Philosophy
Abstract:
This paper presents a hands-on introduction to the medieval astrolabe, based around a working model which can be constructed frophotocopies of the supplied figures. As well as describing how to assemble the model, I also provide a brief explanation of how each of its various parts might be used. The printed version of this paper includes only the parts needed to build a single model prepared for use at latitudes around 52◦N, but an accompanying electronic file archive includes equivalent images which can be used to build models prepared for use at any other latitude. The vector graphics scripts used to generate the models are also available for download, allowing customised astrolabes to be made.
"Building a Model Astrolabe" by Dominic Ford
Or, try this simple method...
What You'll Need:
String
Plastic protractor
Weight (washer, rock, or fishing weight)
Pen and paper
Step 1: Tie a 12-inch piece of string to the hole in the middle of the crossbar on the protractor. Tie a weight to the other end.
Step 2: Hold the protractor so that the curved part is down and the zero degree mark is closest to you.
Step 3: Sit on the ground, and look along the flat edge of the protractor with your eye at the zero mark. Point the flat edge at the star whose position you want to measure.
Step 4: Once you have the star at the end of your sight, hold the string against the side of the protractor.
Step 5: Note which degree mark the string crosses. Write this down in your notebook. This number tells you how many degrees above the horizon your star is.
Step 6: Take readings for several stars.
Step 7: Return every 30 minutes, and take new readings. Notice the pattern in which the stars seem to move across the sky as the earth turns.
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Philosophy
Build an astrolabe
Abstract:
This paper presents a hands-on introduction to the medieval astrolabe, based around a working model which can be constructed frophotocopies of the supplied figures. As well as describing how to assemble the model, I also provide a brief explanation of how each of its various parts might be used. The printed version of this paper includes only the parts needed to build a single model prepared for use at latitudes around 52◦N, but an accompanying electronic file archive includes equivalent images which can be used to build models prepared for use at any other latitude. The vector graphics scripts used to generate the models are also available for download, allowing customised astrolabes to be made.
"Building a Model Astrolabe" by Dominic Ford
Or, try this simple method...
What You'll Need:
String
Plastic protractor
Weight (washer, rock, or fishing weight)
Pen and paper
Step 1: Tie a 12-inch piece of string to the hole in the middle of the crossbar on the protractor. Tie a weight to the other end.
Step 2: Hold the protractor so that the curved part is down and the zero degree mark is closest to you.
Step 3: Sit on the ground, and look along the flat edge of the protractor with your eye at the zero mark. Point the flat edge at the star whose position you want to measure.
Step 4: Once you have the star at the end of your sight, hold the string against the side of the protractor.
Step 5: Note which degree mark the string crosses. Write this down in your notebook. This number tells you how many degrees above the horizon your star is.
Step 6: Take readings for several stars.
Step 7: Return every 30 minutes, and take new readings. Notice the pattern in which the stars seem to move across the sky as the earth turns.
- Are Atoms Real?
I gave a talk to a group of parents last Friday and asked whether we should believe atoms are real. The group overwhelmingly thought it was a silly question until one parent, clearly a scientist, piped up and informed everyone that atoms are not directly...
- It's A Round, Round World
On Columbus Day, it is probably worth discussing the fact that contrary to the storybook version of history that is part of our contemporary mythology, it was well-known in classical times that the world was, in fact, round. We should start with the...
- Local Rock Stars
I?ve been spending the last couple of days at a wonderful conference ? the annual meeting of Texas/Southwest Popular and American Culture Association ? that for the last ten years has had a running session on academic interests around the Grateful Dead....
- Title Without A Paper
A classic from Hanno: Using one situation as a model of explaining another situation is called metaphor. If you were discussing the nature of metaphors and used another linguistic system as a model to illustrate how metaphors work, it would be a metaphorical...
- Japanese Toilet Tissue And Astronomy
No comment... "Wiping with the stars" by Tia Jones December 2009 Symmetry Every so often, particle physics communicators from labs around the world gather to swap strategies for getting people interested in science. At the group’s April meeting in...