RING ROUND THE ROSES IN THE HOUSES OF THE SUN

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1 Introduction RING ROUND THE ROSES IN THE HOUSES OF THE SUN Cristina Palici di Suni EAAE It is not easy to involve teachers in activities of astronomy because they are often afraid to be not expert. With this activity we learn a lot concerning kinematics of Sun-Earth-Zodiac belt system amusing in a play that they can reproduce with their students. The goal is to understand a topic very simple but not well known: why I can t see in the sky during the period of my astrological zodiacal sign, the constellation corresponding? Am I sure to be, for example, a lion from the astrological point of view? or perhaps astrology and astronomy became different during the long path of Science? Is precession of equinoxes something I can understand also if the period is very very long? Material Placards varying in length from about 20 to about 140 cm, and about 20 cm high; Old drawings (artistic if possible) of the Zodiac constellations that can be found in many books to divulgate astronomy (the example fig.3 is not from Zodiac); Table with times of duration of the Sun in the Zodiac constellations; Felt pens, colours, scissors and imagination Presentation 1. Elements of theory. Sky references. The Zodiac belt. 2. Work stage in class: to draw and paint 3. In the courtyard or in a room: simulation with teachers and their students 4. What capacities can be developed by these activities and these plays.to be translated. 1. The Zodiac belt The Zodiac belt is the ensemble of constellations in which the Sun is projected in his apparent movement that, in about a year takes it back along what we call the Zodiac belt. In it we find groups of stars the names of which are well known: Aries, Taurus, Balance, Virgin etc In ancient time this belt was divided in 12 parts of 30 each. In each part a different constellation was recognizable. Astrology gives to each sign a period of four weeks and confers to each of the zodiac signs peculiar characteristics that have an influence on the character, the personality and the destiny of all of us, basing this on the fact that the day of our birth be during our or another sign, or on the influence of the planets.

2 Figure 1: Atlante del cielo Giunti Ed. Milano 1998 Figure 2: Atlante del cielo Giunti Ed. Milano 1998 Let us see now what the astronomers have to say. In ancient times, as now, fantastic beliefs and serious observations are often mixed. First of all we must consider that the stars tied together in a constellation are, in fact, at difference distances from the Earth and have very different dimension and luminosity. Besides the astronomers tell us that the slow movement of the Earth around its North South axis, like that of a spin, has changed in the time our reference points. As a consequence, the period of time between the Sun entering in one constellation and living it is now different from one constellation to another: it may vary from one to more than five weeks.

3 Among the zodiac constellations we must consider Ofiuco which is placed between Sagittarius and Scorpio. In fact the sky we observe slowly changes. Fifty thousand years ago, for instance, the constellation of Cassiopea, which is now recognizable like a W or a M looked very different and will be different again after fifty thousand years. For the same reason the sky belt crossed by the Sun changes in the years so we might have a new constellation crossed, so we have for Ophiucus. See figures 1 and Work stage in class Thirteen placards should be made, dividing the children in groups according to the number of students in the class. Each group, presumably formed by two children, chooses a constellation. What is to be observed is the duration of the Sun staying in each constellation? See the table 1. We must make placards of a length proportioned to the staying of the Sun in the constellation chosen. We start by defining which will be the smallest placard: in the Scorpion the Sun stays only seven days (from the 23rd to the 29th November ). In the Cancer it stays three times as much: 21 days. In the Virgin the Sun stays the longest of all periods: 44 days. This period is a bit less than seven times the Scorpion period. Thus, if we take a placard 20 cm long to draw the zodiacal sign of the Scorpion, the longer placard will be about six / seven times longer: almost 120 /130 cm. Once the dimensions of the placards are established the students draw on each of them the zodiacal sign with its main stars, reproducing the drawings of a manual (see figure 3) but also let to the children free to use their imagination. Figure 3: Example of contellation Thus beautiful drawings with the names of the signs and the dates of entry and exit of the Sun will decorate the walls of the classroom or the corridor of the school. They will stimulate curiosity also in adults: it will be found that some of the birthdays do not coincide with the sign that had always been considered the

4 right one. The discussion may start on the separation between astronomical observation and astrology. constellation day of the entrance number of days in the constellation Pisces March 12th 38 Aries April 19th 25 Taurus May 14th 38 Gemini June 21th 30 Cancer July 21th 21 Leo August 11th 37 Virgo September 17th 44 Libra October 31th 23 Scorpio November 23th 7 Ofiuco November 30th 18 Sagitarius December 18th 32 Capricornius January 19th 28 Aquarius February 16th 24 Table 1: Josee Sert, Proceedings 3rd Summer School EAAE Briey France 3. In the courtyard. In the courtyard forming a circle to reproduce the Zodiac belt we begin understanding what does it mean that the Sun is inside a constellation. For instance if I was born the 10th of August and my sign is the Lion (as the astrologers say ) does it mean that during the August nights I see the Lion constellation in the sky? As we shall see, the answer in no. Figure 4: The Earth and day/night students

5 Figure 5: Playing in the courtground. Ecliptic (plain Earth-Sun) All this and much more it is possible to understand with the help of a play. Aims: To acquire the ideas of horizon, day and night in the solar system; To approach by means of a play of model-making some of the concepts of sky kinematics; To have more references, with the help of the teacher, for the following research of the main constellation visible in our sky; To understand how the study of celestial bodies has at some moment resulted in a separation of the scientist research from the fantastic world of the astrologers. Materials needed: the placards prepared with zodiacal signs; a cardboard blinker that one of the player wears to limit his/her visual to around 180 (figure 6);

