Document 64296

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THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WARNING: FACT SHEET The Smithsonian Institution is a nlu~,¢um, education and research complex of 17 nluscu111~ and galleries, and Ih¢ National Zoological Park. Fifteen musetnms and galleries are located in Washington,I).(’., two are in NewYork City, and lhc Nadonal Zoo is in Washington. "l~n of the museumsand galleries are situated on ~he Nadonal Mall between Ihe tLS. (’apiml and Washington MonumenL One of the world’s leading scientific research centers, the Institution has facilities in eight slates and the Republic of Panama. Research projects in the arts, history, and science are carried out by the Smithsonian all over the world. The new National Mt~scum of the American Indian is scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2002. The centerpiece of the museumis the priceless collection of Native American artifacts ~ransl~rred to the Smithsonian from the Museum of the American Indian, Hcyc Foundation (New York). The New York exhibilion facility - the Hcye Center of II~c National Museumof the American Indian opened Oclober 30, 1994 in lower Manhaltan. Anolher new museum, the Nadonal PosIal Museum, is Iocalcd near Union Station on Capitol Hill. Devoted to the history of the U.S. mail service, the museum houses the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of its kind, with more than 16 million stamps, covers, and artifacls. Onlyfor useby children over8 yearsold. Onlyfor use under the supervision of an adult. DONOT VIEW SUN THROUGHIELESCOPEAS SERIOUSINJURY MAYRESULT! CAUTION: Readthe instructions before use, follow themand keepthemfor reference.Storetelescope set out of reachof smallchildren. ITEM#1144 AGES8 & up SMITHSONIAN 50x Telescope HISTORY James Smithson (1765-1829). a British scientist, drew up his will in 1826 naming his nephew. Henry James Hungerford. as beneficiary. Smithson stipulated that should the nephew die without heirs (as he did in 1835). the estate would go It, the United States tt, ft,und "’at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution. an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge..." On July !, 1836, Congress accepted the legacy bequeathed to the nation by James Smithson, and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust. In 1838. following approval of the bequest by the British courts, the United ql~l~.~: r~.~’PivPH’~,,~_ithson’s estate - bags of gold sovereign,~ of $515,169. Eight years later, on August I O, 1846. an Act of Congress signed by President James K. Polk, established the Smithsonian Institution in its present form and provided Ibr the administration of the trust, independent of the government itself, by a Board of Regents and Secretary of the Smithsonian. DEAR CUSTOMER, NSI is the manufacturer of this kit. If we madean error and left something out of this set, or if something is damaged,we are sorry and wish to correct our error. Please do not return the set to the store where you purchased it, or to the Smithsonian, as they do not have replacement parts. Instead, write us a letter giving us: 1. Dateof Purchase Purchased 2. Where 3. ModelNumber 4. Name of Set 5. BriefDescription of Problem 6. Sales Slip Wewill do our best to satisfy you. Quality Control Department, Natural Science Industries, Ltd. 910 Orlando Avenue, West Hempstead, NY 11552-3942 (516) 678-1700 PRINTED IN CHINA ITEM NO. 1144 ~2000SmithsonianInstitution - Natural ScienceIndustries, Ltd. 910 ORLANDO AVENUE¯ WESTHEMPSTEAD, NY 11552-3942 ¯ (516) 678-1700 Parts t)t" YourTelescope ()bjectivc I.ens Lid 2 Objective Lells 3 i~ens Hood 4 ’rclcscopc Tube 5 Bracket Knob Boh 7 Tripod Legs 8 Focusin~ Tube Holder 9 t:ocusin,~ Tube 10 Eyepiece II Eyepiece lad I. ~ I:ocusi]~g Knob 13 l)iagonal Mirror 4 Care of Your