Projects and Demonstrations in Astronomy D. Tattersfield M.A.(Cantab), C.Eng., F.I.Mech.E., F.R.A.S. Head of the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering North Gloucestershire College of Technology Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd.Nv © 1979 D. Tawersfeld All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder. First published in 1979 by Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd., 1ca House, 32 Malmesbury Road, Kingsditch, [ELTENHAM GLS1 9PL_ ISBN 0 85950 087 X ‘Typeset and printed in Great Britain by offset lithography at The Pitman Press, Bath Preface Astronomy, like’ other sciences, is essentially both a practical and a theoretical subject. .Centuries. of patient observation and.° measurement have produced a wealth of data about the celestial bodies, from which a detailed knowledge of our universe has been deduced. Sometimes theor- etical astronomers forecast the possibility of events, or the presence of bodies not hitherto discovered or of bodies showing certain character- istics, and later such events take place and such bodies are discovered. All this is the more remarkable when we remember that, apart from the Moon, and that only recently, none of the planets, stars, nebulae, gal- axies or even the space between them can be touched by humans, and that their distances are, in general, measured in millions, if not millions of millions, of kilometres. The space vehicles sent unmanned to the nearer planets in the last decade have greatly increased our information, not only about the planets themselves but about the conditions existing in the near environment of the planets, including the Earth. For anyone studying astronomy it is necessary to be practical and observe the heavens with the naked eye, with binoculars or with a tele- scope. Unfortunately, our skies are often overcast with cloud for much of the time, and on the other hand not everyone who is interested in astronomy has access to a telescope. This can be a frustration to both teacher and student where astronomy is being taught formally as part of a science course, or as a general study in other courses, or, indeed, where an amateur astronomer is trying to further his or her knowledge. It is with these thoughts that Projects and Demonstrations in Astronomy has been devised. It covers a wide range of assignments, all of which can be carried out indoors independent of weather conditions. There are a large number of projects, all of which, with a very few exceptions, can be undertaken on A4 size pieces of paper (297mm X 210mm) with the help of no more than a pencil, a scale, a pair of compasses, a protractor and a set square. In this book are collected together additionally a number of demonstra- tions which illustrate certain principles found in astronomy and a number