Section 1 Introduction
Targets
At the end of this Section you should be able to answer the following questions
1. What does studying the sky teach us about the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars?
1.1 How can we learn about objects in the sky?
1.2 What patterns can be seen in the stars (constellations)?
1.3 What can we learn about the movement of objects in the sky by observing them?
You will also be watching the sky during the day and night to see if you can track the same patterns to tell you what is happening in our solar system. Remember that the sky’s the limit! So take a look at it.
Ask Yourself
Think about how you would explain the position and motion of the Sun, Moon, stars and planets if you had no technology available to assist you?
History Connection
Early peoples watched the sky for many reasons. For some, it was simple curiosity or a desire to learn more about the world around them. Other cultures made stories about the patterns they saw in the stars and used these stories to explain natural occurrences. Watching the sky also allowed some cultures to track the passage of time and predict the changes of the seasons. They used their observations of the sky to tell them when would be a good time to plant and harvest their crops, or prepare for winter.
The peoples who built ancient observatories tracked the Sun, the Moon, and stars. They knew the Sun moved each day during a year. Using stones, shadows, and poles, they could observe when the Sun reached its solstices (most northern and southern rising and setting points).
Some people believe that Stonehenge is actually an ancient observatory that was used to mark certain astronomical events.
The massive stones may have been aligned to the positions of objects in the sky.
Read more about how Stonehenge might have been used to study the sky.
Did you know that an arrangement of rocks placed by First Nations people about 5000 years ago near Majorville in southern Alberta is similar to Stonehenge? You might enjoy visiting this website to learn more about it.