Celestial Phenomena… Many people witnessed unusual phenomena that occurred both during the day and at night. All this fascinates those who saw these phenomena and causes a lot of questions and disputes among those who could not do it.
The medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas is absolutely right in his statement: A miracle is a phenomenon that contradicts not the laws of nature, but our idea of these laws.
The 1990s were rich in celestial phenomena. Yes, and in the twentieth century, the century of technological progress ...
Many people witnessed unusual phenomena that occurred both day and night. All this fascinates those who saw these phenomena and causes a lot of questions and disputes among those who could not do it.
The medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas is absolutely right in his statement: "A miracle is a phenomenon that contradicts not the laws of nature, but our idea of these laws."
The 1990s were rich in celestial phenomena. Yes, and in the twentieth century, the century of technological progress, in all of its ...
In a homogeneous medium, light propagates only in a straight line, and at the boundary of two media, a beam of light is refracted. Such an inhomogeneous medium is, in particular, the air of the earth's atmosphere: its density increases near the earth's surface.
The beam of light is bent, and as a result, the luminaries look somewhat displaced, "raised" relative to their true positions in the sky. This phenomenon is called refraction (from Latin refractus - "refracted").
The refraction is especially strong when...
On December 9, in the period of 7.00 - 9.00 local time, an extremely amazing celestial phenomenon occurred over Norway. So surprising that it did not make it into the world news releases, and is now discussed only by eyewitnesses (there are thousands of them) in their blogs.
(One of these eyewitnesses was our reader, Vladimir from Norway, who told us about this and also managed to take a few pictures on his mobile phone and kindly sent the pictures to the editor). At the moment, there is no complete ...
The celestial disk from Nebra is one of the most interesting and, according to some scientists, debatable archaeological finds of recent years. This is a bronze disk dating back to 1600 BC. e. It is 32 cm in diameter (about the same size as a vinyl record) and weighs about 4 pounds.
The disc is painted blue-green and covered with gold leaf symbols. It contains a crescent, the sun (or full moon), stars, an arcuate border (which is called the solar boat) and ...
For the first time I got acquainted with this amazing phenomenon in 1985 in Moscow. It was a rare success - I was holding in my hands the official report of the Coptic Patriarchate about this phenomenon (with photographs!!!), where the Patriarchate confirmed that this phenomenon was not a fiction.
Examples were given of phenomenal healings of people from incurable diseases during this phenomenon. To confirm the truth, the following were given: the full name and surname of the patient, his place of residence, the exact diagnosis, as well as: the full name and surname of the attending ...
Space and the surroundings of the solar system are saturated with a large amount of "heavenly debris". It is fragments of hard rocks like stone, pieces of ice and frozen gases. These can be asteroids or comets revolving around the Sun in complex orbits.
Their size ranges from a few kilometers to a millimeter. Such celestial objects bombard the Earth every day, and only thanks to the atmosphere they most often burn up before reaching the surface of the planet.
Throughout history...
IN JANUARY 1995, a German astronomical journal published a short report to which all the scientific, religious and popular publications of the planet immediately responded. Each publisher drew the attention of their readers to completely different aspects of this message, but the essence was reduced to one: the Abode of God was discovered in the Universe.
After deciphering a series of images transmitted from the Hubble telescope, the films ...
A new discovery unveiled this week by NASA is very important for future lunar explorers: astronauts may find themselves "crackling with electricity, like a sock pulled out of a hot dryer," the agency says...
Our sky is unique and beautiful. In the morning it cheers us up with its bright and light tones, and in the evening its warm coloring acts on us peacefully and soothingly.
Sometimes so unusual beautiful phenomena appear in the sky that you want to admire for hours. Some of these phenomena are very rare or occur only in certain parts of the world. We invite you to take a look at the images of the most magnificent unique phenomena that can be seen in the sky.
This beautiful phenomenon is one of the few that we can observe every day. But there are days when the dawn in the sky looks so amazing that looking at it is simply breathtaking. Like, for example, in this photo. And how does such beauty appear in the sky? In fact, the variety of colors at sunset and at dawn from pink and red to yellow and brown depends on how our sun shines, namely on the length of its rays. At sunset or sunrise, we see only part of the rays, so we can admire such magnificence. The brightness of the dawn is affected by the amount of steam and dust particles in the atmosphere: the more of them, the more saturated the color of the dawn.
