ASTRONOMY

Jacob Kawako
Contents
1 Summary 1

2 Fundamentals of Physics 1
2.1 Laws of Newton 1
2.2 Physics of Kepler 2

3 Stars 2
3.1 Harvard Spectral Classification 2
3.2 Yerkes Spectral Classification 3

4 Orbits 5

5 The Planards 5
5.1 Orion Nebula 5
5.2 30 Doradus 6
5.3 HD 80606b 6
5.4 WASP-17b 6
5.5 WASP-121b 6
5.6 LTT 9779b 6
5.7 GJ 1214b 6
5.8 K2-18b 6
5.9 TOI-270d 6
5.10 LHS 3844b 6
5.11 PSR B1257+12 6
5.12 WD 1856+534 6
5.13 55 Cancri 6
5.14 Kepler-62 6
5.15 AU Microscopii 6
5.16 Epsilon Eridani 6

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1 Summary
Straight from the official rules document:
Using information which may include Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams, spectra, light
curves, motions, cosmological distance equations and relationships, stellar magnitudes and
classification, multi-wavelength images (gamma-ray, X-ray, UV, optical, IR, radio), charts,
graphs and JS9 imaging analysis software, teams will compete in activities and answer
questions related to:

• Stellar evolution including stellar classification, spectral features and chemical com-
position, luminosity, blackbody radiation, color index and H-R diagram transitions,
H I/II regions, molecular clouds, proto-stars, Herbig-Haro Objects, T Tauri vari-
ables, Herbig Ae/Be stars, planet formation, brown dwarfs, protoplanetary disks,
debris disks, and exoplanets including but not limited to gas giants, Neptunes, sub-
Neptunes, super-Earths, and terrestrial planets.

• Use orbital mechanics, Kepler’s laws, rotation and circular motion to answer questions
relating to the orbital motions of planetary systems; use parallax, spectroscopic par-
allax, and the distance modulus to calculate distances to stars and planetary systems;
use the radial velocity, transit, and direct imaging methods to determine properties
of exoplanets, use the radiation laws to answer questions relating to planetary surface
temperatures and habitability.

• Identify and answer questions relating to the content areas outlined above for the
following objects: Orion Nebula, 30 Doradus, HD 80606b, WASP-17b, WASP-121b,
LTT 9779b, GJ 1214b, K2-18b, TOI-270d, LHS 3844b, and systems: PSR B1257+12,
WD 1856+534, 55 Cancri, Kepler-62, AU Microscopii, Epsilon Eridani.

Todo: Read astro chapters

2 Fundamentals of Physics
2.1 Laws of Newton
Keywords: Physics, Motion, Laws of Motion, Newton, Gravitation, Force,

Theorem 2.1. (Inertia) Bodies remain at a constant velocity unless acted on by a net
outside force.

Theorem 2.2. F = ma, where F , m, and a are the force (any type), inertial mass
(defined by this law), and acceleration, resp.

Theorem 2.3. For every force, there is an equal but oppositely directed force.

Theorem 2.4. (Universial Gravitation)

Definition 2.1. The basic definition for linear momentum p is p = mv.

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2.2 Physics of Kepler
Keywords: Physics, Motion, Laws of Motion, Kepler, Gravitation, Orbits, Orbital,

Theorem 2.5. (Kepler’s First Law) A planet’s orbit is an elipse, with the sun located
2 2
at one focus. The cartesian equation for an elipse is (x−h)
a2 + (y−k)
b2 = 1. The polar
b
equation for an elipse with respect to the center is √ 2
, and the polar equation
1−(e cos(θ)
a(1−e2 )
for an elipse relative to the focus is 1±e cos(θ)

Theorem 2.6. (Kepler’s Second Law) A line joining a planet to it’s sun, the radius
vector, sweeps out equal areas in equal times. This statement means that the pie-
shaped region of the orbital plane over which the radius vector moves in a certain
period of time is equal to the area swept out in the same manner during the same
length period at any other point in the orbit. In particular, you can see that this
means the planet travels fastest at perihelion (near point to the Sun) and slowest at
aphelion (far point).

