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Astronomy and Natural History:

Astronomy and Natural History:. What’s the Connection?. We live right next to a star!. The Sun is a star up close . Other stars are Suns very far away . Think of stars as Distant Suns . The Main Points About Living Right Next to a Star:.

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Astronomy and Natural History:

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  1. Astronomy and Natural History: What’s the Connection?

  2. We live right next to a star! The Sun is a star up close. Other stars are Suns very far away. Think of starsas Distant Suns.

  3. The Main Points About Living Right Next to a Star: What stars do: The Sun is a typical star that generates heat and light via nuclear fusion reactions deep in its interior. How that affects planets: The Sun is, ultimately, the source of ALL the energy that ultimately drives ALL weather, ALL climate and is responsible for ALL life on the Earth.

  4. Warmth

  5. The Sun Moves Air in a Big Way Winds are caused by the Sun. When the Sun warms up the oceans they warm the air around them causing the air to get stirred up. This creates wind. Weather is simply the Sun managing the Earth’s heat budget.

  6. Seasons

  7. The Sun Regulates Animal Schedules • annual migrations, hibernations, mating seasons, and molting times are all triggered by sunlight. • Snowshoe rabbits, for example, completely change their appearance each fall. • The shortening days of fall also alert bears to the approach of winter. • Changing amounts of daylight prompt geese to fly south in the fall and north in the spring. • Monarch butterflies, caribou, salmon, and even turtles all respond to the changing length of days throughout each year.

  8. Phototropism, Photoperiodism, and the Biggie: Photosynthesis "To the best of our knowledge, our Sun is the only star proven to grow vegetables." ----- Philip Scherrer, 1973

  9. The Sun Makes Communications Possible The solar activity of the Sun influences radio-wave propagation by effecting the Earth's ionosphere.

  10. What the Sun Looks Like to Us When One of Us Has Bought a $4,300 Hydrogen-alpha Solar Filter:

  11. Time "Anyone who has lived through an English winter can see the point of building Stonehenge to make the Sun come back." - Alison, Jolly 1988

  12. Human Health • Health • Cleanses waters • Affects tidal flow

  13. All life on a planet in a solar system is utterly dependent on the energy radiating from the central star(s) within the system. Planets, in fact, may be byproducts of stellar formation.

  14. The Sun, Our Nearest Star, Influences Everything There is not one single thing on Earth that is not influenced by the Sun. NOT ONE THING.

  15. Astronomers Monitor Near and Distant Suns (i.e., Stars) …and all the detail that entails!

  16. The Night Sky: An Endangered NaturalResource

  17. Maryland and Virginia

  18. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

  19. The International Dark Sky Association

  20. Distant Suns: The Stars

  21. Star Counts on a Good Night • On top of a skyscraper in downtown Manhattan = 150 (only the very brightest stars) • Within the confines of any metropolitan area having a population of about one million persons = a few hundred • Bluebird Observatory (Ellicott City, MD) = 1500-2500 • The American Southwest away from urban light pollution = 10,000+

  22. The Fate of the Sun in About 5 Billion Years

  23. Astronomy without a Telescope

  24. Naked Eye Astronomy

  25. Requirements for Naked Eye Observing • Zero budget • Start tonight if weather permits • Need only to want to learn plus… • A good beginner’s astronomy book plus… • A desire to find astronomical objects in the night sky • Redflashlight • Cheap compass (unless you already know how to find N, S, E, and W in the dark) • A place to go observe • One year of your time on this planet • Tenacity and clear skies

  26. First Tips • Learn the brightest 20 or so stars first by watching for them as they rise in the eastern sky. This way you will associate the star with the month and season. • Learn the 15-20 common constellations AFTER you can name the brightest 20 or so stars. • Go out several nights per month… • The best first telescope is a pair of binoculars; work with them for a year • It doesn’t matter which telescope you buy as long as you spend more than $400.00 for it. • The $400.00+ first telescope will teach you everything you need to know about buying your second telescope.

  27. “Highly recommended! Used it and still use it myself! -----Jerry Persall

  28. The Best First Learning Tool: A Planisphere

  29. The Basics for Learning the Night Sky

  30. Night Sky in Ursa Major – Tiny White Diamonds on Black Velvet

  31. The Great Bear in Ursa Major

  32. It’s a lovely day in the cosmic neighborhood. These are the constellation boundary lines.

  33. The 110 Messier Objects

  34. TheUnlabeledMoon

  35. The Labeled Moon

  36. 1st Quarter Moon

  37. Waterworld Quarter Moon Sea of Cold Lake of Death Lake of Dreams Sea of Serenity Sea of Crises Sea of Tranquility Sea of Fecundity Bay of Asperity Sea of Nectar Sea of Vapors

  38. Mountainworld Quarter Moon The Alps Mts. The Caucasus Mts. The Apennines Mts. The Altai Fault Rheita Valley

  39. Craterworld Quarter Moon Aristoteles and Eudoxus

  40. Aristoteles and Eudoxus

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