Measure the Angular Separation of a Moon
Note: use a mouse instead of a trackpad or touchscreen to limit frustration while using Afterglow.
Click “Next” above to see the step-by-step instructions.
Alternate Format: Video Instructions
- Follow along with this tutorial video
Alternate Format: Written Instructions
- Open the plotter tab
- Choose “centroid clicks”
- Click on the moon once (let go, do not click and drag)
- Choose “planet centroiding”
- Click on the planet once. Now you have a line connecting the planet and the moon. This is the angular separation between the two on our sky.
- Read the length in arcsecs from the information provided at the bottom of the screen.
- Record this length, to the nearest 0.1 in the spreadsheet next to the correct date.
- Repeat for each image.
Media Attributions
- Angular Separation