An emerald ray that looks like something magical is a rarity. It can be seen in the absence of fog and clouds. At sunrise, it is the first ray of sunshine. Often a greenish ray can be seen over the sea. It looks like a green flashlight. Unfortunately, the duration of this phenomenon is very short - only a couple of seconds. But you can increase the time of observation of this most beautiful phenomenon: climb the mountain or move along the deck of the ship at a certain speed. Thus, the American pilot Richard Baird, during his stay at the South Pole, saw a greenish beam for 35 minutes. As soon as he noticed it, he immediately directed his plane along the horizon, thereby increasing the time of observation of this unusual phenomenon. Since ancient times, the green ray has fascinated people. In the drawings of ancient Egypt, you can see the sun with green rays. In Scotland there is a sign: "If you see a green beam, then you will be lucky in love."
Parhelion is another extraordinary mesmerizing phenomenon, one of the varieties of a halo (a luminous ring around the sun). Parhelion looks like a bright iridescent spot at the level of the sun. The appearance of this amazing phenomenon is due to the fact that light is refracted in ice crystals at a height of 5-10 km. Spots of light may also appear on the parhelic circle.
You can see two suns in the sky during the cold season, when many ice floes form in the air. The light of the sun hits the ice crystals, while being reflected from them, as in a mirror. And then there is the illusion of a second sun. As if the luminary painted itself, showed a self-portrait. In ancient times, people did not know that additional suns were just a reflection in the sky. They were afraid of this phenomenon. At the poles of our planet, you can observe three, and sometimes as many as eight suns.
The appearance of a rainbow in the sky always brings joy. After all, she is very beautiful and completely harmless, like a thunderstorm or lightning. The rainbow does not touch the ground, it starts about two kilometers from the soil. But there is a rainbow and four meters from the ground and even on the grass or in the fountain.
It happens that two rainbows appear in the sky at once. In this case, they say that you can make a wish, and it will certainly come true. We see more than one rainbow as the light bounces off the rain twice. It reverses the order of the spectrum.
An inverted rainbow is a real natural masterpiece. In this case, a zenithal arc is visible in the sky, which arose under certain weather. The light falls on the clouds, reflected in the ice. The color of the spectrum goes in reverse order: red is at the bottom, and violet is at the top. This phenomenon occurs at the North and South Poles.
A fiery rainbow (or ice halo) is a very rare occurrence in nature. It usually occurs in summer. In this case, a number of conditions must be met: the sun's rays must be located at a certain height, reflected from crystal ice floes in the sky, plus cirrus clouds are needed. Then round-horizontal arcs appear, which shimmer with multi-colored colors and give us an amazing landscape.
The northern lights can be observed in the polar regions (more often in spring or autumn). Thanks to this phenomenon, it becomes light at night as during the day. Often the aurora takes the form of a cloud, streak, or spot. Like a real masterpiece, it looks like a ribbon, resembling a curtain in the sky. The auroras appear due to the perturbations of the sun, which, as we know, is constantly bubbling and burning. The fiery particles of the sun, reaching the Earth, form a glow in the sky, releasing a huge amount of energy.
Clouds of silver color appear at the onset of deep twilight. This is a fairly rare phenomenon that can only be seen in summer in northern latitudes. These formations are formed quite high - at an altitude of 70-95 km. They are also called mesosphere. Also, similar clouds can appear on other planets, for example, on Mars.
Sometimes amazing images appear in the sky next to the sun, charming outlines created from clouds of various shapes. It happens that you can see a castle in the sky or huge pillars appear, similar to an inverted tornado. For the formation of such clouds, there must be certain weather conditions. Roll clouds appear with thunderstorm winds with the right amount of moisture, when cold air moves under warm air. The wind during a storm changes its direction and rolls the clouds into tubes.
The appearance of a mirage occurs in the case of refraction of light. We see an image that doesn't really exist. Such a phenomenon can be found in a desert area or during extreme heat. In this case, the light beam is deflected from its path and refracted, so we see imaginary mirages.
The fires of St. Elmo are a bright glow, the accumulation of an electrical discharge that occurs during a thunderstorm. You can see these lights on the yards and masts of ships, near an airplane flying through a cloud, and also on the tops of mountains. According to legend, the fires of Saint Elmo appeared when Saint Elmo died during a storm with a thunderstorm. Before his death, he promised to help the sailors, giving signals about whether they were destined to escape during the storm. Now the appearance of these lights is considered a good sign, as it means the patronage of St. Elmo.
We present you a selection of the 20 most beautiful natural phenomena associated with the play of light. Truly, the phenomena of nature are indescribable - this must be seen! =)
Let us conditionally divide all light metamorphoses into three subgroups. The first one is Water and Ice, the second one is Rays and Shadows, and the third one is Light contrasts.
Water and Ice
“Near Horizontal Arc”
This phenomenon is also known as a "fire rainbow". Created in the sky when light refracts through ice crystals in cirrus clouds. This phenomenon is very rare, since both the ice crystals and the sun must stand exactly in a horizontal line for such a spectacular refraction to occur. This particularly good example was captured in the sky over Spokane in Washington DC in 2006.
