Exercises

1. Polaris, the North Star, is close to Declination = +90 degrees. If you were standing on the Earth's North Pole, where would you see it in the sky?
2. If you were standing on the Equator, where would you see Polaris in the Sky?
3. The latitude of Rochester is +43 degrees North. How far above the horizon is Polaris as seen in Rochester?
4. What is the Declination of the most southern stars we can see in Rochester?
5. Convert the location of the bright star Regulus to decimal degrees:

   
                RA  = 10:08:22.2    Dec = +11:58:02
     
   
    Convert the coordinates of Arcturus to sexigesimal notation
          (HH:MM:SS.s, DD:MM:SS.s)
     
   
                RA  = 213.91317     Dec = +19.17897
     
    
    How many degrees are there all the way around
           the celestial equator?
    How many arcseconds are there all the way around
           the celestial equator?
    What is the angular separation between these two locations, in degrees?
     
   
                      RA            Dec
             -------------------------------
              A      2 hours       0 degrees
              
              B      5 hours       0 degrees
             --------------------------------
     
    What is the angular separation between these two locations, in degrees?
     
   
                      RA            Dec
             -------------------------------
              A      2 hours       50 degrees
              
              B      5 hours       50 degrees
             --------------------------------
     
   
    (a tough one) What is the angular separation between the bright stars
             Arcturus and Regulus?  Their coordinates are
             provided in the questions above.