Why every observatory needs a disco ball
Journal article, 2024
Commercial disco balls provide a safe, effective and instructive way of observing the Sun. We explore the optics of solar projections with disco balls, and find that while sunspot observations are challenging, the solar disk and its changes during eclipses are easy and fun to observe. We explore the disco ball's potential for observing the moon and other bright astronomical phenomena.
the Sun
pinhead mirrors
solar eclipses
pinhole optics
informal learning
astronomy
Author
Robert Cumming
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
Alexander Pietrow
Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam
Livia Pietrow
Leiden University
Maria Cavallius
Stockholm University
Dominique J.M. Petit dit de la Roche
University of Geneva
Casper Pietrow
Leiden University
Ilane Schroetter
Paul Sabatier University
Moa Skan
Stockholm University
Physics Education
0031-9120 (ISSN) 13616552 (eISSN)
Vol. 59 2 025012Subject Categories
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Infrastructure
Onsala Space Observatory
DOI
10.1088/1361-6552/ad1fa0