CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATIONS OF A LOW-COST ARMILAR SPHERE FOR ASTRONOMY TEACHING

Abstract

Astronomy has fascinated humanity throughout time. The study and description of the stars
allowed societies in ancient times to understand the most common phenomena, related to agriculture, seasonal seasons, alternation of dates, months and years, sphericity of the Earth, among
other concepts. Furthermore, throughout history, technological objects related to celestial studies
were developed, which were important for the development of those societies; Among these tools,
the production of the Armillary Sphere stands out in this work. Ancient object that was used
to simulate the movement of the celestial sphere. This object is presented here in an alternative
and low-cost construction proposition that can help educators approach different concepts in
the classroom. These classes still encourage the consolidation of alternative conceptions related
to the teaching of astronomical concepts. In this sense, this work proposes the construction
of the learning object called Didactic Armillary Sphere EAD. The development of this work
consists of bibliographic and material research, as well as the development of prototypes that
resulted in a low-cost teaching model that could be assembled by the reader/teacher. Furthermore,
throughout this document, possibilities for applications are presented that favor the teaching of
various concepts related to Astronomy, such as: apparent movement of the Sun, celestial sphere,
birth time prediction and solar bridge for any latitude. In this sense, the aim is for the reader,
upon completing the knowledge of this investigation, to construct their own object and be able to
use it in teaching and learning environments.