Astronomy & Our Lives
or…
What could learning about the
planets and stars possibly
have in common with my life
now??
Astronomy & Our Lives

There are more connections between
astronomy than you realize…
• Days of the Week?
• Months of the Year?
• Time itself!
• Words, words, words,
• Products, products, and more products
• A sense of who we are.
Seven Days of the Week







Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday Thursday Friday
Saturday -
the Sun’s day, of course
the Moon’s day
?
??
???
??#$
???%^?
Seven Days of the Week







Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wed
Thurs
Friday
Saturday
Domingo
Lunes
Martes
Miercoles
Jueves
Viernes
Sabado
Dimanche
Lundi
Mardi
Mercredi
Jeudi
Vendredi
Samedi
Sun
Moon
Mars
Mercury
Jupiter
Venus
Saturn
Seven objects are easily seen to move in regular
patters in front of the stars across the skies
during the year
Moonths of the year…


A “month” of time is around the
same time as it takes the moon to
repeat its phases from full to full.
Many cultures still use lunar
calendars for religious festivals
• Easter
• Ramadan & Islamic New Year
• Chinese New Year
• Tết
Time itself…

“Clockwise” from the motion of the
sun’s shadow over a sundial!
Early morning sun casts a
shadow towards the “9” side
of a clock face…
Time itself…
By noon, the overhead sun
casts a (smaller) shadow
towards the “12” side of a
clock face…
Time itself…
By afternoon, the setting
sun casts a (longer) shadow
towards the “3” side of a
clock face…
Words, words, words…

“aster” = star (from Latin)
• Astronomy, Astrology
• Disaster!
“dis-aster” – going against the
stars can be bad!

“cosmos” = order
• Cosmology – the study of the order of the
universe
• Cosmetics – putting your face “in order”

“Meteorology” – the study of weather?
Products, products, products!

Cars
•
•
•
•

Ford: Taurus, Galaxy, Mercury Comet…
Chevy: Astrovan, Nova, Vega…
Plymouth Satellite, Pontiac Sunfire, Oldsmobile Starfire…
Subaru, Saturn…
Food
• Sunchips, Sunny Delite, Mars bars, Moon cakes, Starkist

Products & Companies
• Comet cleanser, SUN mirosystems, Visa STAR network…

TV & Movies galore…
A sense of who we are…


Astronomy allowed us to develop
agriculture, create calendars,
maintain our history, navigate,
explore…
Trying to understand nature led us to
develop technologies absorbed into
our culture…
• Lasers, GPS, Cell Phones, Computers
• Weather Satellites, Velcro, Tang…
Key Questions for YOU…



How does science work?
What do we gain, as humans, by
asking questions of Nature?
Is the quest for knowledge worth the
costs?