Tommy Kubena
Ramesh Dhungana
PHYS-1052
5 February 2024
North Circumpolar Motion of Stars
Viewing Location and Name:
Isthmus Park, Bowles Metropolitan District, near the street of South Jay Circle.
Others: none, I did this lab alone.
Statement of Purpose:
The purpose of this lab was to learn about the daily motion of stars in relation to the North
Celestial Pole (Polaris). This was done by sketching the motion of Ursa Major (Big Dipper) over
the course of at least three hours over three consecutive days.
Procedure:
I would first orient myself so Polaris would be directly in my Zenith in the park I was located at.
I drew this down on every sketch first alongside labeling in the top left corner of my sketches the
date and time. I recorded my observations of Ursa Major’s (Big Dipper) movement in relation to
the North Celestial Pole (Polaris) over the dates of 2/4/2024 – 2/6/2024. I began my observations
around 7:00 – 7:10 P.M., then waited another two hours till 9:00 – 9:20 P.M., and again a final
two hours at 11:00 – 11:10 P.M., for a total of three sketches over four-hour periods on each day.
The horizon and my position are also displayed on every sketch in relation to my Zenith and
Polaris
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Data:
Presented below are all nine sketches of the night sky representing the North Celestial Pole and
Ursa Major over the course of three consecutive nights 2/4 – 2/6 across a four-hour interval of
7:00 – 11:00 P.M. on each day.
Day 1 (2/4/2024):
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Day 2 (2/5/2024):
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Day 3 (2/6/2024):
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Conclusion & Analysis:
My observations of the North Celestial Pole’s Circumpolar motion about Ursa Major
throughout three consecutive nights from 7 P.M. to 11 P.M. revealed that one, Polaris remained
relatively in the same position, in my zenith, every single day. The same couldn’t be said for
Ursa Major which underwent a large change of position over four hours as it circled Polaris or
more accurately the North Circumpolar Zone. Ursa Major would begin relatively in the same
area of sky on every sketch, only minor degree tilts of the Ursa Major constellation would occur
over the three days. It was because of these slight shifts in tilt towards Polaris that highlighted
Ursa Major’s circular motion which would become evident in a longer period of recorded
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observations. Ultimately this circular motion of Ursa Major relative to the North Celestial Pole
reflected my view of the Celestial Sphere as Earth spun upon its axis, rather than the stars
themselves moving in the night sky as their distance from the Earth would make their own actual
movements undetectable to the naked eye.
I wish I had used some sort of measuring device, like the tip of my thumb to my little
finger (around 25 degrees) to record the degree size and difference more accurately between the
North Celestial Pole and Ursa Major in my sketches. My data would’ve also been aided if I
chose to utilize graph paper alongside a device of measurement.
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