A couple more examples of a fiery rainbow
When the sun shines on a climber or other object from above, a shadow is projected onto the fog, creating a curiously magnified triangular shape. This effect is accompanied by a kind of halo around the object - colored circles of light that appear directly opposite the sun when sunlight is reflected by a cloud of identical water droplets. This natural phenomenon got its name due to the fact that it was most often observed precisely on the low German peaks of Brocken, which are quite accessible to climbers, due to frequent fogs in this area.
In a nutshell - this is a rainbow upside down =) Such a huge multi-colored smiley in the sky) It turns out such a miracle due to the refraction of sunlight through horizontal ice crystals in clouds of a certain shape. The phenomenon is concentrated at the zenith, parallel to the horizon, the color range is from blue at the zenith to red towards the horizon. This phenomenon is always in the form of an incomplete circular arc; full circle in a similar situation - an exceptionally rare Footman Arc, which was first captured on film in 2007
Foggy Arc
This strange halo was seen from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - it looked like a completely white rainbow. Like a rainbow, this phenomenon is created due to the refraction of light through water droplets in clouds, but, unlike a rainbow, due to the small size of the fog droplets, there seems to be not enough color. Therefore, the rainbow turns out to be colorless - just white) Sailors often refer to them as “sea wolves” or “foggy arcs”
rainbow halo
When the light sort of scatters back (a mixture of reflection, refraction and diffraction) back to its source, water droplets in clouds, the object's shadow between the cloud and the source can be divided into colored bands. Glory also translates as unearthly beauty - a fairly accurate name for such a beautiful natural phenomenon) In some parts of China, this phenomenon is even called the Light of the Buddha - it is often accompanied by the Brocken Ghost. In the photo, beautiful colored stripes effectively surround the shadow of the plane in front of the cloud.
Halos are one of the most famous and frequent optical phenomena, they appear under a variety of guises. It is the sun halo phenomenon that occurs most frequently, caused by the refraction of light by ice crystals in cirrus clouds at high altitude, and the specific shape and orientation of the crystals can create a change in the appearance of the halo. During very cold weather, halos formed by crystals near the ground reflect sunlight between them, sending it out in several directions at once - an effect known as "diamond dust"
When the sun is exactly at the right angle behind the clouds, the water droplets in them refract the light, creating an intense, trailing trail. Coloration, as in a rainbow, is caused by different wavelengths of light - different wavelengths are refracted to different degrees, changing the angle of refraction and, therefore, the colors of light in our perception. In this photo, the iridescence of the cloud is accompanied by a sharply colored rainbow.
A few more photos of this phenomenon
The combination of a low moon and a dark sky often creates lunar arcs, essentially rainbows produced by the light of the moon. Appearing at the opposite end of the sky to the moon, they usually look completely white due to the faint coloration, but a long exposure photo can capture the true colors, as in this photo taken in Yosemite National Park, California.
A few more photos of the moon rainbow
This phenomenon occurs as a white ring surrounding the sky, always at the same height above the horizon as the sun. Usually it is possible to catch only fragments of the whole picture. Millions of vertically arranged ice crystals reflect the sun's rays across the sky to create this beautiful phenomenon.
False Suns often appear on the sides of the resulting sphere, such as in this photo
Rainbows can take many forms: multiple arcs, intersecting arcs, red arcs, identical arcs, arcs with colored edges, dark stripes, "knitting needles" and many others, but they are all divided into colors - red, orange, yellow , green, blue, blue and purple. Remember from childhood the "memory book" of the arrangement of colors in the rainbow - Every Hunter Wants to Know Where the Pheasant Sits? =) Rainbows appear when light is refracted through water droplets in the atmosphere, most often during rain, but haze or fog can also create similar effects, and much rarer than one might imagine. At all times, many different cultures attributed many meanings and explanations to rainbows, for example, the ancient Greeks believed that rainbows were the road to heaven, and the Irish believed that in the place where the rainbow ends, the leprechaun buried his pot of gold =)
More information and beautiful photos on the rainbow can be found
Rays and Shadows
A corona is a type of plasma atmosphere that surrounds an astronomical body. The most famous example of such a phenomenon is the corona around the Sun during a total eclipse. It extends through space for thousands of kilometers and contains ionized iron heated to almost a million degrees Celsius. During an eclipse, its bright light surrounds the darkened sun and it seems as if a crown of light appears around the luminary.