Telescope Your telescope should hc kcpl away from dusl and moislllrc. I IJlC Ic~lSCS~cl dirty, blow any dust parliclcs olT before cleaning. Clean the lense~ with a moistened lens tissue. Alwaysstore your telescope in the box whennot in use. How MuchPower: Choosing the Eye I,ens Powerrefers Io Ihc ability of a telescope Io enlarge an image, or. in cflccl, bring il clo~cr to the viewer. Amountof magnifyingpoweris signified by a numberfollowed by an X (read "power"). So if you view an old, col at 50X. you arc seeing it as if you are 50 times closer to thai o~jccl. Poweris calculated by dividing lllc focal length of your tclcscope’s otLjcctive lens (probably indicated on the Ibcus tube) by lhc Ik~cal Icnglh ot" the cyc lens you select. The focal length of the eye lens is usually indicated on the eyepieceitself. 500mm (focal length of objective lens) Wayis much brighler. ’lb set, Ihe Milk~ Wayyou need to go where the sky is vcr~ dark when there is no moonin the sk3. There are patterns of hright sial% to he found here too. First lind the "Big Dipper", the hrighlesl stars of the constellation Ursa Major. The two stars at the front of Ihe houri of Ihe dipper poinl 1o Polaris, the Norlh Stal: Then I~flloxv Ihe arc of the handle to Arclurus, and then spike to Spica. High overhead look I~n" the large summerIriangle: Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Antares is a reddish-looking slat in the soulh, parl of lhe conspicuous constellation Scorpius. Be sure Io sxveep lhe summerMilky Waywilh hinoculars to lind dozens of rich star cluslers and fuzz3 palches of nebulosily (glo~ving gas cloudsL Note, Ihe ecliplic, the path of Ihe sun. moon and phmels is low in the nighltime sky and high in the daylime sky in the summer monlhs. FALL = 50X (power) Example: lOmm (focal length of eyepiece) ’l"hc Ior~gcr the fl~cal length of the eyepiece, the less the magnifyingpowerof the Iclescope: the shorter the focal length, the greater the power. So whenyou sclccl eye lens to inscrl into the diagonal prism, you’re really choosing what magnit3,ing poweryou wish to use for obserwttion. Helpful tlints for Setting Up YourTelescope 1 ) Unpackthe tripod fl’om the box. Next, s~and the tripod up verlically by pulling Ihe leg extension anct sprcadirlg Ihe legs apart fully. 2) Slide the telescope bracket (5) arKl adjusl Ihc holes. 3) Removethe lens lids ( I 1 &1 ) from the eyepiece and the objective lens (10 & 2). WARNING: DO NOT VIEW SUN THROUGH TF.I,ESCOPE AS SERIOUS INJURY TO EYE MAY RESUI/F 17 Observing Astronomical Objects Through Your Telescope l) Glance through the main telescope% cycpiccc{ I{)) For your o~cct. (Note: mayhave to alter the angle ol" the telescope slightly.) The o~ject will n~ost likely seem to beblLIrry at this ~tage,hul lhal i~ Ilorlllal. Youare just trying to get the o~ject in the viewing field of your telescope lens. ()nee you have accomplished this lask, fitsten the knobboll (6) Io keep Ihe accuracy of your lelescope steady. 2) Nowat{iust Ihe focusing tube (9) by turning the focusing knob (12) slowly back and fl~rlh unlil Ihe blurred o~jecl becomesprecise. 3) If you are going to be looking through the telescope Ik)r a short period of time, you can insert tile eyepiece (10) directly into the focusing lube (9). To be comfortable whenusing your telescope for longer periods of lime, place the diagonal mirror (13) inlo the Ibcusing tube (9) and Ihe eyepiece (10) inlo the nal mirror. WINTER SOUTH The~.linter ~,k.,, 1 b, dominak’d hy tl]~ bright constellation()rion. the hLml~r,with hi~ prominent h~ll ~ ) three equally N~aced~tar~. Notethe I’ill~ of blli~ht Marx~lilrolitldhl~ ()l’iOl]: Ri~el, Aldeharan, (’apella. (’a~tor and Pollux. Pl’ocyon. and Sh’ill~ (the brightest M[Lr in the n]i~i]tthne ~ky). Betel~eu~e in the middle.l’i]i~ I~,q~ i~ ~Otllethl]e~ called the "’Winter Ilex~L~On."Onceyoucanidenfify