Astronomical Knowledge Research Articles

The Dual Solar (Solstitial) and Cardinal Orientation in Planning the Middle Kingdom Funerary Complexes in Qubbet el-Hawa

The Qubbet el-Hawa necropolis, located on the west bank of the Nile, was the burial site chosen by the elite of Elephantine, from the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom, and became one of the most important provincial cemeteries in the country. The hill affects the course of the River Nile and determines the disposition of the hypogea distributed between its two slopes (southeast and northeast). Therefore, the topography (and the river) determined the alignments of most of the tombs. During the Middle Kingdom, although only six large funerary complexes were built, there was a very significant change in the architecture of the necropolis in terms of the design of the burial chapels (which were planned as if they were a funerary temple), as well as the accuracy of the construction methods. In addition, they stand out because they were planned (and built) with a strongly symbolic double orientation, which is the subject of this study. The astronomical alignments of these funerary complexes, normally associated with royal temples and burials, appear to have been appropriated by the governors of Elephantine, lower-level officials, which has implications for our understanding of both Egyptian governance and Egyptian astronomy; undoubtedly, the architects had to possess knowledge of astronomy. The result is that these funerary complexes represent a clear example of “cultured” architecture carried out in a provincial cemetery. This article examines in detail the alignments of four of these funeral complexes: QH36, QH32, QH31 and QH33, building on the work of Belmonte and his collaborators in Qubbet el-Hawa, who are primarily responsible for increasing our data of Egyptian astronomical alignments

On the STEM Concept Projection on the Field of Astronomical Knowledge

Astronomy, as the result of activity and development of the technology of human cognition of his existence environment, should be considered as the basis for an effective educational approach. The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) approach has failed because of limitations caused by the focus on the needs of engineering education only. The STEM projection on the field of astronomical knowledge, technology of means, engineering of instrumentation and mathematical modeling as science and technology language, removes limitations and solves the task to form an educated person. This idea finds solid ground if from philosophy, as a tool for unification, we turn to psychology which studies systems organized around the phenomenon of memory with the goal to reflect and comprehend reality in order to create a new reality and environment for preservation of the viability of human being. This approach is present and developed in different aspects of The General Psychological Theory of Set of Dimitri Uznadze. Based on Uznadze, education is an organized process of accumulation in memory of information that we unconsciously, but adequately use in situations of reality recognizing them as already known. Consciousness serves the memory to create new sets of behavior in new previously unknown situations. Education seems to be ideal, if one step by step organizes situations-tasks of consciousness “switching on” to search for solutions in own memory, in external source or experimentally. If one uses the Psychology of Set as a model of the educational process, astronomy is the best information environment for it.

Timekeepers and Sufi Mystics: Technical Knowledge Bearers of the Ottoman Empire.

This article shows how the Ottoman understanding of "useful sciences" was reserved for the religious sciences, offering an alternative reading to the present scholarship on Useful and Reliable Knowledge (URK), which emphasizes economic gain. As religious obligations, like the call for prayer, required precise timekeeping, pursuing astronomical knowledge was deemed "useful." Timekeepers and Sufi mystics (dervishes) represent a link between artisanal and scientific knowledge in Ottoman Turkey between the sixteenth and the nineteenth century. Combining their scholarly knowledge and artisanal skills, they produced traditional time-measuring instruments like quadrants and sundials. With the advent of the mechanical clock in the Ottoman Empire, dervishes became engaged in clock-making. Timekeepers kept producing quadrants, while they also acquired skills in repairing and setting mechanical clocks. This understanding prevailing among madrasa (religious) scholars changed drastically in the nineteenth century when scholars trained in modern schools translated European scientific and technical texts that were defined as holders of useful knowledge.