When dark areas or permeable obstructions such as tree branches or clouds filter the sun's beam, the beams become whole columns of light coming from a single source in the sky. This phenomenon, often used in horror films, is usually seen at dawn or dusk and can even be witnessed under the ocean if the sun's rays pass through the strips of broken ice. This beautiful photo was taken in Utah National Park
A few more examples
Fata Morgana
The interaction between cold air near ground level and warm air just above it can act as a refractive lens and turn upside down the image of objects on the horizon, over which the actual image appears to oscillate. In this image taken in Thuringia, Germany, the horizon in the distance appears to have disappeared altogether, although the blue portion of the road is merely a reflection of the sky above the horizon. The claim that mirages are completely non-existent images that only appear to people lost in the desert is incorrect, probably confused with the effects of extreme dehydration, which can cause hallucinations. Mirages are always based on real objects, although it is true that they may appear closer due to the mirage effect.
Reflection of light by ice crystals with almost perfectly horizontal flat surfaces creates a strong beam. The source of light can be the Sun, the Moon, or even artificial light. An interesting feature is that the pillar will have the color of this source. In this photo taken in Finland, the orange sunlight at sunset creates an equally orange gorgeous pole.
A couple more "solar pillars")
Light contrasts
The collision of charged particles in the upper atmosphere often creates magnificent light patterns in the polar regions. The color depends on the elemental content of the particles - most auroras appear green or red due to oxygen, however nitrogen sometimes creates a deep blue or purple appearance. In the photo - the famous Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights, named after the Roman goddess of dawn Aurora and the ancient Greek god of the north wind Boreas
This is what the Northern Lights look like from space
Condensation (contrail) trail
The steam trails that follow an airplane across the sky are some of the most stunning examples of human intervention in the atmosphere. They are created either by aircraft exhaust or air vortices from wings and only appear in cold temperatures at high altitude, condensing into ice droplets and water. In this photo, a bunch of contrails crisscross the sky, creating a bizarre example of this unnatural phenomenon.
High-altitude winds warp rocket tracks, and their small exhaust particles turn sunlight into bright, iridescent colors that sometimes the same winds carry for thousands of kilometers until they finally dissipate. In the photo - traces of the Minotaur rocket launched from the US Air Force Base in Vandenberg, California
The sky, like many other things around us, scatters polarized light that has a certain electromagnetic orientation. Polarization is always perpendicular to the direct light path, and if there is only one direction of polarization in the light, the light is said to be linearly polarized. This photo was taken with a polarized wide angle filter lens to show how exciting the electromagnetic charge looks in the sky. Pay attention to what shade the sky has near the horizon, and what is at the very top.
Technically invisible to the naked eye, this phenomenon can be captured by leaving the camera for at least an hour, or even all night with the lens open. The natural rotation of the Earth causes the stars in the sky to move across the horizon, creating wonderful trails behind them. The only star in the evening sky that is always in the same place is, of course, the Polaris, since it is actually on the same axis as the Earth and its fluctuations are noticeable only at the North Pole. The same would be true in the south, but there is no star bright enough to see a similar effect.
And here is a photo from the pole)
A faint triangular light seen in the evening sky and extending towards the heavens, the Zodiacal light is easily obscured by light pollution or moonlight. This phenomenon is caused by the reflection of sunlight from dust particles in space known as cosmic dust, hence its spectrum is exactly identical to that of the solar system. Solar radiation causes dust particles to slowly grow, creating a majestic constellation of lights gracefully scattered across the sky.
Once upon a time, a philosopher said that if the starry sky were visible only in any one place on Earth, then crowds of people would continuously move to this place to admire the magnificent spectacle.
For us, living in the 20th century, the spectacle of the starry sky is especially majestic because we know the nature of the stars; after all, each of them is the Sun, that is, a giant hot gas ball.
People did not immediately recognize the true nature of the heavenly bodies. Previously, they believed that the Earth is the center of the whole world, the entire universe, and that the stars and other celestial bodies are celestial lamps designed to decorate the sky and illuminate the Earth. But centuries passed, and people, carefully observing various celestial phenomena, eventually came to a modern scientific understanding of the world.
Every science relies in its conclusions on facts, on numerous observations. And everything that will be discussed further has been received and verified many times by observations of celestial phenomena. To be convinced of this, one must learn to make at least the simplest astronomical observations. So, let's start our acquaintance with the starry sky.
There are so many stars in the sky on a dark night that it seems impossible to count them. However, astronomers have long counted all the stars visible in the sky with a simple, or, as they say, with the naked eye. It turned out that in the entire sky (including the stars visible in the southern hemisphere) on a clear moonless night, about 6000 stars can be seen with normal vision.
SHINE STARS
Looking at the starry sky, one can notice that the stars are different in their brightness, or, as astronomers say, in their apparent brilliance.
