Category

Stars

Parsecs and Light Years

This lesson will discuss the commonality and conversion between Parsec and Light Years. Remember that when using Parallax, you derive the distance to an object in Parsecs, this will introduce how Light Years fit into the distance terminology. This lesson assumes that you have reviewed the video lesson: Angular Measurements on the Sky and Parsecs.

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Constellations

A few bright stars associated with every constellation have been named by different cultures. European and Arabic culture names were assigned by early Roman, Babylonian, Greek, Sumerian, and Arab astronomers. Other cultures, such as Native American and Chinese, have...

Stellar Populations I, II, III

Stars are sometimes referred to as Pop I, II, or III stars. The “Pop” means Population. The three classifications of Populations are intended to categorize stars based on how much metal is within them. This lesson will just provide an overview of the concept so that...

WCS Coordinates With Astrometry.Net

This lesson presumes you have reviewed the lesson discussing what WCS Coordinate are. Here, we will outline how to use Astrometry.Net to insert WCS Coordinates into your images.

Radial Velocity

This lesson outlines the portions of stellar motions that are towards us or away from us in a direct line: Radial Velocities. This topic was previously introduced in the video lesson: Stellar Motions.

Angular Measurements of the Sky

In Astronomy, and more so, in the subfield of Astrometry, you will often refer to measurements on the sky in a fashion that you are not used to. On Earth, we talk about separations and distances in the Imperial system (inches, feet, etc) or the Metric system (meters,...

Proper Motion

This video lesson is apart of a group of video lessons on Stellar Motion. Consult Radial Velocity and Stellar Motion for a context of how Proper Motion is part of the collective view of how objects in the Universe move. Proper Motion is essentially the tangential...

Parallax

In the continuing effort to discern the distances to objects, astronomers can use a tool, long known to surveyors, as Parallax. Parallax simply measures a shift in object position against a background when the observer is positioned in different locations. Parallax is...

Color and Temperature

This class focuses on a basic understanding of Stellar Temperatures, Colors, and Magnitudes. Why does this matter? The fundamental reason that we study Double Stars is to better understand, and revise, stellar theories that rely on a mass determination. Determining...

Magnitudes: Absolute and Apparent

This class focuses on a basic understanding of Stellar Magnitudes. Magnitudes are how we refer to the brightness of a star. The most fundamental measures of stellar magnitude are: Apparent and Absolute.

Wien’s Law

This lesson assumes some familiarity with the EM Spectrum and the basic properties of light. Here we will take our understanding of light, with its varying wavelengths and frequencies, and relate them to temperature. This is the next step in understanding the...