To keep the gyroscope perfectly accurate, information from the star tracker is sent to the gyroscope every few seconds. Together the star tracker and gyroscope keep the spacecraft stable and oriented in the right direction in space (for example, not flying "upside-down" or sideways).īut the gyroscope can hold stable for only a short time. In between pictures from the star tracker, the gyroscope tells the spacecraft how it is pointed. This is how it can tell the spacecraft exactly which way it is pointed. The star tracker, like a camera, takes a picture of the star patterns in its view and compares the picture with its built-in star maps. Working together, they keep the spacecraft on course. The ISC is made up of a star tracker and a gyroscope.
This new system is called an Inertial (in-ER-shul) Stellar Compass, or ISC. Space Technology 6 is a mission to test a new, very small and energy-efficient kind of reference system. Most spacecraft have steered by the stars-or at least checked the stars once in a while to make sure the spacecraft was still on course and pointed in the right direction. Star patterns are also very helpful for navigating a spacecraft. How sad! But see if you can find at least one or two constellations on a clear, Moonless night.Įver wondered about the difference between astrology and astronomy? If you live where big city lights drown out the beauty of the stars, you may see only a few of the brightest stars and planets. So, to get the directions lined up, hold the map over your head and look up at it, and turn it so the northern horizon side is facing north. The star charts are maps of the sky overhead. For months with Daylight Savings Time, star chart times are an hour later. The Star Finder charts show the sky at about 10 PM for the first of the month, 9 PM for the middle of the month, and 8 PM for the last of the month. (Charts are from The Griffith Observer magazine.) The farther north you are, the more the constellations will be shifted south from the Star Finder charts. The Star Finder charts are for a latitude of 34° N, which is about as far north of the equator as Los Angeles, California. Also, as Earth rotates on its axis toward the east throughout the hours of the night, the whole sky seems to shift toward the west.
That is why we have a different Star Finder for each month, as different constellations come into view. We see different views of the Universe from where we live as Earth makes its yearly trip around the solar system.
#Star chart date how to#
Even the Apollo astronauts going to the Moon had to know how to navigate by the stars in case their navigation instruments failed. Sailors have steered their ships by the stars. So, since humans first noticed the night sky they have navigated by the stars. During one human lifetime, they change hardly at all. Because they are so far away, the shapes and positions of the constellations in Earth's sky change very, very slowly. Yet they all appear from Earth to have the same brightness.Įven the closest star is almost unimaginably far away. And Mintaka at the right side of the belt is 916 light years away. (A light year is the distance light travels in one Earth year, almost 6 trillion miles!) Alnilam, the star in the middle of the belt, is 1340 light years away. For example, Alnitak, the star at the left side of Orion's belt, is 817 light years away. Other than making a pattern in Earth's sky, these stars may not be related at all. For example, Orion is a group of stars that the Greeks thought looked like a giant hunter with a sword attached to his belt. If you join the dots-stars, that is-and use lots of imagination, the picture would look like an object, animal, or person. Or, just find any constellation!Ī constellation is group of stars like a dot-to-dot puzzle. In this case, just try to find the constellation that is nearest to the part of the sky you picked. Open the panel to see the name of a constellation (highlighted in red) she will try to find in the sky for this month.įor some of the months, not every part of the Star Finder may show a highlighted constellation for you to find.
For example, if he chose "Lyra," you would open and close the Star Finder 4 times, once for each letter: L - Y - R - A.Īsk the player again to pick one of the four constellations visible. This time, open and close the Star Finder once for each letter to spell out his choice. Then, ask the person to look inside the Star Finder and pick one of the four visible constellations.
0 kommentar(er)
