Module 5 Activity: Part 1

Exploring the Sky with Chromoscope

In Part 1 of the Module 5 Activity, we're going to look at the sky with many different types of "eyes".

As you've been learning in Chapter 5 of the textbook, our eyes can only sense a narrow range of wavelengths, called the "visible" wavelength range.

However, as you've also learned, there are many more wavelength ranges, such as infrared, ultraviolet, etc..

Modern telescopes and satellites have allowed astronomers to make all-sky maps in several wavelength ranges. Some very kind astronomers and programmers at two British universities (Cardiff and Oxford) have created a website called Chromoscope that allows us to easily "put on different eyes" and see the universe at these invisible wavelengths.

How to Use Chromoscope in this Activity

As with most of our Activities, there's a webpage that you should open in another browser tab or another browser window:

Chromoscope webpage

1. Here are some things to do, once you've got Chromoscope open:
2. Press "L" on your keyboard to turn on labels.
3. Make sure Visible is selected in the upper-right part of the screen. (It probably is already.)
4. Make sure you're as zoomed-out as you can get. (You probably are already.) This makes the Visible sky look as good as possible.
5. Take a few moments to practice using left-mouse-button click-and-drag to move the sky image around.

Now for a bit of practice at getting the Galactic ("Gal") coordinates of an object:

Find the Andromeda Galaxy - it looks like a little fuzzy glowing oval, oriented upper-left-to-lower-right. Right-click on it to center it, and read off its coordinates. They should be fairly close to this:

121.00^o  -22.00^o  Gal

(If your numbers are within a few degrees of each of those numbers, you're doing fine.)

Your scores and feedback comments for this Activity will be available February 20th at 10:00pm.