Theorem 2.7. (Kepler’s Third Law, known also as the Harmonic Law) The orbital
periods of the planets form a precise relationship with the sizes of their orbits. Specif-
ically, p2 = a3 , where p and a are the periods (in Earth years) and average distances
(in astronomical units; the mean distance of the Earth from the Sun is defined as 1.0
AU), respectively.

3 Stars
3.1 Harvard Spectral Classification
The Harvard spectral classification is a temperature-based classification system that uses
the letters O,B,A,F,G,K,M to describe stars. Below is a chart describing each section.

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3.2 Yerkes Spectral Classification
The Harvard soectrak classification, while common, only takes into account temperature.
The Yerkes Spectral Classification ranks planets by their luminosity. Below are two charts.

Attached is also

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a chart of peculiarities that may follow a spectral type.

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4 Orbits

5 The Planards
5.1 Orion Nebula

Figure 1. Orion Nebula

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5.2 30 Doradus
5.3 HD 80606b
5.4 WASP-17b
5.5 WASP-121b
5.6 LTT 9779b
5.7 GJ 1214b
5.8 K2-18b
5.9 TOI-270d
5.10 LHS 3844b
5.11 PSR B1257+12
5.12 WD 1856+534
5.13 55 Cancri
5.14 Kepler-62
5.15 AU Microscopii
5.16 Epsilon Eridani
Angular Size and Distance The apparent size of an object in the sky, or the distance between
two objects, measured as an angle. Your index finger held at arm’s length spans about 1°,
your fist about 10°.
Aperture The diameter of a telescope’s main lens or mirror — and the scope’s most
important attribute. As a rule of thumb, a telescope’s maximum useful magnification is 50
times its aperture in inches (or twice its aperture in millimeters).
Asterism Any prominent star pattern that isn’t a whole constellation, such as the
Northern Cross or the Big Dipper.
Asteroid (Minor Planet) A solid body orbiting the Sun that consists of metal and
rock. Most are only a few miles in diameter and are found between the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter, too small and far away to be seen easily in a small telescope. A few venture closer
to the Sun and cross Earth’s orbit.
Astronomical Unit The average distance from Earth to the Sun, slightly less than 93
million miles (150 million kilometers).
Averted Vision Viewing an object by looking slightly to its side. This technique can
help you detect faint objects that are invisible when you stare directly at them.
Baily’s Beads A few "beads" of sunlight, shining between mountain peaks and through
the valleys along the Moon’s edge in the moment before totality.
Barlow Lens A lens that’s placed into the focusing tube to effectively double or triple
a telescope’s focal length and, in turn, the magnification of any eyepiece used with it.
Black Hole A concentration of mass so dense that nothing — not even light — can
escape its gravitational pull once swallowed up. Many galaxies (including ours) have su-
permassive black holes at their centers. Want to know more? Check out our FREE ebook
on black holes.
Blue Moon Traditionally, something that happens rarely or never. More recently, this
has come to mean the second full Moon in a single calendar month.

