AST101H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Tidal Locking, Umbral Calculus, Precession
21 Oct 2012
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AST101H1 Full Course Notes
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Chapter 2 discovering the universe for yourself. Constellation: a region of the sky with well-defined borders; the familiar patterns of stars merely help us locate the constellations. North celestial pole: the point directly over earth"s north pole. South celestial pole: the point directly over earth"s south pole. Celestial equator: a projection of the earth"s equator into spaces, making a complete circle around the celestial sphere. Ecliptic: the path the sun follows as it appears to circle around the celestial sphere once each year; it crosses the celestial equator at a 23 angle, because that is the tilt of the earth"s axis. The milky way in the night sky traces our galaxy"s disk of stars- the galactic plane- as it appears from our location in the outskirts of the galaxy. The dark lanes that run down the center of the milky way contain the densest clouds, and they appear dark because these clouds obscure our view of stars behind them.
