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Wavelength, issue 1
Page 9
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8 WAVELENGTH ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// How to Construct an Astrolabe :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: by The Science Correspondent -----:------:----- If you were an explorer and discovered an uncharted island, how would you mark the island's position on a map? You will undoubtedly answer, "Find the latitude and longitude of the island and then mark the place where they cross each other." That's the answer, all right, but the point is, how are you going to find the la-titude and longitude? You can't see them and unfortunately there are no signs up, either. How are Columbus chart the island of SantoDomingo The experiment about to be described will show you how to make and use a simple de-vice for finding lati-tude. The device is called an astrolabe (as' tro labe) and is made almost entirely of cardboard, string pencil markings, and pins. When you have made it you can find the latitude in which you live and then check the answer with that given on a map of your State. The astrolabe was the forerunner of the modern sextant and was used in Columbus's time. The North Star, you know, is right above the North Pole. A man standing at the Pole would have to look straight up in order to see the star. A man standing a little bit above the Equator could just barely see the North Star ( Because of the curvature of the Earth ). Between these two extremes, the star appears at different heights in the sky depending on where the person is who views it. (South of Equator, of course, it cannot be seen at all. ) Now, this very fact makes it possible for us to measure latitude On each degree of latitude the North Star appears in a different po-sition in the sky. If we can measure the star's height in degrees in the heavens, we can find your latitude. Our astrolabe will do this. The drawing is almost self-explanatory. The square is a piece of cardboard. It is perfectly square. The pointer is also of cardboard.It is pivoted on the square so that it is free to move. Two pins are then stuck in each end of the pointer. These pins are used as "sights" when the astrolabe is used. When you have attached the pointer to the carboard square, hold a pencil against the side of the pointer and moveit so that a quarter of a circle is drawn on the cardboard square. Mark 90 equal devisions on this quarter of a circle, beginning at the top and working down to the 0 at the bottom. Cut a square hole in the pointer so the numbers may be read. Now tack the astrolabe to some kind of support, such as the side of a house, or a telephone pole, or a tree. Then site the North Star by moving the pointer until the star is in line with pin A and pin B. The reading which appears through the window in the pointer is the lat-itude in which you live. Refer to a map of your state and see if you are right. The weight hanging by a string from the corner of the card is used to see if the astrolabe is hanging straight. String and card should be parallel.
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8 WAVELENGTH ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// How to Construct an Astrolabe :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: by The Science Correspondent -----:------:----- If you were an explorer and discovered an uncharted island, how would you mark the island's position on a map? You will undoubtedly answer, "Find the latitude and longitude of the island and then mark the place where they cross each other." That's the answer, all right, but the point is, how are you going to find the la-titude and longitude? You can't see them and unfortunately there are no signs up, either. How are Columbus chart the island of SantoDomingo The experiment about to be described will show you how to make and use a simple de-vice for finding lati-tude. The device is called an astrolabe (as' tro labe) and is made almost entirely of cardboard, string pencil markings, and pins. When you have made it you can find the latitude in which you live and then check the answer with that given on a map of your State. The astrolabe was the forerunner of the modern sextant and was used in Columbus's time. The North Star, you know, is right above the North Pole. A man standing at the Pole would have to look straight up in order to see the star. A man standing a little bit above the Equator could just barely see the North Star ( Because of the curvature of the Earth ). Between these two extremes, the star appears at different heights in the sky depending on where the person is who views it. (South of Equator, of course, it cannot be seen at all. ) Now, this very fact makes it possible for us to measure latitude On each degree of latitude the North Star appears in a different po-sition in the sky. If we can measure the star's height in degrees in the heavens, we can find your latitude. Our astrolabe will do this. The drawing is almost self-explanatory. The square is a piece of cardboard. It is perfectly square. The pointer is also of cardboard.It is pivoted on the square so that it is free to move. Two pins are then stuck in each end of the pointer. These pins are used as "sights" when the astrolabe is used. When you have attached the pointer to the carboard square, hold a pencil against the side of the pointer and moveit so that a quarter of a circle is drawn on the cardboard square. Mark 90 equal devisions on this quarter of a circle, beginning at the top and working down to the 0 at the bottom. Cut a square hole in the pointer so the numbers may be read. Now tack the astrolabe to some kind of support, such as the side of a house, or a telephone pole, or a tree. Then site the North Star by moving the pointer until the star is in line with pin A and pin B. The reading which appears through the window in the pointer is the lat-itude in which you live. Refer to a map of your state and see if you are right. The weight hanging by a string from the corner of the card is used to see if the astrolabe is hanging straight. String and card should be parallel.
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