Editio n, p. 54, by Michael S eeds. 1992. Reprinted
with perm issio n o f Bro o ks/C o le Publishing, a divisio n o f Tho m so n Learning.)
GIVE IT S O ME
l
2.
3 .
4.
5U
Refer to F igure 21.4and im agine that Erato sthenes had m easured the difference in the angles o f
the no o nday S un between S yene and Alexandria to be 10 degrees instead o f 7 degrees. C o nsider
ho w this new m easurem ent wo uld have affected his calculatio n o f Earths circum ference to answer
the fo llo wing questio ns.
a. Wo uld this new m easurem ent lead to a m o re accurate calculatio n?
b. Wo uld this new m easurem ent lead to an estim ate fo r the circum ference o f Earth that is larger
o r sm aller than Erato stheness o riginal estim ate?
U se Keplers third law to answer the fo llo wing questio ns:
a. Determ ine the perio d o f a planet with a so lar distance o f 10AU .
b. Determ ine the distance between the S un and a planet with a perio d o f 5 years.
c. Im agine two bo dies, o ne twice as large as the o ther, o rbiting the S un at the sam e distance.
Which o f the bo dies, if either, wo uld m o ve faster than the o ther?
Galileo used his telesco pe to o bserve the planets and m o o ns in o ur so lar system . These o bserva-
tio ns allo wed him to determ ine the po sitio ns and relative m o tio ns o f the S un, Earth, and o ther
o bjects in the so lar system . Refer to F igure 21.16A, which sho ws an Earth-centered so lar system ,
and F igure 21.16B, which sho ws a S un- centered so lar system , to co m plete the fo llo wing:
a. Describe the phases o f Venus an o bserver o n Earth wo uld see fo r the Earth-centered m o del o f
the so lar system .
b. Describe the phases o f Venus an o bserver o n Earth wo uld see fo r the S un-centered m o del o f
the so lar system .
c. Explain ho w Galileo used o bservatio ns o f the phases o f Venus to determ ine the co rrect po si-
tio ns o f the S un, Earth, and Venus.
Refer to the acco m panying diagram , which sho ws three astero ids ( A, B, and C ). They _
are being pulled by the gravitatio nal fo rce exerted o n them by their partner astero id """"
sho wn o n the left. Ho w will the strength o f the gravitatio nal fo rce felt by each astero id "' iii
( A, B, and C ) co m pare? ( Assum e all o f these astero ids are co m po sed o f the sam e
m aterial.)
Refer to the acco m panying diagram , which
sho ws two pairs o f astero ids, Pair A and
Pair B. Is it po ssible fo r the astero ids in
.:;P'-
L.- .,,_ Q.
.a"-
* ?"5?'* I. .
ti -3 % ; ------------------------ ---$ 3 ;
\ 1'_9. 1
to
\ -
Pair A to be experiencing the sam e degree B -------- -{ ?C
o f gravitatio nal fo rce as the astero ids in '/i'ig--------------------------- -.( ;'~ '-/-E * 1... 1
~ i~ 5I. '
Pair B? Explain yo ur answer.
it
63 2 C HAPTER 21 O rigins o f Mo dern Astro no m y
7
8
. Im agine that Earth ro tates o n its axis at half its current rate. Ho w m uch tim e wo uld be required to
capture the pho to sho wn in F igure 21.21?
. If we were able to reverse the directio n o f Earths ro tatio n, wo uld the so lar day be lo nger, sho rter, o r
stay the sam e?
. Refer to F igure 21.A to co m plete the fo llo wing:
a. What co nstellatio n is lo cated in the sky near the S un o n the day illustrated?
b. After Earth has been m o ving aro und the S un fo r 5 m o nths, which co nstellatio n will be near the
S un at no o n?
c. Which co nstellatio n will be high in the sky at m idnight? Explain yo ur reaso ning.
9. Im agine that to day is yo ur birthday. Wo uld yo u be able to see the stars o f yo ur astro lo gical birth
sign? Explain yo ur answer.
10. Refer to the acco m panying pho to to co m plete the fo llo wing.
a. When yo u o bserve the phase o f the m o o n sho wn, is the m o o n waxing o r waning?
b. What tim e o f day can this phase o f the m o o n be o bserved?
1 1. Im agine yo u are lo o king up at a full m o o n. At the sam e tim e, an astro naut o n the Mo o n is viewing
Earth. In what phase will Earth appear to be fro m the astro nauts vantage po int? S ketch a diagram to
illustrate yo ur answer.
12. If the m o o ns o rbit were precisely aligned with the plane o f Earths o rbit, ho w m any eclipses ( so lar and
lunar) wo uld o ccur in a 6-m o nth perio d o f tim e? If the m o o ns o rbit were tilted 90 degrees with respect
to the plane o f Earth's o rbit, ho w m any eclipses ( so lar and lunar) wo uld o ccur in a 6-m o nth perio d?
