Cailin Frusti and Alex Spear

Professor Skov
Atmospheric and Space Science
06 May 2016
Star Setting Observation

For centuries, many questions have arose regarding astronomical observations. One such

question focuses on the precise time a star sets over time. Is it the same time every night? Does it

vary depending on the date? If so, what causes it to do so? By observing any particular star of the

course of a few months, one can answer these questions and discuss why such an occurrence

takes place.

For any kind of astronomical observation, background knowledge is necessary to set a

foundation for your observation to be set on. From our class textbooks, lectures, labs, and other

sources, we were able to have background knowledge on our observation to comprehend what

and why we were performing this observation. Firstly, through our class lectures, we were able to

understand the difference between stars and planets as we located our star. This was important

because it helped us ensure that every night we were looking at a star, and not a planet. Part of

our astronomical observation was to look at the same star every night, so by knowing how to

locate a star, we were able to do so. Secondly, also part of our class lectures, was learning about

the different constellations in the night sky. By learning about constellations and how to find

them, it made it easier to locate the same star every night. By choosing a star in a particular

constellation, such as Orion, one can make it easier to locate the chosen star every night. A third

piece of background knowledge that we had in regards to this astronomical observation that we

had was lab 17, which was titled Astronomical Observations. As a part of this lab, we were

required to locate a star, and then come back an hour later and see how much it moved. This
helped us observe in which direction a star set every night. Finally, a fourth piece of background

information we had came from class lectures. This includes the difference between the solar

rotation and the sidereal rotation. This particularly helped us to answer the question about why

the star set earlier and earlier each night.

Each astronomical observation requires an experimental procedure. For our observation,

very little equipment was required. All that was needed to complete this observation was a clock,

a set location, and a visible night sky. For our observation, we used a star located in the

constellation, Orion, and had a set location on the bridge overlooking the west side of campus.

Over a period of two Star Set months, we observed

(minutes
the star setting in the Day of Star Set from same spot to obtain
Date Year Time midnight)
the most accurate 02/21/ data. We measured
16 52 1:04 64
the time the star set 02/25/ and recorded it to
16 56 1:01 61
03/02/
compare it to the 16 62 0:58 58 other data we
03/06/
observed and 16 66 1:00 60 recorded.
03/10/
16 70 0:55 55
03/21/
16 81 0:54 54
03/23/
16 83 0:52 52
03/29/
16 89 0:48 48
03/31/
16 91 0:52 52
04/03/
16 94 0:43 43
04/07/
16 98 0:45 45
04/11/
16 102 0:40 40
04/14/
16 105 0:35 35
04/17/
16 108 0:30 30
 The above table shows the data we obtained as a result of our observation. As it got later

and later into the year, the star started setting at an earlier time. In February when we began our

observations, the star set a little after one oclock in the morning. However, by time we finished

our observations in the middle of April, it was setting around twelve thirty in the morning. There

is research published that shows that the star setting time gets earlier and earlier in the evening as

the year continues. This is due to what is called the Sidereal Rotation of our planet.