Astronomical instrument Observer. Drawing, description

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Astronomical instrument Observer. Children's Science Lab

Children's Science Lab

This device will make it possible to carry out many astronomical measurements: determine the moments of culminations and hour angles of celestial bodies (the Sun, Moon, planets and bright stars), local solar and sidereal time, the height of the celestial pole, and also accurately orientate yourself on the ground. In addition, the "Observer" device will help students draw up a diagram of the relationship between the lines and planes of the celestial sphere and the Earth, that is, it will serve as a valuable teaching aid in school astronomy lessons. A feature of the device is that you can work with it both at night according to the stars, and in the daytime, according to the Sun.

Astronomical instrument Observer

The figure shows a general view of the device and separately, on a larger scale, the pointer assembly. Base 1 and supports 2 can be made of durable wood or plexiglass. With the help of axis 3, vertical racks 4 are attached to the supports. When it is necessary to fix the angle of inclination of the racks, they are pressed with screws 6 to metal brackets 5. The brackets have grooves cut along the arcs of a circle. The supports are connected by a bar 7, and the racks are connected by a transverse plate 8, which has a hole in the middle for installing a sighting tube 9. A transparent (plexiglas) round plate 10 put on a sighting tube is attached to the racks. It serves as a dial for showing local time, for which It has an hour scale with 24 hour divisions. An arrow 11 is mounted on the sighting tube using a coupling 12 and a scarf 13, which can rotate around the sighting tube.

What is a sighting tube? Its material is duralumin, length 40 cm, diameter 4 cm. A simple lens 23 is mounted in it - it can be an ordinary Plexiglas plate with two or three thin circular risks applied for accurate aiming at the North Star. At the opposite end of the tube is an eyepiece 24 made of dark material with a central hole 5-6 mm in diameter.

The arrow is the main working part of the device. It is made of a duralumin corner about 80 cm long. A horizontal platform 14 is fixed at the base of the arrow, opposite to which a metal plate 15 is vertically fixed on the arrow. A sector 16 with a solar declination scale (from -23,5 ° to +23,5 °) is also fixed on the arrow. °, which corresponds to the change in the declination of the Sun during the year) and pointer 17. The sector has two shadow-forming protrusions 18 and 19, and the vertical protrusion is located along the axis of the indicator. An altimeter 20 with a plumb line 21 is attached to the posts. The altimeter is a Plexiglas plate with angular divisions from zero to 90 ° applied along the edges.

Screw 22 is provided to fix the arrow on the coupling.

Now about the operation of the device. First of all, you should install it in a strictly vertical position, which is checked by a plumb line. To measure the true solar time, the device is installed so that the arrow is directed to the Sun. To do this, move the racks along the grooves of the brackets and provide the necessary slope of the body. In this case, the objective of the sighting tube rotates in the opposite direction. The pointer should be set against the division of the declination sector of the Sun, which corresponds to the magnitude of the declination of the Sun for a given calendar date (this value should be preliminarily determined by the astronomical calendar). In the reached position, the stand is fixed with screws. By turning the arrow and the pointer, you need to achieve the simultaneous appearance of a linear shadow from the ledge 18 on the ledge 19 and from the plate 15 on the horizontal platform 14. If this position is reached, then the device is correctly oriented along the local meridian. In this case, the sighting tube and altimeter automatically show the height of the celestial pole (geographic latitude), and the value of the hour angle shown by the arrow corresponds to local solar time.

At night, when determining the true sidereal time, you should orient the sighting tube to the North Star. This is tantamount to precise orientation on the ground: after all, the North Star is in the north. In this case, the plate with the hour scale automatically appears in the plane of the celestial equator. Let's set the "Observer" arrow so that both shadow-forming protrusions are on the same line with any bright star we have chosen (this is checked by direct sighting). This is how we determine the hour angle of the star. Knowing from the tables of the astronomical calendar the value of the right ascension of this star on the date of observation, it is easy to determine the true sidereal time. Of course, the star we have chosen may not lie in the plane of the celestial equator. If so, then, having released the screw 22, you should move the clutch along with the arrow along the sighting tube to the desired position. In this case, the hour angle is determined by the projection of the arrow on the hour scale.

Author: H. Baibekov

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