First Year Astronomy Notes
written by Elizabeth Wonders
There you go, your brand-new notes for Astronomy 101! Good luck! <3 (Notes on other subjects are coming out. Owl me if you would like to request a specific subject published sooner.)
Last Updated
05/15/24
Chapters
10
Reads
258
Lesson 3) Tools for Wizards and Viewing Tips
Chapter 3
- The von Rheticus Model Telescope is a magical telescope used by wizards
- It is portable and has adjustable magnification and focus
- The telescope compensates for hand shaking
- It has charms to protect the lens, but care should still be taken
- Avoid looking at the Sun or full Moon through the telescope
- Always use a sun filter when observing the Sun
- Keep the lens cap on when not in use
- Two magical tools for determining the phase of the Moon are the lunascope and the Moon chart
- The lunascope is a tube with buttons to input the date and shows a picture of the Moon's phase
- The Moon chart is a parchment with pictures of the Moon's phase for ten consecutive dates
- The celestial globe is a model of the sky, showing stars and constellations
- Magical celestial globes can also show the Sun, Moon, and planets with their positions on any given day
- Orreries are models of the solar system, used for educational purposes
- Star charts are flat maps of the sky used to locate stars and constellations
- Astronomer's lamps emit red light to preserve dark adaptation while stargazing
- When using a telescope, start with low power or use a telescopic sight to locate objects
- Looking away from the center of the viewing field may help see dim stars
- Planets do not twinkle like stars due to their larger angular size
- Estimating angular distance between celestial bodies can be done using the hand at arm's length method