The brightest stars were agreed to be called stars of the 1st magnitude; those of the stars that, in their brightness, are 2.5 times (more precisely, 2.512 times) fainter than the stars of the 1st magnitude, received the name of the stars of the 2nd magnitude. The stars of the 3rd magnitude included those that are weaker than the stars of the 2nd magnitude by 2.5 times, etc. The weakest of the stars accessible to the naked eye were classified as stars of the 6th magnitude. It must be remembered that the name "magnitude" does not indicate the size of the stars, but only their apparent brilliance.
You can calculate how many times the stars of the 1st magnitude are brighter than the stars of the 6th magnitude. To do this, you need to take 2.5 as a multiplier of 5 times. As a result, it turns out that the stars of the 1st magnitude are 100 times brighter in brightness than the stars of the 6th magnitude. In total, 20 of the brightest stars are observed in the sky, which are usually said to be stars of the 1st magnitude. But this does not mean that they have the same brightness. In fact, some of them are somewhat brighter than 1st magnitude, others are somewhat fainter, and only one of them is a star of exactly 1st magnitude. The same situation is with the stars of the 2nd, 3rd and subsequent magnitudes. Therefore, to accurately indicate the brightness of a particular star, one has to resort to fractions. So, for example, those stars that, in their brightness, are in the middle between the stars of the 1st and 2nd magnitudes, are considered to belong to the 1.5th magnitude. There are stars that have a magnitude of 1.6; 2.3; 3.4; 5.5, etc. Several especially bright stars are visible in the sky, which in their brightness exceed the brightness of stars of the 1st magnitude. For these stars, zero and negative magnitudes were introduced. So, for example, the brightest star in the northern hemisphere of the sky - Vega - has a magnitude of 0.1 magnitude, and the brightest star in the entire sky - Sirius - has a magnitude of minus 1.3 magnitude. For all stars visible to the naked eye, and for many fainter ones, their magnitude has been accurately measured.
Take ordinary binoculars and look through it at some part of the starry sky. You will see many faint stars that are not visible to the naked eye, because the lens (the glass that collects light in binoculars or a telescope) is larger than the pupil of the human eye, and more light enters it.
Stars up to the 7th magnitude are easily visible with ordinary theater binoculars, and stars up to the 9th magnitude with prism field glasses. Telescopes can see many even fainter stars. So, for example, in a relatively small telescope (with a lens diameter of 80 mm), stars up to the 12th magnitude are visible. In more powerful modern telescopes, stars up to the 18th magnitude can be observed. In photographs taken with the largest telescopes, you can see stars up to the 23rd magnitude. They are 6 million times fainter in brightness than the faintest stars that we see with the naked eye. And if only about 6,000 stars are available to the naked eye in the sky, then billions of stars can be observed in the most powerful modern telescopes.
HOW TO NOTICE THE ROTATION OF THE STARRY SKY
During the day the sun moves across the sky. It rises, rises higher and higher, then begins to descend and sets. But how do you know if the same stars are visible all night in the sky or if they move like the Sun moves during the day? It's easy to know.
Choose a location where you can see the sky clearly. Notice where on the horizon (houses or trees) the Sun is visible in the morning, at noon and in the evening. Returning to the same place in the evening, notice the brightest stars in the same sides of the sky and note the time of observation by the clock. If you come to the same place in an hour or two, then make sure that all the stars you noticed have moved from left to right. So, the star, which was in the direction of the morning Sun, rose higher, and the one that was in the side of the evening Sun, sank lower.
Do all stars move across the sky? It turns out that everything, and moreover, at the same time. This is easy to verify.
The side where the Sun is visible at noon is called south, the opposite is called north. Make observations in the north side, first over the stars close to the horizon, and then over the higher ones. Then you will see that the higher the stars from the horizon, the less noticeable their movement becomes. And finally, you can find a star in the sky, the movement of which throughout the night is almost imperceptible. This means that the whole sky moves in such a way that the relative position of the stars on it does not change, but one star is almost motionless, and the closer the stars are to it, the less noticeable their movement is. The whole sky revolves as one, revolving around one star; this star was called the North Star.
In ancient times, observing the daily rotation of the sky, people made a deeply erroneous conclusion that the stars, the Sun and the planets revolve around the Earth every day. In fact, as established in the XVI century. Copernicus, the apparent rotation of the starry sky is only a reflection of the daily rotation of the Earth around its axis. But the picture of the visible daily rotation of the sky is of great importance for us: without getting acquainted with it, one cannot even find one or another star in the sky. How the stars actually move, and why this movement cannot be noticed even through a telescope, will be discussed in later sections of this book.
HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH THE DAILY ROTATION OF THE SKY
An ordinary photographic apparatus can take a photograph of the rotation of the starry sky. Set the lens of the apparatus to sharpness for very distant objects, which can be done during the day on frosted glass.
