Lesson 3: Celestial coordinates and Timekeeping

Celestial Coordinates

Celestial Sphere Overview:

➢ Conceptualise the Earth at the center of the celestial sphere.
➢ Celestial sphere represented as a clear larger ball.
➢ Ecliptic marked by a red dotted line; celestial equator denoted by a large greeny-blue
line, analogous to Earth's equator.

Earth's Coordinates on the Celestial Sphere:

➢ Earth's latitude and longitude lines imagined expanding outward onto the celestial
sphere.
➢ Creates a coordinate grid for the sky.
➢ "Latitude" in the sky is referred to as declination, and "longitude" is known as right
ascension.

Declination:
➢ Declination expressed in degrees, arcminutes, and arcseconds north (+) or south (–)
of the celestial equator.
➢ Analogous to Earth's latitudinal positions.
➢ Celestial equator has a declination of 0°, and the north celestial pole has a
declination of +90°.
➢ Example: Capella has a declination of +46° 0”.

Right Ascension (RA):

➢ RA expressed in hours (h), minutes (m), and seconds (s) of time, ranging from 0 to
24 hours.
➢ Zero of right ascension is the line through the spring equinox.
➢ RA measured eastward from this line.
➢ Example: Capella's RA is 5 hours 17 minutes east of the spring equinox.

Celestial Coordinates and Star Movements:

➢ Celestial coordinates of stars remain constant over many years due to their vast
distance.
➢ Stars move relative to Earth, but the changes are imperceptible.
➢ Sun, being closer, moves along the ecliptic, covering 24-hour right ascension zones
throughout the year.

Constellations on the Celestial Sphere:

➢ Additional image with constellations imprinted on the celestial sphere.
➢ Challenge to identify constellations like Pegasus, Cassiopeia, and Pisces.
➢ Notation of 0h through the "square of Pegasus" for orientation.

Timekeeping
➢ Connection between astronomical phenomena and time measurement explored.
➢ Precision in astronomy beyond vague correspondences.
Timekeeping by Day:
➢ Solar day: The average length of time between successive passes of the Sun across
the local meridian.
➢ Sidereal day: Time for any star to make successive passes across the local meridian,
about 23 hours 56 minutes.
➢ Sidereal day is shorter than a solar day by about 4 minutes due to Earth's orbital
motion.

Timekeeping by Month:
➢ Lunar phase cycle: Approximately 29.5 solar days, corresponding to a synodic
month.
➢ Synodic month reflects the meeting of the Sun and the Moon at each new moon
phase.
➢ Sidereal month: Time it takes for the Moon to complete one orbit relative to the stars,
about 27.3 days.

Timekeeping by Year:
➢ Year's length related to Earth's orbit around the Sun, about 365.25 days.
➢ Sidereal year: Time for a complete orbit relative to the stars.
➢ Tropical year (solar year): Time between successive spring or autumnal equinoxes,
slightly shorter than a sidereal year due to Earth's precession.

Calendar Considerations:
➢ If sidereal year used as a calendar, seasons would slowly shift, repeating every
26,000 years.
➢ Current calendar relies on the average solar day, important for practical timekeeping.

Apparent Solar Time:

➢ Determined by the Sun's position relative to the local meridian.
➢ Noon signifies the Sun on the meridian, a.m. (ante meridian) before noon, p.m. (post
meridian) after noon.
➢ Earth's imperfect orbit and 23.5° tilt cause slight variations in solar day length.

Time Zones:
➢ Earth divided into 24 time zones, proposed by Sandford Fleming.
➢ Each time zone has the same time to avoid complications.
➢ Universal adoption of time zones occurred in the late 1800s.

Calendars
➢ Tropical year is approximately 365.25 days, posing challenges for calendars.
➢ Julius Caesar's introduction of the leap year in the Julian calendar.
➢ The need for further refinement leads to the Gregorian calendar.

Julian Calendar:
➢ Julius Caesar's solution: Adding an extra day every four years to address the drift in
seasons.
➢ Known as the Julian calendar.
➢ Each leap year adds an extra day, keeping the calendar close to the tropical year.
Calendar Drift:
➢ The tropical year is not precisely 365.25 days but about 11 minutes shorter.
➢ Result: Spring equinox drifts backward by 11 minutes each year, accumulating over
time.
➢ Approximately 14.5 hours of drift per lifetime (80 years), leading to about 12 days
every 1600 years.

Gregorian Calendar:
➢ Introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
➢ Aimed at refining the calendar to address the drift.
➢ Set the spring equinox to March 21 initially.
➢ Adjusted the leap day schedule: Leap year skipped in century years unless divisible
by 400.
➢ Example: 2000 is a leap year, but 1900 and 2100 are not.

Global Adoption:
➢ The Gregorian calendar, refined for thousands of years into the future.
➢ Globally adopted and widely used today.