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Few of us know that at night time, the retina in our eyes are more sensitive to light than the center. Staring at the side of the object rather than directly at it provide more details. This is one of the observation techniques used by astronomers when looking at a bright object in the sky. […]
Man has a never-ending interest about the heavenly bodies he sees at the sky, day and night. During the ancient times, the sun, moon and the stars are heralded as gods and goddesses with whom each one gets its fortune and destiny. Certain events such as solar and lunar eclipse signify something that will happen
When it comes to the measurement of distance, weight and brightness of a celestial body, the figures involved are absolutely exponential involving multiple zeros. This includes the time spans involving the study of our heavenly bodies. Although the exponential notations can help us in counting the voluminous unit of measurements involved, it is still easier
The Heavenly body and its components never failed to fascinate men since the beginning of time. During the ancestral times, every movement of the planets and the stars bears a significant influence in their lives. The motion and position of each celestial body with its scientific measurement is known as astrometry.
The earth’s axis, as most scientist and astronomers say, is tilted 23.5 degrees from its orbital plane. The earth is rotating counter clockwise when viewing from the northern star, Polaris. According to scientists and historians, the earth’s axis is shifting. This process of shifting is called “precession”.
In studying the movement of heavenly bodies, it is important that there is a method that can guide the observer in determining the exact position of the stars by giving these names. This can only be done through establishing the azimuth. The azimuth refers to the measurement of angles in a spherical coordinate system.
The Asteroid Belt is that area in the Solar System flanked by the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. It is what draws the boundary between the inner planets and outer planets. The belt is made up of countless asteroids, irregularly shaped bodies that revolve around the sun. Main Asteroid Belt is a more precise term
An asteroid is a small body that orbits around the sun, and is also called a minor planet or planetoid. They are generally smaller than planets, but are certainly larger than meteoroids. They are often mistaken as comets when they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. However, comets exhibit a coma and a tail, while asteroids do
Asterism refers to a pattern of stars as seen from the Earth, but which is not a constellation. It is made of stars that are not related physically and may be of great distances from each other, but are visible when looking from a particular direction.
An arcsecond, also called a second of an arc, is a unit of measurement that amounts to one sixtieth of an arcminute. Simply put, it is equal to 1/3600 degrees of an arc. The symbol used to mark an arcsecond is the double quote. As an example, 1 arcsecond is written as 1”. The term