When it gets completely dark on a moonless night, you need to insert the cassette and set the device so that it is directed to the North Star (how to find it faster, we will tell below). After pulling out the cassette shutter, open the lens for half an hour or better for an hour, during which the camera must remain stationary. When you develop this plate, you will get a negative with a number of short dark lines, each of which will be a trace of the image of a star moving across the plate. The larger the diameter of the lens, the more stars will leave their imprints on the plate. The longer the duration of the shooting, the longer the dashes will be and the more noticeable it will be that they are segments of arcs. In addition, these arcs will be the larger, the farther the photographed region of the sky is from the North Star. In the center of all arcs - traces of the movement of stars - there is a point around which, as it seems to us, the sky rotates. It is called the pole of the world, and the North Star is not far from it, and therefore its trace in the picture is visible as a very short and bright arc.
CONSTELLATION URSA MAJOR
The mutual arrangement of the stars, as you already know, does not change. If the most brilliant and closest to each other stars resemble some figure in their arrangement, then they are easy to remember. Such groups of stars were called constellations in ancient times, and each of them was given its own name.
In all constellations, the relative position of the stars does not change, just as the relative position of the constellations themselves does not change. The whole sky, all the constellations revolve around the celestial pole. When we look at the North Star, more precisely at the celestial pole, the direction of our gaze is the direction of the axis of rotation of the starry sky, called the axis of the world.
Constellations in the sky in ancient times were allocated conditionally - on the basis of the apparent proximity of the stars. In reality, two neighboring stars in the same constellation may be at different distances from us.
The constellation Ursa Major in the arrangement of its seven brightest stars resembles a ladle or pan. This constellation is remarkable in that if you mentally draw a line through the two extreme stars in the "front wall of the bucket" (see Fig.), Then this line will indicate the North Star.
At any time of the night you can find the Big Dipper in the sky, only at different times of the night and at different times of the year this constellation can be seen either low (at the beginning of the evening in autumn), then high (in summer), then in the eastern side of the sky (in spring), then in the western (at the end of summer). In this constellation, you can find the North Star. Under the North Star, there is always and everywhere on the horizon a point of north. If you look at the North Star, then the face will be turned to the north, behind the back will be the south, to the right - east, to the left - west.
You need to know the constellation Ursa Major not only to find the north point on the horizon, but also to start searching for all other constellations.
So, find in the sky a characteristic bucket of seven stars, which is part of the constellation Ursa Major. The constellation itself is not limited to just these seven stars. The bucket and the handle of the bucket are only part of the body and tail of the imaginary figure of the Big Dipper, which in ancient times was drawn on star maps. The front part of the body and the muzzle of the Bear are to the right of the bucket when the handle of the bucket is turned to the left. They, like the paws of the Big Dipper, are formed by many faint stars of the 3rd, 4th and 5th magnitude.
In each constellation, bright stars are designated by the letters of the Greek alphabet: α (alpha), β (beta), γ (gamma), δ (delta), ε (epsilon), ζ (zeta), η (this), θ (theta), ι (iota), κ (kappa), λ (lambda), μ (mi), ν (ni), ξ (xi), ο (omicron), π (pi), ρ (rho), σ (sigma), τ (tau), υ (upsilon), φ (phi), χ (chi), ψ (psi), ω (omega).
The stars of the Ursa Major bucket have the designations indicated on the map (see above). All these stars except δ (delta) - 2nd magnitude (δ (delta) - 3rd magnitude); of these, the middle star in the bucket handle is especially interesting. In addition to the letter designation, she also has a special name - Mizar. Next to it, with the naked eye, you can see a weak star of the 5th magnitude, called Alcor.
Mizar and Alcor are the most easily observed. She was known even to the ancient Arab astronomers, who assigned the stars that make up this pair their names. Translated from Arabic, these names mean "Horse" (Mizar) and "Horseman" (Alkor).
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Answers and evaluation criteria
Exercise 1
The photographs show various celestial phenomena. Specify what for
the phenomenon is depicted in each picture, keeping in mind that the pictures are not
inverted, and the observations were carried out from the middle latitudes of the Northern
hemispheres of the earth.
All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in astronomy 2016–2017 G.
municipal stage. 8th–9th grades
Answers Please note that the question asks what phenomenon is shown in the picture (and not the object!). Based on this, an assessment is made.
