Umbrellas

[ACHIRD]

Hi everyone,

Do any of your older members recall seeing this useful aid?

It was an umbrella with all the constellations printed on clear plastic so that when you opened the umbrella and pointed the sharp end at the Pole star

and turned it around to, say the Plough, you could locate the other constellations easily.

Perhaps it would be a very useful aid if it was introduced again!

By the way I am 82 years old and have decided to embark on the Astronomy journey so have purchased a 5" GOTO SW Reflector and a Canon 1100D Camera and to see what the

wonders of the sky hold for me! In the meantime, I am waiting for a tree to be felled, a base to be laid and a 7'x4' bycycle shed to be built for my Observatory.

Regards to all

Alan

[BuzzBomb]

No, but it sounds great. I'm only 42 mind, so probably too young!

Good to have on board Alan. Just goes to show you are never too old...

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk 2

[allcart]

I have never seen one of those Alan, but I have not been around as long as you. I would imagine they would have been quite useful in their day, but there are many easier and more convenient ways to see the universe. Ask your family for a smart phone for christmas if you don't already have one. You can install small applications like Stellarium that will show you everything just by pointing the phone at the sky. Very usefull for finding out what you are looking at.

It won't keep you dry if it rains though.

[Double Kick Drum]

It needs to be re-invented. I'd buy one.

[scarp15]

Might be best to go with a Philips Planisphere.

[KevUU]

It was an umbrella with all the constellations printed on clear plastic so that when you opened the umbrella and pointed the sharp end at the Pole star and turned it around to, say the Plough, you could locate the other constellations easily.

I would imagine they would have been quite useful in their day, but there are many easier and more convenient ways to see the universe. Ask your family for a smart phone for christmas

Might be best to go with a Philips Planisphere.

I'm definitely too young, but while I can't seriously say I'd use it all the time it does sound like great fun and a cool way to show the basics to friends etc. I'm in!

K

[Alkaid]

I want one. Brilliant for when you can't be bothered to turn on the computer.

[ollypenrice]

The planisphere has the advantage that the upper window obscures from the map those parts of the sky which are not visible at the time and date of the observation. A single skinned upmbrella couldn't do this, though a giant planisphere on a stick might be rather good!!

Welcome, Alan, and welcome back to astronomy.

Olly

[acey]

The umbrella would be an interesting novelty, but to use it you would not only have to make sure the axis was pointed at the Pole Star, but also that your eye was at the right distance from the umbrella tip, so that the stars would align. You would then need some form of illumination so you could see the stars on the umbrella, which would light up the transparent material and tend to obscure the actual stars. I think that's maybe why you don't see it any more.