Early Greeks held the geo centric ( Earth-centered) view o f the
universe, believing that Earth was a sphere that stayed
m o tio nless at the center o f the universe. O rbiting Earth were
the seven wanderers ( planetai in Greek), which included the
Mo o n, S un, and the kno wn planets Mercury, Venus, Mars,
Iupiter, and S aturn. To the early Greeks, the stars traveled
daily aro und Earth o n a transparent, ho llo w sphere called the
celestial sphere. In A.D. 141, C laudius Pto lem y presented the
geo centric o utlo o k o f the Greeks in its m o st so phisticated
fo rm in a m o del that becam e kno wn as the Pto lem aic system .
The Pto lem aic m o del had the planets m o ving in circular
o rbits aro und a m o tio nless Earth. To explain the retro grade
m o tio n o f planets ( the apparent westward o r o ppo site m o tio n
that planets exhibit fo r a perio d o f tim e as Earth o vertakes
and passes them ), Pto lem y pro po sed that the planets o rbited
in sm all circles ( epicycles), revo lving alo ng large circles
( deferents).
In the 5th century B.C ., the Greek Anaxago ras reaso ned that
the Mo o n shines by reected sunlight, and because it is a
sphere, o nly half is illum inated at o ne tim e. Aristo tle ( 3 84-3 22
B.c.) co ncluded that Earth is spherical. The first Greek to pro -
fess a S un-centered, o r helio centric, universe was Aristarchus
( 3 12-23 0 B.c.). The first successful attem pt to establish the
size o f Earth is credited to Erato sthenes ( 276l94B.c.). The
greatest o f the early Greek astro no m ers was Hipparchus ( 2nd
century B.c.), best kno wn fo r his star catalo gue.
Mo dern astro no m y evo lved thro ugh the wo rk o f m any dedi-
cated individuals during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Nico laus C o pernicus ( 1473 -1543 ) reco nstructed the so lar sys-
tem with the S un at the center and the planets o rbiting
aro und it but erro neo usly co ntinued to use circles to repre-
sent the o rbits o f planets. Tycho Brahes ( 1546-1601) o bserva-
In Review C hapter 21 O rigins o f Mo dern Astro no m y
tio ns were far m o re precise than any m ade previo usly and are
his legacy to astro no m y. Io hannes Kepler ( 1571-1 63 0) ush-
ered in the new astro no m y with his three laws o f planetary
m o tio n. After co nstructing his o wn telesco pe, Galileo Galilei
( 1564-1642) m ade m any im po rtant disco veries that sup-
po rted the C o pernican view o f a S un-centered so lar system .
S ir Isaac Newto n ( 1642-1727) was the first to fo rm ulate and
test the law o f universal gravitatio n, develo p the laws o f
m o tio n, and pro ve that the fo rce o f gravity, co m bined with
the tendency o f an o bject to m o ve in a straight line ( inertia),
results in the elliptical o rbits disco vered by Kepler.
As early as 5,000 years ago peo ple began nam ing the co nfigu-
ratio ns o f stars, called co nstellatio ns, in ho no r o f m ytho lo gical
characters o r great hero es. To day, 88 co nstellatio ns are reco g-
nized that divide the sky into units, just as state bo undaries
divide the U nited S tates.
O ne m etho d fo r lo cating stars, called the equato rial system ,
divides the celestial sphere into a co o rdinate system sim ilar
to the latitude-lo ngitude system used fo r lo catio ns o n Earths
surface. Declinatio n, like latitude, is the angular distance
no rth o r so uth o f the celestial equato r. Right ascensio n is the
angular distance m easured eastward fro m the po sitio n o f the
vernal equino x ( the po int in the sky where the S un cro sses
the celestial equato r at the o nset o f spring).
The two prim ary m o tio ns o f Earth are ro tatio n ( the turning,
o r spinning, o f a bo dy o n its axis) and revo lutio n ( the m o tio n
o f a bo dy, such as a planet o r m o o n, alo ng a path aro und
so m e po int in space). Ano ther very slo w m o tio n o f Earth is
precessio n ( the slo w m o tio n o f Earths axis that traces o ut a
co ne o ver a perio d o f 26,000 years). Earths ro tatio n can be
m easured in two ways, m aking two kinds o f days. The m ean
so lar day is the tim e interval fro m o ne no o n to the next,
( l
H Mastering Geo lo gy 63 3
which averages abo ut 24ho urs. In co ntrast, the sidereal day is
.. the tim e it takes fo r Earth to m ake o ne co m plete ro tatio n with
respect to a star o ther than the S un, a perio d o f 23 ho urs,
56 m inutes, and 4seco nds. Earth revo lves aro und the S un in
an elliptical o rbit at an average distance fro m the S un o f 150
m illio n kilo m eters ( 93 m illio n m iles). At perihelio n ( clo sest to
the S un), which o ccurs in January, Earth is 147 m illio n kilo -
m eters fro m the S un. At aphelio n ( farthest fro m the S un),
which o ccurs in July, Earth is 152 m illio n kilo m eters distant.