1) meteor (1 point; "meteorite" or "bolide" do not count);
2) meteor shower (another option is “meteor shower”) (1 point);
3) occultation of Mars by the Moon (another option is “occultation of the planet by the Moon”) (1 point);
4) sunset (1 point);
5) occultation of the star by the Moon (a short version of “occultation” is possible) (1 point);
6) moonset (possible answer is "neomenia" - the first appearance of the young moon in the sky after the new moon) (1 point);
7) an annular solar eclipse (a short version of "solar eclipse" is possible) (1 point);
8) lunar eclipse (1 point);
9) discovery of a star by the Moon (possible “end of coverage” option) (1 point);
10) total solar eclipse (possible option "solar eclipse") (1 point);
11) transit of Venus across the disk of the Sun (possible option is “passage of Mercury across the disk of the Sun” or “passage of the planet across the disk of the Sun”) (1 point);
12) ashen light of the moon (1 point).
Note: all valid answers are written in brackets.
The maximum per task is 12 points.
Task 2 The figures show the figures of several constellations. Below each figure is its number. Indicate in your answer the name of each constellation (write down the pairs “figure number - name in Russian”).
2 All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in astronomy 2016–2017 G.
municipal stage. Grades 8–9 Answers
1) Swan (1 point);
2) Orion (1 point);
3) Hercules (1 point);
4) Ursa Major (1 point);
5) Cassiopeia (1 point);
6) Leo (1 point);
7) Lira (1 point);
8) Cepheus (1 point);
9) Eagle (1 point).
The maximum for the task is 9 points.
3 All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in astronomy 2016–2017 G.
municipal stage. Grades 8–9 Task 3 Draw the correct sequence of lunar phases (it is enough to draw the main phases) when observed from the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth. Sign their names. Start the drawing with the full moon, shade the parts of the moon that are not illuminated by the Sun.
One of the possible options for the picture (2 points for the correct option):
The main phases are usually considered the full moon, the last quarter, the new moon, the first quarter (3 points). The phases of the moon are listed here in the order in which they are shown in the figure.
In the absence of one of the phases in the figure, 1 point is deducted. For an erroneous indication of the name of the phase, 1 point is deducted. The score for the task cannot be negative.
When evaluating the drawing, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the terminator (border light / dark on the surface of the Moon) passes through the poles of the Moon (i.e. drawing the phase as a “bitten apple” is unacceptable). If this is not the case in the answer, the score is reduced by 1 point.
Note: the solution shows the minimum version of the drawing. It is not necessary to draw the full moon again at the end.
Permissible image of intermediate phases:
The maximum per task is 5 points.
4 All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in astronomy 2016–2017 G.
municipal stage. Grades 8–9 Task 4 Mars, located in the eastern quadrature, and the Moon are observed in conjunction. What is the phase of the moon at this moment? Explain your answer, give a picture that depicts the situation described.
Answer The figure shows the positions of all the bodies involved in the described situation (such a figure should be given in the work: 3 points). With this position of the Moon relative to the Earth and the Sun, the first quarter (growing Moon) will be observed (2 points).
Note: the picture may be somewhat different (for example, the view of the relative position of the stars in the sky for an observer on the surface of the Earth), the main thing is that the mutual position of the bodies is indicated correctly and it is clear why the Moon will be in exactly the phase that is given in the answer.
The maximum per task is 5 points.
Task 5 With what average speed does the day / night boundary move along the surface of the Moon (R = 1738 km) in the region of its equator? Express your answer in km/h and round to the nearest integer.
For reference: the synodic period of revolution of the Moon (the period of change of lunar phases) is approximately equal to 29.5 days, the sidereal period of revolution (the period of the axial rotation of the Moon) is approximately equal to 27.3 days.
Answer The length of the Moon's equator L = 2R 2 1738 3.14 = 10 920.2 km (1 point). To solve the problem, it is necessary to use the value of the synodic period 5 All-Russian Olympiad for School Students in Astronomy 2016–2017 account G.
municipal stage. 8–9 classes of treatment, because not only the rotation of the Moon around its axis, but also the position of the Sun relative to the Moon, which changes due to the movement of the Earth in its orbit, is responsible for the movement of the day / night boundary on the surface of the Moon. Period of change of lunar phases P 29.5 days. = 708 hours (2 points - if there is no explanation why this particular period was used; 4 points - if there is a correct explanation; 1 point for using the sidereal period). This means that the speed will be V = L / P = 10,920.2 / 708 km / h 15 km / h (1 point; this point is given for calculating the speed, including when using the value 27.3 - the answer will be 16 .7 km/h).
Note: the solution can be done "in one line". The score is not reduced. For an answer without a solution, the score is 1 point.
Task 6 Are there such regions on Earth (if so, where are they located), where at some point in time all the zodiac constellations are on the horizon?
Answer As you know, constellations are called zodiacal constellations through which the Sun passes, that is, which the ecliptic crosses. So, you need to determine where and when the ecliptic coincides with the horizon. At this moment, not only the planes of the horizon and the ecliptic will coincide, but also the poles of the ecliptic with the zenith and nadir. That is, at this moment one of the ecliptic poles passes through the zenith. The coordinates of the north ecliptic pole (see Fig.
picture):
90 ° 66.5 ° and south, because it is at the opposite point:
90° 66.5° A point with a declination of ±66.5° culminating at the zenith of the Arctic Circle (North or South):.
