B.Sc Curriculum - Madras Christian College

Unit V Hours: 15
Moon: Relation between sidereal and synodic month – elongation – Phases of moon.
Eclipses: Umbra and Penumbra – Lunar eclipse – Solar eclipse – Condition for occurrence of a
solar eclipse – angular radius of the cross section of the shadow cone where moon enters – length
of earth’s shadow – condition for the occurrence of a solar eclipse – ecliptic limits – maximum
and minimum number of eclipses near a node - in a year – Saros of Chaldeans
Chapter XII: Sections 229-241, Chapter XIII:Sections 256 – 275
Treatment and content as in
Astronomy by S. Kumaravelu and Susheela Kumaravelu, 2005.
References
1. Text Book on Spherical Astronomy, Sixth Edition,W.M. Smart, VIKAS Publishing House
Pvt. Ltd., 1979.
2. Exploration of the Universe, Second Edition, George Abell, 1981.
Observational Astronomy
1. Systems of coordinates – a practical study.
2. Observation of moon – at different phases.
3. Observation of planets.
4. Observation of satellites of planets.
5. Identification of constellations.