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| Date:
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Monday, August 24,1998
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| Position: |
Latitude 48 degrees 39 minutes North; Longitude 126 degrees 9 minutes West
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| Entered By:
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Teacher Aboard Carol Zajano
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LIFE AT SEA (continues)
Pride of Baltimore II is the crew's home and place of work. Life aboard is comfortable and fun because all crew members practice common courtesy and abide by a few basic rules. It is vital that each crew member be aware of his or her responsibility for the safe and efficient operation of Pride II.
Here are Pride II's Standing Orders that are in effect at all times.
Notify the Captain:
- If in doubt for any reason
- A course or sail change is contemplated
- Equipment breaks down
- Visibility falls below two miles
- Adverse weather is approaching
- Any vessel will approach within two miles
- Pride II appears to be heading into danger
- Before main engine(s) is started
- Any crew, passenger, or guest become ill or injured.
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The watch system that I described in my last log is organized to provide periodic time off. In addition, each crew member earns one day off per month. This day may be taken at any time with the permission of the Captain. On board, crew members enjoy their free time reading, knitting, playing the guitar, and sharing sailing stories. On shore, the crew welcomes the opportunity to visit new places and old friends. Everyone is now looking forward to arriving in Seattle to call family and see the sights.
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THE NIGHT SKY
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Words cannot describe the stars one sees on a clear night watch! These brilliant objects in the sky are made up of many gaseous elements including hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, nickel, and silicon. They appear much brighter at sea than at home. Stars are formed when gravity pulls together clouds of gas and dust in deep space. As more gas and dust get pulls in, the clump heats up. Finally, heat and pressure cause the gases to undergo a reaction called nuclear fusion. This makes the star "shine" or give off light and energy.
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Some stars seem brighter than others. The brightness of a star is called its magnitude, or size. Big stars are brighter than little stars, and so have greater absolute magnitude. Stars close to Earth also appear brighter than those farther away. They have greater apparent magnitude. Our sun appears to be the brightest star to us because it is the closest to Earth.
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Stars have different colors, depending on how hot they are. Very hot stars are blue, and the coolest stars are red. Usually, large stars are brighter and hotter.
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Stars, suns, moons, and planets are called celestial bodies (celestial means having to do with the sky). Large celestial bodies that revolve (move around) around a star are called planets. A group of celestial bodies traveling around a star is called a solar system, and the star in the center is called a sun.
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The sun and stars shine continuously, but the sun is seen only during the day and the stars are seen only at night. During the daytime, the light from the sun is so bright that the light from the stars is not noticeable.
During the nighttime, the sun is hidden below the earth's horizon (the line where the sky seems to meet the Earth). While the sun itself is hidden from view, its light can still be seen. This is because the sun's light reflects (bounces back) off the surfaces of the Moon and the planets. (A moon is a small celestial body that moves around a planet.) The Moon, which is the brightest light in the night sky, actually reflects sunlight. The Sun and other stars are luminous (shine by their own light), but the Moon and the planets are not. The Moon and some of the planets shine only because they reflect light from the Sun.
Groups of stars are called constellations. Early stargazers played a connect-the-dots game with the stars. They imagined lines between the stars that formed the shapes of animals, people, and objects. The names of the constellations have been passed from one generation to the next and from one country to the next. Often, the Latin names are still used. While the names of the constellations are the same, the stories about the constellations vary with different cultures.
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The Little Dipper has Polaris at the tip of the handle. It is also called Little Bear but it looks more like a dipper. Polaris is the Pole Star. It is important as its the only star that never changes its place in the sky, at least not so that you can notice it. It always stays put while the other stars and constellations are moving.
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This is Cassiopeia. In the night sky it is to the right of the Little Dipper and fairly bright. It sometimes looks like a W and sometimes looks like an M. Cassiopeia was an ancient queen.
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There are many more constellations to see in the night sky both at sea and on shore. It is fun to watch them from the deck of Pride II. I'm glad to be able to share some of the wonder of the skys with you.
YOUR THOUGHTS
- Do you think rules are needed for people to live together? Tell why or why not in 25 words or less.
- Draw a picture of you and friends enjoying free time?
- Make a list of the responsibilities that you have at home and at school.
- Design a poster with your class and teacher lising Standing Orders in your classroom.
- Look up at the night sky and copy one of the constellations. Write a story about it.
- Observe the moon for thirty days and draw a small picture of it each day. What have you discovered?
- Why do the stars appear brighter in the middle of the Pacific Ocean than at Baltimore's Inner Harbor?
- How does the Sun and stars help sailors find their way?
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