DAY5- AST 101 Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the AST 101 lecture on exploring the solar system, focusing on the local sky, movement of stars, and observational tools.

Local Sky

The apparent sky as seen from a specific location on Earth.

Stellarium

A planetarium software that allows users to simulate the night sky from different locations on Earth.

Altitude

The angular height of an object above the horizon.

Azimuth

The angular direction of an object, measured from the North in degrees.

Circumpolar Stars

Stars that never set below the horizon and can be seen year-round.

Celestial Sphere

An imaginary sphere surrounding Earth onto which all celestial bodies can be projected.

Celestial Poles

The points in the sky that are directly above the Earth's North and South Poles.

Coordinate System

A system for determining positions of objects in the night sky using angular measurements.

Mental Model of Earth’s Rotation

A conceptual framework that helps understand how Earth's rotation affects the motion of stars.

Angular Size

The size of an object in the sky measured as an angle, often used in astronomy to describe how large an object appears from a certain distance.

Predictions in Science

Hypotheses that can be tested and potentially falsified through observation.

Night Sky Change

The variation of the night sky view caused by the rotation of Earth and its orbit around the Sun.

OneDrive

A cloud storage service provided by Microsoft that allows users to store files online.

Horizon

The line where the sky appears to meet the ground, considered the 0-degree altitude.

Zenith

The point in the sky directly above an observer, or 90 degrees altitude.