Astronomical Phenomenology

The astronomical phenomenology is concerned generally with sight, time and place freisichtiger (ie normal, visible to the naked eye) elements on the daytime sky and the night starry sky , as far as the phenomena outside the earth's atmosphere are.

The phenomenology of the sky is a field of visual astronomy and deals primarily with geometric aspects of celestial science , in particular through the observation of angles , movements and by means of free-eyed photometry of celestial phenomena. For this purpose, she uses the methods of celestial mechanics based on spherical astronomy and general astrometry , taking into account atmospheric optics .

Field of activity

The focus is on observing the following phenomena:

• Sun , moon and planets
• of the starry sky (fixed stars, constellations and the Milky Way)
• the visibility (rising or setting) of these celestial bodies
• as well as their culmination , constellations and movements ( conjunction and opposition , elongation , standstill , etc.)
• Solar and lunar eclipses , bright star occultations and other astronomical events
• Less common or more difficult: comets and zodiacal light
• Occasionally Novae or bright variable stars
• Satellite tracking, orbit correction maneuvers of satellites and space stations
• In a broader sense also celestial phenomena that are related to the earth's atmosphere - z. B. Meteors , Northern Lights
• and of meteorological aspects that affect the visibility of astronomical elements ( refraction , halos , secondary suns , twilight , glowing night clouds, etc.)

Increasingly, vision problems are of observation points to solve, do not lie on the ground, such as in aerospace for predicting conditions during missions and especially spacewalks , as well as the visibility of observation satellites and probes. Examples are “When is sunset on the ISS ?” Or “ Mercury transit , seen from SOHO ”.

history

The observation and interpretation of celestial phenomena, celestial constellations and rising and setting points of celestial objects occupied people - especially some priest astronomers - and led to the formation of various sun and other cults as early as the Neolithic . Since ancient times, the history of astronomical phenomenology has been closely linked to spherical astronomy , partly also with questions of worldview and at least from the 18th century with the problem of determining the orbit of the moon and planets. The beginnings of astrology also have their cause in the interpretation of celestial phenomena. In recent times, the difficult orbit determination of visually observed meteors and fireballs was the reason for the establishment of the - now 100 years old - Astronomical Office in Sibiu and Vienna by Oswald Thomas .

The main area of ​​the discipline has long been the prediction of events ( ephemeris calculation ) and their documentation in astronomical yearbooks .

Today the solution of vision problems is a central part of all astronomical computer programs . In addition to telescope control in science and amateur astronomy, it is also used in public observatories and in archaeoastronomy .

See also

• Starry sky:
  • Spring sky
  • Summer sky
  • Autumn sky
  • Winter sky
• Light phenomena:
  • Aurora borealis
  • Luminous night clouds
  • Afterglow
  • dusk
  • Purple light
  • Alpenglow
  • Zodiacal light
  • Photometeor
  • Electrometeor
• general:
  • Sky observation
  • Atmospheric optics

literature

• Andreas Guthmann: Introduction to celestial mechanics and ephemeris calculus . BI-Wiss.-Verl., Mannheim 1994, ISBN 3-411-17051-4 .
• Hermann Mucke (Hrsg.): Modern astronomical phenomenology . 20th Sternfreunde Seminar, 1992/93. Planetarium of the City of Vienna and Austrian Astronomical Association , Vienna 1992 (also 21st seminar 1994).