Lyceum B - Astronomy - Week 33 - Neptune
- Jun 22, 2022
- 3 min read
From How the Universe Works:
As the planet rotates, the Dark Spot comes around every 18 hours, and the speedier Scooter every 16 hours. But the Scooter is actually fixed at the same spot on Neptune. The Great Dark Spot is moving, swept along by strong winds that blow in the opposite direction to the planet's rotation, so the Dark Spot lags behind.
Experiment - The Scooter and the Great Dark Spot
Need revolving cake stand, yellow poster board, modeling clay, drawing compass, clock with second hand
Place the clock (representing Neptune) on the revolving cake stand with the clock face upward (can put a bit of modeling clay on back to hold the clock to the stand so it doesn't slide off when spinning)
Cut a circle of poster board slightly smaller than the reach of the second hand on the clock face. Tape it over the center of the clock face. The moving tip of the second hand will represent the Great Dark Spot.
Place a blob of modeling clay on the poster board circle near its edge. This will represent the Scooter.
Put some modeling clay on the table next to the cake stand to act as a marker.
Turn the cake stand counterclockwise at one rotation every 10 seconds. Watch the marker as the Scooter and the Great Dark Spot pass.
Which one comes around first?
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Experiment - How We Realized There Was A Neptune - Because Uranus Kept Getting Pulled Wobbly By Somebody's Gravitational Force
(We are going to use the force of magnetism in place of the force of gravity)
Need a 1 x 1 foot poster board - red, a small yellow piece of poster board, a paper clip, a paper fastener, and a bar magnet
Cut the yellow poster board into a 6 x 1 inch strip. Fold the strip in half and then fold the halves in half again.
Attach one end of the yellow strip to the center of the poster board with the paper fastener. The middle fold should be sticking up in the air. Make sure you can turn the strip easily around in a circle.
Fasten the paperclip (which will represent Uranus) on the other end of the paper strip.
Tape the bar magnet to the underside of the red poster board (this will be Neptune) just out of the "orbit" of the paper clip (Uranus).
Now, turn the strip slowly around the poster board.
Can you feel "Uranus" reacting to the pull of the unseen "Neptune" as the "orbit" of the paper clip passes by the hidden magnet?
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Experiment - The Condensing Atmosphere on Triton
Need - a medium size ball of modeling clay, string, a pot of water, and a wooden skewer
The ball of modeling clay will be "Triton"
Tie the string around the ball and tie the free end to a wooden skewer. Put this in the freezer for several hours until the clay is frozen. (This will be like the cold temperatures on Triton)
Boil water in the pot. Then take "Triton" out of the freezer and hold it by the skewer. Dip it into the steam for a few seconds. The frozen ball of modeling clay ("Triton") is so cold that the water vapor (steam) will condense on its surface as a thin layer of ice.
This mimics what happens on Triton to any liquid that reaches its surface - it is immediately frozen.
Videos:
Professor Dave Explains
Artificial Satellites of Earth and Their Orbits - 8:48 min
Crash Course Astronomy #23
Meteors - 11:21 min
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