STAR STORIES: USING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE FOR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

Radio astronomy projects require large open spaces with minimal radio frequency interference, light and air pollution. Often, indigenous minorities such as the San in South Africa and the Wajarri Aboriginal peoples in Western Australia live on this land or have cultural rights to the land. Communication and engagement challenges with these stakeholders include language, culture, cultural heritage and stakeholder expectations. This study shows how the Square Kilometre Array South Africa (SKA SA) used the narratives and indigenous knowledge of astronomy of the San peoples of South Africa to facilitate some stakeholder engagement. These narratives were originally documented by Bleek and Lloyd (1911). Different versions of these narratives are still being told in the Central Karoo region of South Africa by the descendants of the San people. The key finding was that narratives are an effective method of creating a communication and engagement platform and for fostering collaboration, particularly for astronomy projects where the establishment of common ground among stakeholders could be challenging. The study concluded that it is important for astronomy projects and science communication to invest in indigenous knowledge systems and to preserve and recover cultural heritage as far as possible for the benefit of future research. In this way, beneficial stakeholder collaboration can be facilitated and progress can be made towards the achievement of global sustainability goals.

Constructing the Electric Eye: Situating the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Wisconsin Collection of Photoelectric Detectors in Historical Context

Between 2017 and 2019, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum acquired a collection of photoelectric tubes used in the earliest program of astronomical photoelectric photometry at the University of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Collection of Photoelectric Detectors represents a unique look inside the development of a pioneering research project and a fledgling technology. The process by which techniques and technologies related to photoelectric photometry developed in the early twentieth century involved a variety of academic disciplines and commercial actors, and this process is reflected in the variety and specific features of the tubes in the collection. This paper attempts to situate the Wisconsin Collection within the wider development of photoelectric tubes as a technology, the development of observation techniques at Wisconsin, and their contributions to astronomical knowledge.

Determination of Coverage Oscillation for Inclined Communication Satellite

The communication engineers need to evaluate footprint movement to deploy a ground station. Geostationary communication satellite’s inclination angle causes the movement of a satellite footprint. The calculation of the inclination angle requires complex astronomical knowledge and mathematical calculations. On the other hand, a satellite communication engineer does not need a very accurate inclination angle value to design a ground station for required service availability. We propose a practical method called trigonometric curve fitting for the inclination to solve the problem. The past and the future value of inclination can be evaluated by using the curve-fitting method. It is a simplified practical method and does not need advanced orbital dynamics knowledge. The orbit geometry and evaluated inclination angle are used for estimation of a coverage area movement. A satellite communication engineer can evaluate coverage area oscillation quickly and design a better link for an inclined orbit satellite by using the proposed method. We have evaluated the inclination angle of the communication satellite Sat-1 with the proposed method. Sat-1 spot beam movements and wide beam coverage area movements are estimated to obtain EIRP and G/T fluctuation for link budget purposes. The proposed method provides the results that are consistent with the results of measurements and the results of satellite operators’ professional tools.

Stellar evolution concepts and the dissemination of knowledge in Astronomy

In this work, an information booklet on the topic of Stellar Evolution was prepared, based on a bibliographic review of the literature in the field, aiming to create subsidies for the development of this science at different levels of knowledge. The booklet, which is intended to be used by teachers and students of Basic Education, was designed as a way of contributing to the shortage of teaching materials in this field. Here, it is presented the main scientific concepts worked on the booklet to support teachers and students, as well as comments on the experience with the presentations of lectures and workshops based on the booklet, in educational environments, in the Brazilian city of Marabá, in the state of Pará, as a way of disseminating and encouraging Astronomy in the region. It was noticed that the school community, in general, has a great interest in the learning of Astronomy, which contrasts with the scarcity of didactic materials and knowledge opportunities in the field. It is expected that more proposals for teaching materials, as well as applications of activities in Astronomy, will be developed, in order to disseminate such science in the school environment, and also in the general community.