the~e ~taF~ you ~’all work yOllf ~~ OLit to Lhe ~Llrl’Olllll]hl~ con~tellathm~. Note. the cc’lq~tk’, path of tile sun, inoon,andpmanet~ i~ highin the nightlhne~ky andIo~ ~11the d~l)’thlle ~ky the in the ~’il]- Overview nf the Snlar System By definition, our Solar Systemconsists of the Still, nine planets, their moons, and an ut~k~ownnumber of asteroids (small rocky bodies) and comets (small bodies of dust and ice). The inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, are similar in that they were lbnncd from dense, rocky materials, unlike the outer gaseous planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.Pluto is the oddity, a small rocky-like planet on the outskirts of the Solar System. Most asteroids are located in orbit (the path of one body circling another) between Mars and Jupiter. Beyomlthe orbit of Pluto, comets can be Ibund in the Oort cloud (a band of comets). Occasionally, the pull of the Sun’s gravity (lk~rce of attraction between two bodies) brings comets tracing exaggerated elongated orbits into the inner Solar System. Icl" / !. Our Solar System In Depth A. Mercury: Taking a Clnser Lnnk AlthoughMercuryis the fourth-brightest phmct, finding it in the sky can be difficult even whenyou knowwhere to look. Bccauxcit is the closest planet to the Sun, fromour viewing platform it is always in the same part of the sky as the Sun, visible only right after sunset or right bel’ore sunrise. This meansit is close to the horizon and our view is shrouded by the thickest part of the atmosphere (the gaseous envelope surlout~dit~g the [~arth). Circular depressions called impact craters, caused by debris hitting the surfi~ce, cover the entire surfitce of Mercury making it difficuh to distinguish it from the Moon.The Mercuryimpact craters do not appear as deep as the Moon’s, and the ring of ejected material around each crater is closer in. Mercury’s surface gravity is over twice that of the Moon, resulting in shallower craters, and preventing debris from travelling far from the impactsite. . - ¯ ’.-.-.-... ’" ~I ...... ’,..... ¯ " ,’-: The Milky Way:Wheuyou see the Milky Wayin the night sky. you maywell see howit got its uame.Throughoutthe ages, this band of lighl has also been referredas a river. Wenowknowthat this bandof light is made of stars leo far awayfor our eyes to distiuguish Clio point of light fronl another. TheMilkyWay is a spiral galaxyof about 300billion stars, resemblinpa flat disk wilh a slight bulgein the center. ()ur Solar Systemis in a spur of’oneof the spiral armslocaled about 2/3rd of the wayout from the center of the galaxy. The band of light seen across our sky is our viewof the plane of the galaxy. In other words,if our galaxy were a pizza, fgomour slice of peppcroni, wewouldbe looking at the crust. Therifts of dark patchesthai wesee iu the Milkywayare uol holes opening up to the other side, but dusl and debris blockingour view. Thebright stars seen in these dark patchesare closer in to us than those in the arms. .’ ¯ " : ’: " -, ,- " :-: :--:- ~--. ~...~~’..5.... / .... ;.,, .... .... B. VENtJS: "l{ikiug a Closer l~ook Will] a nlaxiintlln nlagnitudc iiil~o~ The Andromeda Galaxy: Located in the constellation Andromeda, between Cassiopeia and Pegasus, is the clongalcd smudge of the Andromeda Galaxy. Even with a nice backyard telescope, you will see only ,’~ smudge. Just imagine that the light left that galaxy almost 3 million years ago and is ouly nowreaching our eyes. For those of tlS in the Norlherl] Henlispherc. with I]orma[ eyesight, the AndromedaGalaxy is the furthl3sl objc¢l visible wilk Ihe unaided cye, ]lid the only visible objectthal is lie] parl of our OWll Milky WayGalaxy, (apparolli brighti]ess)of-4.7.VciltlS brighlor lhan Iho noxl hrighl~l planol. Jupilor. Thougll known a~ lhc ~VOlliilg afler suns~l. WhenVclitl~ i~ clo~c to the horizon, it can appearto datlco and ~hilllnl~r thi’ough lho almo~phcricha/o. and i~ oflon nli~lakon for a UFOhovel’in 7 clo~c to the horizon. PlanetaryNebula:Believedto be qjectcd gas from dyingred giant stars, planetary nebulas generally appear as rings or hourglass shapes, looking mtich like planetary disks under low n]agnification. Examplesinclude the Ring Nebulain Lyra and the Helix Nebulain Aquarius. Supernova remnant: Ancxpaliding shell of gas reruainiilg after a violent explosion during the final stages of a star’s evolution. Example.