Table of Contents
What do you see stars with?
Binoculars can introduce you to many members of our home galaxy. A good place to start is with star clusters that are close to Earth. They cover a larger area of the sky than other, more distant clusters usually glimpsed through a telescope.
What would be the best method to determine the distance to a nearby * STAR?
Astronomers estimate the distance of nearby objects in space by using a method called stellar parallax, or trigonometric parallax. Simply put, they measure a star’s apparent movement against the background of more distant stars as Earth revolves around the sun.
What does astrolabe measure?
astrolabe, any of a type of early scientific instrument used for reckoning time and for observational purposes. One widely employed variety, the planispheric astrolabe, enabled astronomers to calculate the position of the Sun and prominent stars with respect to both the horizon and the meridian.
What was the purpose of the astrolabe instrument?
An astrolabe usually has a map of the sky etched onto metal (or can be drawn onto wood or cardboard). A couple of thousand years ago, these instruments put the “high” in “high tech” and were the hot new thing for navigation and timekeeping.
Why was the astrolabe called the star taker?
Mind you, this was in the centuries before the invention of the telescope (which happened in the 1600s and is credited variously to Galileo Galilei or Hans Lippershey ). People had to rely on naked-eye observations before that. One of those instruments was the astrolabe. Its name literally means “star taker”.
What did you measure the altitude of the Sun at?
What you would do is measure the altitude of the Sun at noon, or of a given star at night. The degrees the Sun or star lay above the horizon would give you an idea of how far north or south you were as you sailed around the world.
Why was the North Star important to astronomers?
The North Star in the night-time sky gave them the idea of where North was. However, it wasn’t long before they invented instruments to help them determine their positions more accurately.