Page 57 - BBC Knowledge - October 2017 IN

FUN FOR STARGAZERS

WATCH NATURE’S BUILD A SUNDIAL CHART THE GALAXIES
FIREWORKS DISPLAY The simplest sundial needs nothing more than AT HOME
The streaks of light we call ‘shooting stars’ are a waterproof paper plate, a straw, and a permanent With opportunities for stargazing limited on short summer
really meteors: tiny fragments of stone or ice marker. Poke a small hole in the middle of the upturned nights, many enthusiasts turn to citizen science astronomy
that plough into Earth’s atmosphere at around plate and fix it on the ground or a table outside. Poke the projects. From your home computer, you can join
160,000km/h and burn up on entry. On any clear, straw through the hole and, at midday, write ‘12’ on the thousands of other amateurs in helping scientists make
dark night, you might spot the odd meteor but, at certain edge of the plate in line with the straw’s shadow. Then sense of the endless stream of data and imagery from
times of year, they appear in a dramatic flurry. mark the position of the shadow every hour, and continue space telescopes like Hubble and Kepler and ground-
You don’t need any special equipment for meteor spotting: the next day until you have all the daylight hours recorded. based observatories such as Paranal and Mauna Kea.
just wear warm clothes and head somewhere You now have a reliable ‘clock’ that will serve you Zooniverse (www.zooniverse.org) hosts most of the major
very dark, well away from city lights. A sunlounger the whole summer – no charging needed! citizen science astronomy initiatives. Some are easy,
will, however, make for more comfy viewing! The adventurous can build a more permanent sundial others more taxing, but each project will give you the
with wood and nails. Printable sundial templates necessary training before introducing you to the new data.
are also available at go.nasa.gov/2tgh33Y A personal pick is the Milky Way Project, which asks you
to analyse stunning infrared imagery of the Galaxy.