~include Ihc Crab Nebulain Taurus, and the Veil Nebulain Cygnus. Galaxies:Defined as a concentrated assemblyof gas, dust and stars. Galaxies comein various shapes: spiral, irregular, and elliptical. Examplesinclude the WhirlpoolGalaxyin CanesVenatici andthe Pinwheelin Triangulum. ¯ " . ." ¯ I ’ :.~ .... ’: ~ ...... ...-7-, , " .... Star Clusters: Group of stars located closely together, helieved to share a comIllOi] origin, Star clusters can have thousands of stars or only a l~w, Examples include the Pleiades in Taurus and the Beehive in Call¢er. ...-__, .... i,. ., .~.~~~~-~ i---~,. . ;.,.. -.. I ..,~.~:. --,-- -_--~--.~Z"-, - .... .~ .’~ ~’~...... L, I. .... ¯¯ / - , . ! ...... i" .-"- "t,. \.’.: ’.., ~L.A ’.:’-.,:....... ~ -.-~., ’ ,. ¯ .. i ."..:.7..~.~l ’~i.; :"4¯ - hi .’~ ..’-t t ...... .// .... ~ ": . ,, ’" ".."" ’. ¯ . ,--:--~ ~ , ." ~ Globularclusters: Largergroupof hundredsof thousaudsof stars clustcrctl together andbelieved to share a common origin. Examplesinclude the Great GlobularClusterin Herculcsandthe M4in Scorpius. , , ~ ...... ¯ ~ " ¯ ~fl", ,.--’., ..... .. ~ Apparcnl lialh ill" Vi’nlls ill relationto the background stairsat one-day intervals.Themotion is shnihir to thaiof Mercury eXeClll Vl~llllSnllll’~snlorl~slowly ]lid lher~2trlil~rildl~ loops arl~flitflier aparl, MultipleStars: Two,three or morestars circling aroundthe samecenter of gravity. Moststars that appearto the nakedeye as a single pointof light are actually multiple stars, andmayrcquirc a telescope to see the nunaerouscompanions. Sirius in CantsMajoris a double, Rcgulusin Leois a triple, andCapcllain Aurigais a sextuple. Polaris is currently our NorthStar because il is len)porari]y locatedalmos[dir¢clly aboveI~arlh’s Norlh Pole. ()nee you hwalc Polaris, you hawfound norlh, m~~ouone of your cardinal diF¢clions. WhileIookin~ al Polaris. cast will bc your riBhl, w~ston your I~l’t, andsouth~il] bc behind~ou."l’hcsc diicctiolln b¢ imporlanl for findin B your wa~through the niBht sky, maKh) B the Bi~ I)ippcr lit1 hlvaJtiahIc+otlidcpost. Before IIl()V~ll~. t)ll, lakest)me1~111~1() illlprcsn ~()tlr falllil~andfriends. C’on~iclcr (l~c~an~ular) height ofP(~larh ahoxcthehorizon. Remember lhalPolaris ix totaled ahnosl dircclIX ab(wclhcN()rlh Pole. So, wcrcal lhcNorlhPole,Polaris wouldbc dirccll over xour head. Chances arc, X liftsin nollhccasewhereXouarcnow.So,wherearcXou?Polaris andxour canhelpXouIi~urc nomcof XourIocalion. A I’islheldal armsIcn~lh mcaxu~cx aboultO dc~rccxfrompinkX knuckleto thumbknuckle.If Xou wcrc in Washin~lon. I).(’., ilwouldlakefourI’isls, oneslacked onlopofIh¢olhcr, reachPolaris. It.jusl xohappens lhalWashm~lon, I).(’. isncarl norlh X ~0 dc~rccs lalilud¢, mcanin~ 4()dc~rccs norlhofEarlh’s cqualor. IfX()uwcrcIurlhcr perhaps Fhwida, ilwouldlakeonlX lhrccfisls, ~ivcor lakea I’in~cr. BX mcasurin~lh¢hciBhl of Polaris inthiswax,Xoucanrou~hl xournorlh I~IiX dclcrnfinc ludc.If XouwcrcbelowlhcEarlh’s ¢qualor, Xouwouldnolfinda Soulh Slar.so dclcrminin~ xoursoulhlaliludc wouldh¢ muchlou~h¢~. When you searchthe northern part of the sky, the only changesyou will find are Ihc positions of the constellations as they appearto movearoundPolaris. If you canimagineIhJn part of lhc sky an an umbrella,Polaris wouldmarkthe lip at the lop. As youlwirl lhc umbrella,lhc