Knowing the Heavens
Guiding Questions
Naked-eye astronomy had an important place in ancient civilizations
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Eighty-eight constellations cover the entire sky
Modern Constellations
The appearance of the sky changes during the course of the night and from one night to the next
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Annual Motion
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It is convenient to imagine that the stars are located on a celestial sphere
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The seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis of rotation
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Seasons
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Landmarks on the Earth’s surface are marked by the Sun’s position in the sky throughout the year
The Moon helps to cause precession, a slow, conical motion of Earth’s axis of rotation
Precession causes the gradual change of the star that marks the North Celestial Pole
Positional astronomy plays an important role in keeping track of time
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Astronomical observations led to the development of the modern calendar
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Key Words
Author: Michael Cohen
E-mail: mrcohe@ship.edu
Homepage: http://physics.ship.edu/~mrc/