FORMATION OF ELEMENTARY ASTRONOMIC PERCEPTIONS IN OLDER PRESCHOOL CHILDREN BY MEANS OF LITERATURE AND FOLK ART

The article substantiates the relevance of the problem of formation of senior preschool children's elementary astronomical representations. The analysis of psychological and pedagogical researches on the problem of formation of senior preschool children’s elementary astronomical ideas has been carried out. The influence of literature and oral folk art on the formation of senior preschool children's elementary astronomical ideas has been substantiated. The level of formation of senior preschool children’s elementary astronomical ideas has been determined. A system of work on the formation of senior preschool children’s elementary astronomical representations by means of fiction and oral folk art has been proposed and its effectiveness has been checked.The purpose of the research is theoretical substantiation and experimental study of the literature and folk art influence on the formation of senior preschool children’s elementary astronomical ideas. To solve this goal, the following research methods were used: analysis to determine the status and isolation of problems of astronomical education in the institution of preschool education; observing the educational process of astronomy in the institution of preschool education in order to identify its shortcomings and identify prospects for improvement; questionnaires, surveys to reveal the level of preschool children’s knowledge in astronomy; current and final control to determine the level of formation of elementary astronomical representations. It is determined that the positive prerequisite for the formation of astronomical ideas in senior preschoolers is the usage of fiction in its different variations.

The Astronomical Images in the First Chinese Treatise on the Telescope by Johann Adam Schall von Bell Revisited.

Areanalysis of the eight astronomical images that Johann Adam Schall von Bell incorporated in the first Chinese treatise on the telescope to illustrate the telescopic discoveries made by Galileo Galilei shows that they were borrowed from the works on telescopic astronomy by Galileo Galilei and Johann Georg Locher, astudent of Christopher Scheiner. Except minor changes to both Galileo's illustrations of the telescopic view of the moon and nebulae and Locher's illustration of sunspots, Locher's images about the phases of Venus and Jovian satellites were redrawn presumably to convey aclearer commitment to Tycho Brahe's system of the world and most of the contents in Locher's image of Saturn was replaced by Schall's own observation. These changes seem to be the result of two important factors that confined the transcultural transmission of astronomical knowledge from Europe to China through the Jesuits in the seventeenth century, namely the official standpoint of the Catholic Church on the ongoing cosmological issues and the cultural tradition of Chinese astronomy.

Children’s Astronomy. Shape of the earth, location of people on earth and the day/night cycle according to polish children between 5 and 8 years of age

This article presents findings with regard to mental models of the shape of the earth, location of people on earth and the day/night cycle, established on the basis of statements of 49 polish children aged from 5 to 8 years. During the interviews, the children made moving representations of the day and night sky and explained the position of and mutual relations between the earth, sun and moon using self-made plasticine models. The article establishes a high degree of similarity with the Vosniadou and Brewer models and states that children's astronomical knowledge mainly comes from extracurricular sources of information.

Defining and Defending the Middle Ages with C. S. Lewis

The scholarly writings of C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) have both inspired the study of the Middle Ages and confirmed the relevance to the humanities that medieval literary texts can have for the present. He was aware that the straitjacket implied by periodisation can blind us to the universal values presented in medieval literature. Qualitative assumptions made about the (usually undefined) Middle Ages include an alienating remoteness, and also a general ignorance, especially of science and technology. Lewis drew attention to the knowledge of astronomy, for example, and pointed out that medieval technical skills in architecture, agriculture and medicine are important for us to be aware about. Three medieval works illustrate this universality with respect to technical skills (the Völundarkviða); identity and the self (the Hildebrandslied); and the popular love-song (the courtly love-lyric). Lewis cautioned against pejorative terms like ‘Dark Ages’, noted problems of perspective in assessing all pre-modern literature, and showed that earlier works have a continuing value and relevance.

THE SCIENCE OF FALAK ON VIRTUAL REALITY

In the era of the industrial revolution 4.0, astronomers as well as modern society in general cannot turn away from the reality of virtual life. People get information, read and study any knowledge is very easy because everything is available in their hands. Faced with this condition, what about astronomy scholarship? Amid the assumption that astronomy and experts are very rare. So astronomers are demanded to be able to adapt and develop themselves with 'literacy' technology to be able to package the astronomy knowledge and present its content to the public easily and to construct it in digital form. Why does this virtual reality have to be faced and how to deal with it? Associated with efforts to answer the needs of the public about astronomical scholarship in virtual reality, various innovations and creativity of astronomers emerged in the form of digitizing material, books (books) and astronomical applications. This variety of innovations will increase the interest of millennial students to learn and master it. Through this paper,-some of the digitization pattern-, the author will study it with the content analysis method and describe it descriptively-interpretatively. From the results of studies, the author has led to a conclusion that; the first, found a number of patterns of celestial scientific digitalization; from the side of the content, the digital astronomical material consists of the calculation of qibla direction, prayer time, the beginning of the month and eclipse and the practice of its determination, from the media aspect, the astronomy knowledge is presented through social media, such as facebook, instagram, whatsApp and youtube; through website-based media, such as bimasislam.kemenag.go.id, and if.walisongo.ac.id., in the form of smartphone applications, such as digital falak, mizwandroid, qiblat, usholli and so on. While the design of the presentation is varied, in the form of text, video, images and pdf. The second, each of these patterns has made a valuable contribution to the virtual learning of astronomy for millennial society in the current era of the industrial revolution 4.0.

