Astro 11
Lab 2
- Lab 2, The Changing Sky, gives an introduction to the night time sky, and how our observations
of celestial objects depend on the day and time of observation. This lab provides a good introduction for the
semester observing project, and will give you the tools you need to locate the various objects you will be
observing throughout the semester.
- Lab 2 is a computer lab, so make sure you go to the correct classroom for lab this week. You can consult the
lab schedules listed on the Astro 11 webpage for details.
- Make sure you read the directions on page 26 which detail how to use the Skyglobe program. Pay special attention
to the Turbo feature. Inevitably you will discover for yourself how touchy the program is in engaging Turbo mode.
While you may not use it for most of the lab, Turbo mode comes in handy when you want to watch the general motion
of stars over time (such as in question h).
- Take a few extra minutes at the end of lab when writing your summary to organize your thoughts. Since this is one
of the first labs you are turning in, pay attention to what your TA is looking for. The summary is not meant to
be a summary of what you did, but rather a summary of what you learned. If you had 5 minutes to explain to a
friend the main concepts you learned in lab, what would they be? (I’m sure your friend could care less how to work
the Skyglobe program, but would rather be interested in what you learned about the apparent motion of stars over
time). Pay attention to the questions included in the summary. They are meant as a guide, but do not limit
yourself to only answering the questions. Try to organize your thoughts and write a coherent summary describing
the basic concepts which were covered in this lab. It may take you a few weeks to get the hang of it.