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 Celestial Coordinates A grid system for locating things in the sky. It’s anchored to the
celestial poles (directly above Earth’s north and south poles) and the celestial equator (di-
rectly above Earth’s equator). Declination and right ascension are the celestial equivalents
of latitude and longitude.
Circumpolar Denotes an object near a celestial pole that never dips below the horizon
as Earth rotates and thus does not rise or set.
Collimation Aligning the optical elements of a telescope so that they all point in the
proper direction. Most reflectors and compound telescopes require occasional collimation
in order to produce the best possible images.
Comet A comet is a “dirty snowball” of ice and rocky debris, typically a few miles
across, that orbits the Sun in a long ellipse. When close to the Sun, the warmth evaporates
the ice in the nucleus to form a coma (cloud of gas) and a tail. Named for their discoverers,
comets sometimes make return visits after as little as a few years or as long as tens of
thousands of years.
Compound Telescope A telescope with a mirror in the back and a lens in the front.
The most popular designs are the Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (SCT) and the Maksutov-
Cassegrain telescope (commonly called a “Mak”).
Conjunction When the Moon or a planet appears especially close either to another
planet or to a bright star.
Constellation A distinctive pattern of stars used informally to organize a part of the
sky. There are 88 official constellations, which technically define sections of the sky rather
than collections of specific stars. Find a list of all 88 constellation names here.
Culmination The moment when a celestial object crosses the meridian and is thus at
its highest above the horizon.
Dark Adaptation The eyes’ transition to night vision, in order to see faint objects.
Dark adaptation is rapid during the first 5 or 10 minutes after you leave a well-lit room,
but full adaptation requires at least a half hour — and it can be ruined by a momentary
glance at a bright light.
Declination (Dec.) The celestial equivalent of latitude, denoting how far (in degrees)
an object in the sky lies north or south of the celestial equator.
Dobsonian (“Dob”) A type of Newtonian reflector, made popular by amateur as-
tronomer John Dobson, that uses a simple but highly effective wooden mount. Dobs
provide more aperture per dollar than any other telescope design.
Double Star (Binary Star) Two stars that lie very close to, and are often orbiting, each
other. Line-of-sight doubles are a consequence of perspective and aren’t physically related.
Many stars are multiples (doubles, triples, or more) gravitationally bound together. Usually
such stars orbit so closely that they appear as a single point of light even when viewed
through professional telescopes.
Earthshine Sunlight reflected by Earth that makes the otherwise dark part of the Moon
glow faintly. It’s especially obvious during the Moon’s thin crescent phases.
Eccentricity The measure of how much an orbit deviates from being circular.
Eclipse An event that occurs when the shadow of a planet or moon falls upon a second
body. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s shadow falls upon Earth, which we see as
the Moon blocking the Sun. When Earth’s shadow falls upon the Moon, it causes a lunar
eclipse.
Ecliptic The path among the stars traced by the Sun throughout the year. The Moon
and planets never stray far from the ecliptic.
Elongation The angular distance the Moon or a planet is from the Sun. The inner
planets of Mercury and Venus are best seen when at maximum elongation, and thus are

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highest above the horizon before sunrise or after sunset.
Ephemeris A timetable with celestial coordinates that indicates where a planet, comet,
or other body moving in relation to background stars will be in the sky. Its plural is
ephemerides (pronounced eff-uh-MEHR-ih-deez).
Equinox The two times each year, near March 20th and September 22nd, when the
Sun is directly overhead at noon as seen from Earth’s equator. On an equinox date, day
and night are of equal length.
Eyepiece The part of a telescope that you look into. A telescope’s magnification can be
changed by using eyepieces with different focal lengths; shorter focal lengths yield higher
magnifications. Most eyepieces have metal barrels that are 1¼ inches in diameter; other
standard sizes are 0.965 and 2 inches across.
Field of View The circle of sky that you see when you look through a telescope or
binoculars. Generally, the lower the magnification, the wider the field of view.
Finderscope A small telescope used to aim your main scope at an object in the sky.
Finderscopes have low magnifications, wide fields of view, and (usually) crosshairs marking
the center of the field.
Focal Length The distance (usually expressed in millimeters) from a mirror or lens to
the image that it forms. In most telescopes the focal length is roughly equal to the length
of the tube. Some telescopes use extra lenses and/or mirrors to create a long effective focal
length in a short tube.
Focal Ratio (f/number) A lens or mirror’s focal length divided by its aperture. For
instance, a telescope with an 80-mm-wide lens and a 400-mm focal length has a focal ratio
of f/5.
Galaxy A vast collection of stars, gas, and dust, typically 10,000 to 100,000 light-
years in diameter and containing billions of stars (from galaxias kuklos, Greek for “circle of
milk,” originally used to describe our own Milky Way). Galaxies may be spiral (with one or
more spiral-shape arms), elliptical (shaped more like fuzzy footballs with no distinguishing
features), or irregular (chaotic appearance).
Gibbous When the Moon or other body appears more than half, but not fully, illumi-
nated (from gibbus, Latin for “hump”).
Histogram A plot of the number of pixels in an image at each brightness level. It’s
a useful tool for determining the optimum exposure time; the histogram of a properly
exposed image generally peaks near the middle of the available brightness range and falls
to zero before reaching either end.
Inclination The angle between the plane of an orbit and a reference plane. For example,
NASA satellites typically have orbits inclined 28° to Earth’s equator.
Libration A slight tipping and tilting of the Moon from week to week that brings
various features along the limb into better view. The main causes are two aspects of the
Moon’s orbit: its elliptical shape and inclination to the ecliptic.
Light Pollution A glow in the night sky or around your observing site caused by artificial
light. It greatly reduces how many stars you can see. Special light-pollution filters can be
used with your telescope to improve the visibility of celestial objects.
Light-year The distance that light (moving at about 186,000 miles per second) travels
in one year, or about 6 trillion miles.
Limb The edge of a celestial object’s visible disk.
Magnification (power) The amount that a telescope enlarges its subject. It’s equal to
the telescope’s focal length divided by the eyepiece’s focal length.

