Jan 22: Scales and the Solar System

On Friday, we took a look at the idea of looking at one planet through the lens of another.  We also compared Copernican theory to Epicycles.   Today we'll try again, without the extensive vocabulary and the wordy explanations.


QUESTIONS TO ANSWER


When you get done with this, you will need to locate the distance to the seven primary stars in the asterism Ursa Minor using the program Stellarium. (If it's not on your computer, you can find it at http://www.stellarium.org ) We're going to make a model of the star constellation.

===================== Links of Note

Today, in addition to looking at the issue of Retrograde Motion, we also need to consider the issue of how big the solar system is.  We really don't understand that too well.  You need to take the time to look at the following links, and then answer the questions below.


Scaling the Solar System
Retrograde Motion
Parallax