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Practical astronomy

 

This page supports students who use the book Astronomy Aotearoa. It provide links to current information on the night sky as seen from your location tonight.

 

How to begin

If you have not studied the night sky before, begin with three tasks:

  1. Look for the band of stars that sweeps across the sky - this is the Milky Way. You are looking into our galaxy. You are on the side of the galaxy.
  2. Locate the Pointers and then the Southern Cross. The Cross is called Crux on the sky maps. It is a small constellation. It is always there to be seen.
  3. Locate a planet (eg Venus or Jupiter). The web sites to help you are http://www.rasnz.org.nz and http://www.heavens-above.com. Venus is the brilliant white Morning Star or Evening Star.

You do not need binoculars, or a telescope, to begin your study of the night sky. Do not try to see too much at once. Set out to find one thing at a time. It helps if there is someone who can point things out to you.

 


Paul Moss of Wellington and the telescopes he used to take pictures included in Astronomy Aotearoa resources.

 

Web sites for practical astronomy
Textbook/ Workbook Pages
Topic & Links
 

Beginners guide to the Southern Cross

http://www.dibonsmith.com/downunder.htm (find the Milk Way, find the Pointers, work from there)

 

Clear, accurate statements about what you can see tonight

http://www.rasnz.org.nz/ (see the "What's in the sky" menu)
 

Locate satellites you can see tonight

http://www.stardome.org.nz/sky-guides/satellites.asp (locate satellites in the sky tonight)
 

Weather over New Zealand

http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/satelliteworld/newzealandsatellite_large_animated.html (New Zealand weather from a satellite)
 

Print out sky maps

http://www.skymaps.com/
 

Northern hemisphere constellations from the point-of-view of those in the southern hemisphere

http://www.dibonsmith.com/graph_sh.htm (beginners' guide)

 

The sky above you tonight

http://www.heavens-above.com/countries.aspx (sky chart for a particular place and time)

http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/cities.html
 

BBC practical astronomy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/myspace/nightsky/ (BBC maps and notes, remember to select the southern hemisphere)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/myspace/constellationguide/(Constellation guide, clear, select the one you want)

 

Build a star wheel

http://www.astronomyinyourhands.com/index.html (build a star wheel to make it easy to identify stars)

 

Picture of the Coalsack and Crux

http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~hiram/moh/astro/stars/coalsack.html



Practical astronomers meeting in Auckland - Grant Christie, Ian Bond, Jennie McCormick from Stardome Observatory, and Professor Phil Yock from the University of Auckland.

A note to teachers

Practical astronomy is an important part of any full astronomy course. However, there is no requirement for practical astronomy in the astronomy unit standards. Practical astronomy was excluded from the unit standards in order to ensure they could be taught totally online. There are unit standards available that could be assessed for practical astronomy. Refer to the Teachers' Guide and the Astronomy Aotearoa Student Workbook.