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 Magnitude A number denoting the brightness of a star or other celestial object. The
higher the magnitude, the fainter the object. For example, a 1st-magnitude star is 100
times brighter than a 6th-magnitude star.
Meridian The imaginary north-south line that passes directly overhead (through the
zenith).
Messier object An entry in a catalog of 103 star clusters, nebulas, and galaxies compiled
by French comet hunter Charles Messier (mess-YAY) between 1758 and 1782. The modern-
day Messier catalog contains 109 objects.
Meteor A brief streak of light caused by a small piece of solid matter entering Earth’s
atmosphere at tremendous speed (typically 20 to 40 miles per second). Also called a
“shooting star.” If material survives the trip through the atmosphere, it’s called a meteorite
after landing on Earth’s surface.
Meteor Shower An increase in meteor activity at certain times of the year due to Earth
passing through a stream of particles along a comet’s orbit around the Sun.
Milky Way A broad, faintly glowing band stretching across the night sky, composed of
billions of stars in our galaxy too faint to be seen individually. It’s invisible when the sky
is lit up by artificial light or bright moonlight.
Mount The device that supports your telescope, allows it to point to different parts
of the sky, and lets you track objects as Earth rotates. A sturdy, vibration-free mount is
every bit as important as the telescope’s optics. A mount’s top, or head, can be either alt-
azimuth (turning side to side, up and down) or equatorial (turning parallel to the celestial
coordinate system). “Go To” mounts contain computers that can find and track celestial
objects automatically once the mounts have been aligned properly.
Nebula Latin for “cloud.” Bright nebulas are great clouds of glowing gas, lit up by stars
inside or nearby. Dark nebulas are not lit up and are visible only because they block the
light of stars behind them.
Objective A telescope’s main light-gathering lens or mirror.
Occultation When the Moon or a planet passes directly in front of a more distant
planet or star. A grazing occultation occurs if the background body is never completely
hidden from the observer.
Opposition When a planet or asteroid is opposite the Sun in the sky. At such times
the object is visible all night — rising at sunset and setting at sunrise.
Parallax The apparent offset of a foreground object against the background when
your perspective changes. At a given instant, the Moon appears among different stars
for observers at widely separated locations on Earth. Astronomers directly calculate the
distance to a nearby star by measuring its incredibly small positional changes (its parallax)
as Earth orbits the Sun.
Phase The fraction of the Moon or other body that we see illuminated by sunlight.
Planisphere (Star Wheel) A device that can be adjusted to show the appearance of the
night sky for any time and date on a round star map. Planispheres can be used to identify
stars and constellations but not the planets, whose positions are always changing.
Quasar A supermassive black hole gorging on gas at the center of a distant galaxy.
Reflector A telescope that gathers light with a mirror. The Newtonian reflector, de-
signed by Isaac Newton, has a small second mirror mounted diagonally near the front of
the tube to divert the light sideways and out to your eye.
Refractor A telescope that gathers light with a lens. The original design showed dra-
matic rainbows, or “false color,” around stars and planets. Most modern refractors are
achromatic, meaning “free of false color,” but this design still shows thin violet fringes
around the brightest objects. The finest refractors produced today are apochromatic,

