From the scale model of the sky to the armillary sphere

• Autores: Gangui, Alejandro; Casazza, Roberto; Paez, Carlos
• Año de publicación: 2014
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: ASTRONOMY; HISTORYOF ASTRONOMY; ASTRONOMY IN CULTURE
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

It is customary to employ a semi-spherical scale model to describe the apparent path of the Sun across the sky, whether it be its diurnal motion or its variation throughout the year. A flat surface and three bent semi-rigid wires (representing the three solar arcs during solstices and equinoxes) will do the job. On the other hand, since very early times, there have been famous armillary spheres built and employed by the most outstanding astronomers for the description of the celestial movements. In those instruments, many of them now considered true works of art, Earth lies in the center of the cosmos and the observer looks at the whole "from the outside." Of course, both devices, the scale model of the sky and the armillary sphere, serve to represent the movement of the Sun, and in this paper we propose to show their equivalence by a simple construction. Knowing the basics underlying the operation of the armillary sphere will give us confidence to use it as a teaching resource in school.
Fil: Gangui, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina
Fil: Casazza, Roberto. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: Paez, Carlos. Instituto Superior de Formación Docente No. 29; Argentina