Finding Waypoints - The Virtual Night Sky

Students use online resources, including virtual planispheres and astrophotography collections to select an object in the night sky to research, observe, photograph and present as a way point on the Sky Path interpretive trail.  Students should use virtual planispheres and star maps to identify other objects in the night sky, such as planets, in their weekly observations.

Virtual Planispheres:

http://www.skymapper.co.uk/html/mapreader.php?coords=?185,76&point=south&offset=0

1. Set the virtual planisphere on your Touch and your sky wheel to 8pm on today's date.  To set the virtual planisphere to eight pm, calculate the number of full hours ahead or back you would need to turn the clock to get as close to 8 pm as possible and click on the corresponding number just below the horizon.  For example, if it is 3:23 pm I would click on 5 hours ahead of now.
2. Compare two constellations of your choice between the two planispheres.  Are they shown the same way?  Can you identify the same group of stars for each constellation, on each planisphere?  Click on the East arrow followed by the North, and West and repeat the constellation comparison.  Constellation Comparison.pdf
3. Identify at least 2 objects from the virtual planisphere that are in our night sky at 8pm but not shown on our Sky Wheel.  Use approximate Horizontal coordinates to describe where to look for these objects.
4. Repeat the activity using an alternate virtual planisphere  http://sid.bisque.com/sid2/

Astrophotographic Planisphere:

http://www.gigagalaxyzoom.org/B.html

• Explore the Astrophotographic Planisphere and choose 5 objects on which to do preliminary research.  
• Use the virtual planisphere to see if any of the objects you selected will be visible; only objects that will be visible in the spring night sky between 6pm and 10 pm are eligible. 
• Collect information about each eligible object to determine which one you want to explore with the binoculars and telescope the most, and an alternate. 
• Document your sources of information and media carefully. 

Finding Waypoints:

The interpretive path should have 5-8 waypoints, (coordinate with VAS to determine final number; we will use 8).  Write everyone's first choice on the board, do not repeat items.  

If there are more than 8 objects listed, ask everyone to write on a piece of paper their first choice and second choice of those listed on the board and run off the top 8 objects.

Tell a story or map an astronomical process using a sequence of objects on the list.

Once the objects are identified, create wiki pages where students can add information and links about each object. 

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