THE USE OF THE ELEMENTS OF MOBILE LEARNING (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE «SOLAR WALK» MOBILE APPLICATION) IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING THE ASTRONOMICAL COMPONENT IN THE «NATURAL SCIENCES»

The article analyzes the application of mobile learning techniques during the study of astronomy. It is noted that the application of technologies of using mobile applications in the study of natural sciences gives to the subject of learning a new level of knowledge in the form of unified, sufficiently developed and universal means of obtaining and presenting various information. An aspect, in which there is an increasing need to create a system of different forms of educational work and corresponding software and hardware, is analyzed. The didactic principles that ensure the purposeful management of educational and cognitive activity of students are analyzed. Under these circumstances, the purpose of mobile learning is to focus on finding information and mastering a new subject area. That is, mobile technologies serve as means of support for communication and self-mastering of new knowledge.It is proved that the complex application of the system of program-pedagogical and telecommunication astronomy training facilities, in particular the «Solar Walk» mobile application, will significantly increase students’ curiosity in the study of astronomy, will contribute to the formation of their key competencies, the development of independent cognitive activity; will significantly improve the quality of students’ knowledge of fundamental disciplines. Using «Solar Walk» directly gives you the ability to play detailed information about celestial objects that are on a stellar sky.It has been established that in this approach, students systematically find a non-standard solution to new problems, which results in a process of independent acquisition of knowledge, mastering the experience of creative activity. The importance of teaching astronomy on the use of innovative technologies as a highly effective means of learning will not only increase the level of astronomical knowledge of students, but will also significantly affect their motivational sphere, contributing to the formation of priority education for studying astronomy.

The Sky Disk of Nebra Reveals Its Secrets

The paper presents the method and results of decoding the content on the Sky Disk of Nebra. It has been shown that the symbols found on it, suggesting the Sun, the Moon and the solar barge are only geometric figures facilitating the recording of astronomical knowledge. The paper first defines a polar system on the horizon plane. This system describes the range of the directions of sunrise and sunset in the annual period and the Moon in the 18.61-year cycle. It turned out that astronomical knowledge was recorded on the surface of the disk on two planes: horizontal and perpendicular one (the meridian plane). With the help of geometric constructions located on the meridian plane, it was possible to decode the range of changes in the altitude (zenith distance) of the Sun in the annual period, at the time of its upper culmination. Also, using two different geometric structures, the range of changes in altitude (zenith distance) of the Moon at the time of its upper culmination in the 18.61-year cycle was decoded

Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna y la ciencia: defensor de la astronomía popular en Chile a finales del siglo XIX

Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna fue un prolífico escritor y colaborador de la prensa chilena durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, y dentro de este quehacer dedicó varias páginas a asuntos científicos. Este trabajo analiza sus textos dedicados al saber astronómico, los que no han sido estudiados de manera específica anteriormente. La hipótesis busca demostrar que el propósito principal de Vicuña Mackenna al pronunciarse sobre astronomía en la prensa fue defender la popularización de esta ciencia, así como de otras disciplinas científicas. La perspectiva del análisis considera las propuestas de James Secord y Agustí Nieto-Galan, quienes afirman que la ciencia no sólo debe concebirse como una práctica en la que participan instituciones formales, sino también diversos grupos que componen la sociedad, siendo relevantes los “públicos” de la ciencia en cuanto agentes activos de generación de conocimiento.

