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ERIC Number: EJ912899
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Dec
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
Exploring the Solar System with a Human Orrery
Newbury, Peter
Physics Teacher, v48 n9 p573-577 Dec 2010
One of the fundamental learning goals of introductory astronomy is for the students to gain some perspective on the scale and structure of the solar system. Many astronomy teachers have laid out the planets along a long strip of paper or across a school grounds or campus. Other activities that investigate the motion of the planets are often computer based, hiding the awe-inspiring distances between the planets. Our human orrery activity, adapted from the design at the Armagh Observatory in Ireland, combines the best of both approaches by creating a working model of the solar system that mimics both the scale and the motion of the planets.
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A