Of course, deviations from the polar circle by several degrees are possible, since.
constellations are fairly extended objects.
The score for the task (full solution - 6 points) consists of the correct explanation of the condition (the climax of the ecliptic pole at the zenith or, for example, the simultaneous upper and lower culmination of two opposite points
municipal stage. 8–9 classes of the ecliptic on the horizon), in which the described situation is possible (3 points), correct determination of the observation latitude (2 points), indication that there will be two such regions - in the Northern and Southern hemispheres of the Earth (1 point).
Note: it is not necessary to determine the coordinates of the ecliptic poles, as is done in the solution (you can know them). Let's take another solution.
The maximum per task is 6 points.
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Option 2 You can not immediately substitute numerical values into formulas, but convert them by expressing the period of revolution through the average density of the Moon (the density value is not given in the condition, but the student can calculate or know it - the approximate value is 3300 kg / m3):
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(here M is the mass of the Sun, m is the mass of the satellite, Tz, mz and az are the period of the Earth's revolution around the Sun, the mass of the Earth and the radius of the Earth's orbit, respectively).
It is possible to write this law for another set of bodies, for example, for the Earth-Moon system (instead of the Sun-Earth system).
Neglecting small masses compared to large ones, we get:
– – –
And the period of the appearance of the station near the limb will be half the orbital:
Evaluation Other solutions are also acceptable. All solutions should lead to the same answers (some deviations are allowed due to the fact that in options 2 and 3, as well as in other options, slightly different numerical values \u200b\u200bare used).
Options 1 and 2. Determining the length of the satellite orbit (2Rl 10 920 km) - 1 point; determination of the orbital speed of the satellite Vl - 2 points; calculation 8 All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in astronomy 2016–2017 G.
municipal stage. 8–9 classes of the circulation period - 1 point; finding the answer (dividing the orbital period by 2) - 2 points.
Option 3. Recording Kepler's 3rd law in a refined form for the bodies participating in the task - 2 points (if the law is written in a general form and the solution ends there - 1 point).
Correct neglect of small masses (i.e., the mass of the satellite compared to the mass of the Moon, the mass of the Earth compared to the mass of the Sun, the mass of the Moon compared to the mass of the Earth) - 1 point (these masses can be immediately omitted in the formula, a point for this is all equally exposed). Writing an expression for the period of the satellite - 1 point, finding the answer (dividing the orbital period by 2) - 2 points.
For exceeding the accuracy in the final answer (the number of decimal places is more than two), 1 point is deducted.
Note: You can not neglect the height of the orbit compared to the radius of the Moon (the numerical answer will not change much). It is allowed to immediately use the ready-made formula for the circulation period (the last form of writing the formula in the solution in option 2) - the score for this is not reduced (with correct calculations - 4 points for this stage of the solution).
The maximum per task is 6 points.
Task 8 Suppose scientists have created a stationary Large Polar Telescope to observe the daily rotation of stars directly near the celestial pole, directing its tube exactly to the north celestial pole. Exactly in the center of their field of vision, they discovered a Very Interesting Extra-Galactic Source. The field of view of this telescope is 10 arc minutes. After how many years will scientists no longer be able to observe this Source with this telescope?
Answer The celestial pole rotates around the ecliptic pole with a period of approximately Tp 26,000 years (1 point). The angular distance between these poles (2 points) is nothing more than 23.5° (i.e. 90° is the angle of inclination of the Earth's axis of rotation to the plane of the ecliptic). Since the pole of the world moves along a small circle of the celestial sphere, the angular velocity of its movement relative to the observer will be less than the angular velocity of rotation of a point on the celestial equator by 1/sin () times (2 points).
Since initially the telescope looks exactly at the celestial pole and at the Source, the maximum possible observation time for the Source will be:
15 years (3 points).
° After this time, the Source will leave the field of view of the telescope (the celestial pole will still be in the center of the field, since the telescope on Earth is stationary, 9 All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in astronomy 2016–2017 academic year
municipal stage. grades 8–9 being initially directed to the pole of the world; Recall that the pole of the world is essentially the point of intersection of the continuation of the axis of rotation of the Earth with the celestial sphere).
If in the final answer the student does not share the position of the pole of the world and the Source, then with a correct numerical answer, no more than 6 points are given.
Note: You can use cos(90-) or cos(66.5°) instead of sin() anywhere in the solution. Other solutions to the problem are possible.
The maximum per task is 8 points.