6 Figure 6: Cardboard blinker Thirteen children are placed in a circle and three in the central area where an inner circle has been drawn. See figure 5. One of the three children has a cardboard blinker (see the figure 6) around his face to limit his visual to about , and he is tied, back to back, to another children: they represent the Earth day and night. The other children of the class are outside the circle. The children in the circle are placed 7 standing and 6 sitting. Each of them has in his/her hands a placard where a constellation of the House of Sun had been previously drawn with his main stars together with the dates of entry and exit of the Sun. See the table. Earth and Sun will be positioned so that the child with blinkers be directed toward the constellations standing and could see all the five six of them without moving his/her head. The nocturnal horizon of the Earth depends thus from the distance of the children, from the height of the blinkered child, from the dimension of the total circle etc. The other Earth child (without blinkers) must be directed toward the child-sun so as to have at the centre of his horizon, behind the Sun, one constellation. The plane passing on the heads of children is inclined respect the soul because part of the children are standing up, part are sitting down. The first phase of the play calls the attention of the children on the fact that the Earth, turning on itself, offers one side to the Sun and then the opposite, in about 24 hours totally; turning then around the Sun, the Earth moves in about a year, during which time the belt on the background of the nocturnal sky remains as an immobile reference: from an Earth inhabitant point of view, in every time of the year, some constellations of Zodiac are visible on the lower part of the horizon. But of course during the day the huge light of the Sun prevent us from seeing in which house the Sun is; when the Sun set, and stars are visible we look exactly in the opposite direction so we see in the centre of our nocturnal horizon the constellation opposite of that in which the Sun is. That s why we

7 don t see for example the Lion in the August nocturnal sky: the Sun is in Lion and we see Capricorn (the opposite constellation). What we are going to do : a simulation (or role playing) and a play The alternate and gradual raising and lowering of half of Zodiac belt, while the Earth slowly turns around the Sun, represents an animation of the main kinematics concepts of the solar system and, at the same time, it helps the children in understanding the night horizon in which some constellations raise and other set down. To play The first play consists in this: to put in the right position the Earth for a certain data indicated by the teacher so that the Earth inhabitants can indicate which the house of the Sun in that moment is and, on the opposite, which is the constellation I see during that night on the background of the nocturnal sky. An outside child or the teacher will propose a date: day and month. The Earth child without blinkers shall position him/herself so as to see the Sun projected in the constellation that contains that date. After which in a very short time stopped by the teacher s halt, the seven constellations seen by the blinkered child will have to rise. A penalty will be given to the child who does not stand up in time. The winners will be those who have no penalties. The standing constellations are, as we have seen, those visible at night in the sky. The play can continue involving also children of the class out of the circle, this way: they will extract from two pocket- bags, previously prepared, a ticket with a date and another one with the name of a constellation. One of the children, called by the teacher, will have to say very quickly whether the constellation extracted is visible in the extracted date. To do this he/she has to rapidly look at the circle. If the answer is right, this child can eliminate a penalty of a child he chooses. When the play ends, obviously, no penalty can be eliminated: the winner is the child that has the minimum penalties. New phases of this play may be added by questions resulting from different scores in order to prolong its duration and to go deeper in the topic. It is a quick reflexes play, but also the attention to the contents of the placards and the explanation of the teacher will be important. Slower children may give however a positive contribution to their teamconstellation by giving correct answers.

8 4. What skills can be developed with this game Let's see how the educational a ctivities associated with the preparation stages of the game and the game itself, can help the development of some stages of learning according to the theoretical model which is based in Guilford: The preparation was carried out in class during which, as a group, children draw cartoons with the constellations, inspired reproductions provided by astronomy books, with references to the drawings which are rich mythology of many papers in the sky, it helps to store and recognizing constellations of the Zodiac. Creativity, imagination and team spirit lead to make drawings of which the teacher will assess the originality, fidelity to the model and the artistic merit observation skills by identifying the individual and team by encouraging and facilitating the realization of different techniques. Recall that the length of the cartons that contain drawings must be proportional to the duration of the presence of the Sun in the constellation. For example, 40 cm for each week of stay. Each group take one or both houses of the Sun : remember easily the features, shape, if you want the names of some stars, the period during which the Sun is in that house. Hang the graphical results of all groups on the walls of the classroom or hallway helps to memorize the order of the zodiac belt and, if accompanied by pictures of the sky, it helps any subsequent night observation. During the game, the stages of development of intelligence that are favored are first of all the powers of observation and convergent thinking when you require everyone to position themselves in a circle in a certain order, standing or sitting in the second of ' horizon visible from night child From the discussion that follows the course of the game itself and the questions that the teacher will pose to his students, one can assess the ability to " diverge " connecting to a certain situation of the Earth - Sun - constellation other situations later. It encourages discussion about the meaning of horizon with observations of what the child sees highest and smallest over the edge of a window, what changes in my horizon if I move in various directions. In this way the development of convergent and divergent thinking skills are called to be assessed by the teacher during both oral discussion during the next phase of verification that can be taken by filling out a form with multiple choice questions or Type true-false. On the idea of constellation may develop divergent thinking phase having previously done an activity in which the child is asked to join at will outline map of the stars of heaven : the child will create their own constellations that can be compared with a simplified chart in which are reproduced the major constellations. So it makes the student aware of the fact that men have

9 wanted to see in the sky special designs related to their experience of religious life or peasant or another but the stars are actually many " just " connect us to display figures that help us the recognition and orientation when we raise our eyes to the sky on a beautiful clear night. BIBLIOGRAFÍA Giunti, J., Atlante del cielo, Ed. Milano 1998 Sert, J., Proceedings 3rd Summer School EAAE; Barcelona 1999