Homework 5: Due Friday, February 20

  1. Why won't you ever see the planet Mars in the constellation Perseus?

  2. What is the right ascension of a star that is on the meridian at midnight at the time of the autumnal equinox?

  3. What is the sidereal time when the vernal equinox rises? Explain how you arrived at your answer.

  4. Use your Star Gazer's Almanac to answer the following questions. What is the sidereal time at midnight on March 6? What is the right ascension of Jupiter on March 6? Does Jupiter's right ascension change over the course of the day? Why or why not? Now use Starry Nights to find the right ascension of Jupiter at 12:01 AM on March 6. (Use Window: Planet List to find Jupiter. Double click on Jupiter and an image should appear. Change the box that says local alt/az to equatorial JNow. This will give you Jupiter's coordinates in the right ascension/declination system--the equatorial system).

  5. How could you use the Star Gazer's Almanac to find the sidereal time at 8 p.m. on April 15?

  6. How would the sidereal and solar days change

    7. a. If the Earth’s rate of rotation on its axis increased?
    b. If the Earth’s rate of rotation on its axis decreased?
    c. If the Earth’s rotation were retrograde (that is, if the Earth rotated about its axis opposite to the direction in which it revolves about the Sun)?