Armenian Astro Tourism Map

Armenia is a country with rich history, as well as high-level science. It is rich in scientific, particularly in astronomical sites, among which archaeological sites related to science, medieval universities, modern scientific institutions and science related museums can be mentioned. Examples of archaeological sites are ancient observatories, petroglyphs (rock art) of astronomical nature, as well as intangible heritage, such as Armenian calendars and chronology tightly related to the astronomical knowledge. Modern observatories and astronomical institutions having tools or laboratories which can be presented in terms of tourism, are considered as astronomical tourism sites as well. Space museum is astronomy and space science related museum. Despite the fact that Astronomical (Astro) Tourism is a new direction, it has great perspectives, and Armenia has a great potential in this field. It is very important to introduce Armenia from this aspect. In this paper we present major astronomical tourism centers of Armenia and the whole picture as a map.

Пропедевтика астрономічних знань учнів гімназії засобами сучасного підручника фізики

Пропедевтика астрономічних знань учнів гімназії засобами сучасного підручника фізики

Estimation of Solar Radiation for Tomato Water Requirement Calculation in Chinese-Style Solar Greenhouses Based on Least Mean Squares Filter.

The area covered by Chinese-style solar greenhouses (CSGs) has been increasing rapidly. However, only a few pyranometers, which are fundamental for solar radiation sensing, have been installed inside CSGs. The lack of solar radiation sensing will bring negative effects in greenhouse cultivation such as over irrigation or under irrigation, and unnecessary power consumption. We aim to provide accurate and low-cost solar radiation estimation methods that are urgently needed. In this paper, a method of estimation of solar radiation inside CSGs based on a least mean squares (LMS) filter is proposed. The water required for tomato growth was also calculated based on the estimated solar radiation. Then, we compared the accuracy of this method to methods based on knowledge of astronomy and geometry for both solar radiation estimation and tomato water requirement. The results showed that the fitting function of estimation data based on the LMS filter and data collected from sensors inside the greenhouse was y = 0.7634x + 50.58, with the evaluation parameters of R2 = 0.8384, rRMSE = 23.1%, RMSE = 37.6 Wm−2, and MAE = 25.4 Wm−2. The fitting function of the water requirement calculated according to the proposed method and data collected from sensors inside the greenhouse was y = 0.8550x + 99.10 with the evaluation parameters of R2 = 0.9123, rRMSE = 8.8%, RMSE = 40.4 mL plant−1, and MAE = 31.5 mL plant−1. The results also indicate that this method is more effective. Additionally, its accuracy decreases as cloud cover increases. The performance is due to the LMS filter’s low pass characteristic that smooth the fluctuations. Furthermore, the LMS filter can be easily implemented on low cost processors. Therefore, the adoption of the proposed method is useful to improve the solar radiation sensing in CSGs with more accuracy and less expense.

Basics of Astrophysics in primary school: Marvel, play and learn

AbstractIn this poster is presented the development and testing of a pilot project to teach basics of astronomy to primary school students. This is a learning program that bases on the interdisciplinary nature of astronomy with amusing and playful activities. The objective of the programme is to engage children in astronomy and make them aware of the importance of the development of science and technology for society. The program has been tested a small non-government-funded school in the state of Puebla, in Mexico. Due COVID-19 lockdown the classes had to switch from face-to-face to online. Over 80% of the students that completed the course had considerably increased their knowledge of astronomy and requested to continue with the classes on the next school term.

Informal astronomy education in Bulgaria at the beginning of the XXI century: organization, continuum, results

AbstractThe report shows the current opportunities for obtaining astronomical knowledge in school and outside it, through the use of non-formal education. These are school and extracurricular activities, schools, astronomical competitions and Olympiads, observation expeditions. For 25 years Bulgaria has been participating in the International Olympiads in Astronomy and Astronomy and Astrophysics with National Teams. The role and place of the system of Public Astronomical Observatories and Planetaria in the system of non-formal education in astronomy are discussed (In Bulgaria there are 7 Public astronomical observatories with a planetarium). Specialized activities in their school forms allow the formation of sustainable astronomical knowledge and observational habits.