INTRODUCTION

TO
ASTRONOMY

MODULE OUTLINE:
* What is Astronomy?
* Astronomical
Instruments
* Basic Astronomical
Terminology
* Some Updates on

What is
astronomy?

Branches of Physical Science

D. Astronomy Study of the universe beyond
Earth
One of oldest branches
Babylonians charted planets & stars 4,000 years
ago

Mr. Jerwin A. Gutierrez, MAEdSci

Faculty Member
University of Batangas Lipa City

ASTRONOMY

- the science of the universe outside

of our planet

ASTRONOMY

- science of heavenly bodies.

- has resulted in many practical
inventions, ideas, including
calendars, navigational
techniques, laws of motion,
engineering of products and
an increased understanding of
energy and weather.

astronomical
instruments

ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS
1.

Optical Telescope
2. Refracting Telescope
3. Reflecting Telescope
4. Radio Telescope
5. Spectroscope
6. Spectrograph
7. Photometer
8. Interferometer
9. Thermocouple
10. Space Telescope
11. Orbiting Telescopes

OPTICAL TELESCOPE

- efra

- used to collect light.

BASIC TYPES OF OPTICAL

TELESCOPES:

a. Refractors use lenses

b. Reflectors use mirrors
c. Cardioptics use a
combination of both lenses
and mirrors

REFRACTING TELESCOPE

- uses lenses to collect light

- magnifies the object 33 times

REFLECTING TELESCOPE

- uses mirror instead of lenses to

collect light
- focuses light rays with a curved
concave mirror

RADIO TELESCOPE

- used to collect and measure

radio waves

SPECTROSCOPE

- used to observe a star as to its movement

toward or away from the Earth.

SPECTROGRAPH

photometer
interferometer
thermocouple

- instrument used to photograph

the spectrum

PHOTOMETER

- instrument for measuring

intensity of light

INTERFEROMETER

-hermocouple

- measures the angular diameter

of stars

THERMOCOUPLE

- measures the temperature of

an object

SPACE TELESCOPE

- reveals the details of the

celestial object

ORBITING TELESCOPES

- used to observe the ultraviolet, infrared,

and X-ray proportions of the
electromagnetic spectrum

BASIC
ASTRONOMICA
L
TERMINOLOGY

BINARY STAR

- a double star system having orbital revolution

components that caused the twin stars.

APHELION / PERIHELION

- an object's orbital point (in distance and

time) around a star where the object's
distance (on its elliptical orbit) from its
parent star is farthest / closest.

* The terms apogee & perigee are used

instead when referring to objects
orbiting the Earth (e.g. the Moon).

* The terms apoapsis & periapsis

refers to orbits around all other
bodies.

ASTRONOMICAL UNIT

* This is slightly less than the mean distance

from the Earth to the Sun, approx.
149,597,870.691km or about 93 million miles.

OPPOSITION

* A planet in opposition is at its closest

to, and at its best visibility from,
Earth.

PRECESSION

- a circular motion about a body's

axis of rotation.

WANE & WAX

* A waning moon refers to

the time between the full

WANE & WAX

* A waxing moon refers to an

increase in the illuminated

CONSTELLATIONS

- grouping of stars usually

resembling a mythical figure
from Greek or Arabic folklore.

CELESTIAL CO-ORDINATE
SYSTEM

- a hollow sphere that appears

to rotate around the Earth in
an east-west direction every

RIGHT ASCENSION (R.A.)

- one of the co-ordinates used to

locate position on the celestial
space that runs from north to south

DECLINATION (DEC.)

- one of the co-ordinates used to

locate position on the celestial
space that runs from east to west

APPARENT MAGNITUDE

- measure of the visible light

brightness of a celestial
object as observed from the

ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE

- the magnitude (visible-light brightness)

that a celestial object would have if it were
observed at a standard distance of 32.6
light years (10 parsecs).

ASTEROIDS

*These rocky bodies are found all over

the solar system. They vary in size
and in composition.

COMETS

* The stuff of lore. From Halley's comet to

Hale Bopp comets inspire awe whenever
they pass close to Earth. Even Hollywood
has gotten in on the game.

SOME
UPDATES
ON

SOME UPDATES:
* Our Universe is exquisitely
"flat" in topology, such that two
initially parallel light rays will
stay parallel forever.
* A flat Universe is one of the
key predictions of cosmic
inflation, a theory that pertains
to the very earliest moments of
the Universe.

SOME UPDATES:
The Universe and all
it contains originated
in a Hot Big Bang
13.7 billion years ago.

SOME UPDATES:
* The Universe is expanding

like a stretchy sheet at a

rate of 71 kilometers per
second per megaparsec of
distance, where one (1)
megaparsec equals 3.26
million light-years.

SOME UPDATES:
* The matter-energy in the
Universe is made up of 4%
ordinary matter -- most of
which is dark, 23% dark
matter of unknown
constitution, and 73% dark
energy of even more
unknown nature.

SOME UPDATES:
* The first stars in the
Universe were formed
less than 200 million
years after the Big
Bang, less than 1.5% of
the total time that has
transpired since then.

*These far-reaching
conclusions are based
on the most precise
measurements of the
cosmic microwave
background ever
attained.

They await confirmation

from the additional WMAP
data that are accruing, from
the European Planck
mission that has yet to
launch, and from other
scientists who may hold
different interpretations of
the same data.

The 8 planets

The planets are divided into 2 groups ,

the Inner planets and the Outer planets

Mercury

Jupiter

Venus
Saturn

Uranus

Earth

Mars

Neptune

Ptolemy proposed the

geocentric theory
Galileo tested
heliocentric theory, but
persecuted by the
Roman Catholic Church
Copernicus gained the
honor of proposing the
heliocentric theory

BASIC QUESTIONS:
1. What

would support the idea that

the moon is a disc?

2. Why do we see only one side of the

moon?
3. Why does the moon go through
phases of full to thin crescent while
the sun remains round?