Thursday, January 26, 2012

If you see a constellation, and the next night, at the same time, you look up, will it be in the same spot?

If one night, say, at 8:00 pm, you see a constellation...say...ursa minor. then the next night, at the same exact time of 8:00 pm, you look at the sky, will it still be there in that exact same spot you saw it last night? Or a little more to the left, right, up, or down?If you see a constellation, and the next night, at the same time, you look up, will it be in the same spot?It won't be in the EXACT same spot, but the difference would be unnoticeable to the naked eye.If you see a constellation, and the next night, at the same time, you look up, will it be in the same spot?
As far as you will interpret it, it will be at the same spot.



In reality, it's always in the same spot but the Earth is spinning and circling, so with time it will move.If you see a constellation, and the next night, at the same time, you look up, will it be in the same spot?The earth turns in 24 hours. The sky seems to turn a little faster, because the earth is going around the sun.

Every day, each star rises 3m56.2s earlier. So every night, the view is shifted slightly to the west. Over months, stars that were in the east at dusk are now in the west, and a whole new set are in the east.
From one day to the next, you will not notice any change. The stars will only be four minutes different from where they were the night before at that same time.If you see a constellation, and the next night, at the same time, you look up, will it be in the same spot?yes

but each day is a little bit shifted , you cant notice the difference in 2 daysIf you see a constellation, and the next night, at the same time, you look up, will it be in the same spot?
If you look at the sky at the same time, you will find that the stars move about 1 degree per day. This is about twice the diameter of the moon, but not enough to be obvious. The motion is a westward rotation; the rising and setting time gets earlier by about four minutes per day.
This reminds me of something that happens to me from time to time.



When I'm out observing all night, I do tend to forget about the passage of time. So I look up at the Big Dipper and its at (for example) about the 12 o'clock position. Hours later, its at the 6 o'clock position. Then I catch myself, saying "how the heck did that happen so fast"?



I usually head for bed soon after that.



But yes, for one night to the next, the apparent position of the sky doesn't change that much. From month to month, its readily apparent.If you see a constellation, and the next night, at the same time, you look up, will it be in the same spot?
It will shift about 4 degrees eastward (per day)

The earth moves around the sun about 1 degree per day, but that has nothing to do with star information. Please check your sources before posting.

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