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meaning “beyond achromatic.” They use expensive, exotic kinds of glass to reduce false
color to nearly undetectable levels.
Retrograde When an object moves in the reverse sense of “normal” motion. For exam-
ple, most bodies in the solar system revolve around the Sun and rotate counterclockwise as
seen from above (north of) Earth’s orbit; those that orbit or spin clockwise have retrograde
motion. This term also describes the period when a planet or asteroid appears to backtrack
in the sky because of the changing viewing perspective caused by Earth’s orbital motion.
Right Ascension (R.A.) The celestial equivalent of longitude, denoting how far (in
15°-wide “hours”) an object lies east of the Sun’s location during the March equinox.
Seeing A measure of the atmosphere’s stability. Poor seeing makes objects waver or
blur when viewed in a telescope at high magnification. The best seeing often occurs on
hazy nights, when the sky’s transparency is poor.
Sidereal Time A measure of time by the stars, sidereal time marks the right ascension
of stars on your local meridian at any moment. Read more about ways to measure time
here.
Solar Filter Material that allows safe viewing of the Sun by blocking nearly all of its
light. Proper filters should completely cover the front aperture of a telescope and should
never be attached to the eyepiece; they range from glass used by welders to special plastic
film. White-light filters will show sunspots, while hydrogen-alpha (H) filters let certain red
light through that reveals the Sun’s streaming hot gases.
Solstice The two times each year, around June 20th and December 21st, when the Sun
is farthest north or south in the sky. At the summer solstice, the day is longest and the
night is shortest, and vice versa at the winter solstice.
Star A massive ball of gas that generates prodigious amounts of energy (including light)
from nuclear fusion in its hot, dense core. The Sun is a star.
Star Cluster A collection of stars orbiting a common center of mass. Open clusters
typically contain a few hundred stars and may be only 100 million years old or even less.
Globular clusters may contain up to a million stars, and most are at least 10 billion years
old (almost as old as the universe itself).
Star Diagonal A mirror or prism in an elbow-shaped housing that attaches to the
focuser of a refractor or compound telescope. It lets you look horizontally into the eyepiece
when the telescope is pointed directly overhead.
Star Party A group of people who get together to view the night sky. Astronomy clubs
often hold star parties to introduce stargazing to the public.
Sunspot A temporary dark blemish on the surface of the Sun that is a planet-size region
of gas cooler than its surroundings. Sunspots can be viewed safely using a solar filter.
Supernova A star ending its life in a huge explosion. In comparison, a nova is a star
that explosively sheds its outer layers without destroying itself.
Terminator The line on the Moon or a planet that divides the bright, sunlit part from
the part in shadow. It’s usually the most exciting and detailed region of the Moon to view
through a telescope.
Transit When Mercury or Venus crosses the disk of the Sun, making the planet visible
as a black dot in silhouette, or when a moon passes across the face of its parent planet.
Transit also refers to the instant when a celestial object crosses the meridian and thus is
highest in the sky.
Transparency A measure of the atmosphere’s clarity — how dark the sky is at night
and how blue it is during the day. When transparency is high, you see the most stars. Yet
crystal-clear nights with superb transparency often have poor seeing.

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 Twilight The time after sunset or before sunrise when the sky is not fully dark. Astro-
nomical twilight ends after sunset (and begins before sunrise) when the Sun is 18° below
the horizon.
Unit-Power Finder A device for aiming your telescope that shows the sky as it appears
to your unaided eye, without magnification. The simplest type is a pair of notches or circles
that you line up with your target. Other versions use an LED to project a red dot or circle
onto a viewing window.
Universal Time (UT) Also called Greenwich Mean Time, expressed in the 24-hour
system. For example, 23:00 UT is 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (or 6:00 p.m. Eastern
Standard Time). Astronomers use Universal Time to describe when celestial events happen
in a way that is independent of an observer’s time zone. Read more about ways to measure
time here.
Variable Star A star whose brightness changes over the course of days, weeks, months,
or years.
Waning The changing illumination of the Moon (or other body) over time. The Moon
waxes, growing more illuminated, between its new and full phases, and wanes, becoming
less illuminated, between its full and new phases.
Waxing The changing illumination of the Moon (or other body) over time. The Moon
waxes, growing more illuminated, between its new and full phases, and wanes, becoming
less illuminated, between its full and new phases.
Zenith The point in the sky that’s directly overhead.
Zodiac Greek for “circle of animals.” It’s the set of constellations situated along the
ecliptic in the sky, through which the Sun, Moon, and planets move.

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