The im aginary plane that co nnects Earth's o rbit with the
celestial sphere is called the plane o f the ecliptic.
0 O ne o f the first astro no m ical pheno m ena to be understo o d
was the regular cycle o f the phases o f the Mo o n. The cycle o f
the Mo o n thro ugh its phases requires 29% days, a tim e span
called the syno dic m o nth. Ho wever, the true perio d o f the
Mo o ns revo lutio n aro und Earth takes 27% days and is kno wn
Key Term s
as the sidereal m o nth. The difference o f nearly 2 days is due to
the fact that as the Mo o n o rbits Earth, the EarthMo o n sys-
tem also m o ves in an o rbit aro und the S un.
In additio n to understanding the Mo o ns phases, the early
Greeks also realized that eclipses are sim ply shado w effects.
When the Mo o n m o ves in a line directly between Earth and
the S un, which can o ccur o nly during the new-Mo o n phase, it
casts a dark shado w o n Earth, pro ducing a so lar eclipse. A
lunar eclipse takes place when the Mo o n m o ves within the
shado w o f Earth during the full-Mo o n phase. Because the
Mo o ns o rbit is inclined abo ut 5 degrees to the plane that
co ntains the Earth and S un ( the plane o f the ecliptic), during
m o st new- and full-Mo o n phases no eclipse o ccurs. O nly if a
new- o r full-Mo o n phase o ccurs as the Mo o n cro sses the
plane o f the ecliptic can an eclipse take place. The usual
num ber o f eclipses is fo ur per year.
aphelio n ( p. 626) helio centric ( p. 614) retro grade m o tio n ( p. 615)
astro no m ical unit ( AU ) ( p. 618) lunar eclipse ( p. 629) revo lutio n ( p. 625)
axial precessio n ( p. 625) m ean so lar day ( p. 625) right ascensio n ( p. 624)
celestial sphere ( p. 613 ) perihelio n ( p. 626) ro tatio n ( p. 625)
co nstellatio ns ( p. 622) perturbatio n ( p. 622) sidereal day ( p. 625)
declinatio n ( p. 624) phases o f the Mo o n ( p. 628) sidereal m o nth ( p. 628)
ecliptic ( p. 626) plane o f the ecliptic ( p. 626) so lar eclipse ( p. 629)
equato rial system ( p. 624) Pto lem aic system ( p. 614) syno dic m o nth ( p. 628)
geo centric ( p. 613 )
Exam ining the Earth S ystem
1. C urrently, Earth is clo sest to the S un ( perihelio n) in January
( 147 m illio n kilo m eters/ 91.5 m illio n m iles) and farthest fro m
the S un in July ( 152 m illio n kilo m eters/ 94.5 m illio n m iles).
As the result o f the precessio n o f Earths axis, 12,000 years
fro m no w perihelio n ( clo sest) will o ccur in Iuly and aphelio n
( farthest) will take place in January. Assum ing no o ther
changes, ho w m ight this change average sum m er tem pera-
tures fo r yo ur lo catio n? What abo ut average winter tem pera-
tures? VVhat m ight the im pact be o n the bio sphere and
Mastering Geo lo gy
-. . 1|
. _ .1
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:= ,__r:l jirgl ti 5" e ., TM
o eo to v
I 4 .',
Lo o king fo r additio nal review and test prep m aterials? Visit the
S elf S tudy area in www.m asteringgeo lo gy.co m to find practice
quizzes, study to o ls, and m ultim edia that will aid in yo ur under-
standing o f this chapters co ntent. In MasteringGeo lo gy" yo u
. will find:
r ' 0 GEO De:Earth S cience:An interactive visual walkthro ugh o f
key co ncepts
hydro sphere? ( To aid yo ur understanding o f the effect o f
Earth's o rbital param eters o n the seaso ns, yo u m ay want to
review the sectio n Variatio ns in Earths O rbit in C hapter 6,
pp. 170-171.)
2. In what ways do the interactio ns between Earth and its Mo o n
inuence the Earth system ? If Earth did no t have a Mo o n,
ho w m ight the atm o sphere, hydro sphere, geo sphere, and
bio sphere be different?
Geo science Anim atio n Library:Mo re than 100 anim atio ns
illum inating m any difficult-to -understand Earth science
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