slats closer Io Polarin movearoundin a li~hlcr circle. The further awaythe star is from Polaris, the larger the circle, until eventually the slar falls hch)wthe horizon, appearingto rise in the Easl andset in Ihc wcsl. The Marsthal fall belowlhc horizonare consideredseasonalconstellations. "[’hey are only visible at ccrlain times of lhc year, andIhc particular seasondclcrmincshow E TAKIN(; A CI,OSERI,OOK: You can find many sky objects with the unaided eye. Before you look. remember to allow your eyes time to adapt to whatever darkness is available. Evenif you arc in an area affected wilh light polItllion, somestarry o~jects will he visible after you stand in the dark Ibrabout I0 IllilltlleS. The further awayfrom the lighls, the morelime your eyes need to fully adapl~around 20 minutes in a nice dark sky environment. Cerlainly if the Moon is up, look while you are waiting. The brightest slars and planets will become visible first; these are excellent guideposts in their ownrights. Eventually, the dimmer stars will come inlo view. The darker the environment, the more stars you will see. If you arc in a nice dark sky, you will be treated to the Milky Way and some nice deep sky objects as well. A good star map will show you where to find deep sky o~jects, manyof them visible wfih the unaided eye as nebulous palches. Througha telescope, Venusappears as a featureless white ball that goes through phases similar to the Moon’s. As you lbllow these changing phases, you maysee a dark atmospheric ring oudining the plancl. Notice also thai the slim banana shapedcrescent appears muchlarger than its fuller than half bul not quite full gibbous phase, suggestingthat duringits crescent phase, it is closer to us, while its gibbous phase occurs whenit is far away, on the olhcr side of the Stun. C. MARS:Taking a Closer Marsis our first outer phmet.It is reddish brownin color. When the Earthcomes betweenMarsand the Sun, Marsis at opposition (opposite the Stm in the sky). At these limes, Marsis very close to the Earth and appears bright. WhenEarth andMarsare far apart in their orbits, Marslooks muchfainter. Since the orbit of Marsis elliptical (owd) someoppositions are closer than others. In one month, Marsmoves against the backgroundof stars on the average aboul I-I/2 hamls dircction again to continue along its easterly journey. This is called retrograde mntion. If you could see the Solar System from above, you would scc Earth movingfaster on the inner loop, passing slower Marson the outer loop. Mars appearsas a disk througha telescope -no longer just a pinpoint of light, as it looks to the unaidedcyc. Somesurlktcc detail becomesvisible, such as the darkcr regions and the white polar caps. Unfnrttmatcly.as Marsnears the sun, solar radiation triggers massivedust stormson the planet, so thoughthis is the ideal time to look at Marsbecauseof its close dislance to Earlhand the Sun, it is the worst time tk)r detecting any surface dclails. Ducto the presence of iron oxide, the rocky surface of Marsis the color of red clay. There is no atmosphereon Mars:the surface gravity was not strong enoughto hold onto the gasscs during the cooling period. Nor is there any surface water, and what water there maybe on Marsis frozen beneaththe north and south axis or poles, covered by dry ice. D. STARS:By defivfition, a star has its own nuclear power source, and is capable of producing its own light. Stars come in many different colors. Yon will notice blue, orange, red, and yellow stars. Our own star, the Sun, is a middleaged average yellow star, called a main sequence star. Average stars begin their life in a cool cloud of gas and dust. As the star consumes its own matter, it Apl)arentPathof Marsin relalion to the hack~roan(I stars at one-day interw|ls. Themotinn right to left (west to east) on the average, with relrogra(It,