Ancient Sun Observations
How did ancient civilizations study the Sun?
Description
Make your own Sun tracker to explore how ancient
civilizations around the world studied the Sun. You’ll
need a bright sunny day.
Age Level: 7 and up
Materials
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O60 cm x 60 cm
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O25-30 cm long and 6-12 mm
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Don’t have a wooden stick?
Just use a wooden pencil.
Time
Preparation: 15 minutes
Activity: 20 minutes + data collection
Cleanup: 5 minutes
Safety
Never look directly at the Sun!
1
Glue the wooden stick near the center of an edge of the cardboard
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poke a hole in the cardboard and glue the stick in the hole.
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in sunlight. Mark the point on the cardboard where the tip of the
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that you orient the board in the same direction each time you lay it
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Tip
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mark the edge of the cardboard where the
shadow falls. Measure the entire shadow's length
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Repeat these observations daily or weekly at the exact same time
each day. Does the Sun’s position stay constant in the sky over
days or weeks?
2
Why does the Sun’s path in the sky appear to change over the
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orbits around the Sun once every year. Earth’s spin axis is tilted by
23.5 degrees relative to its path around the Sun.
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Long and short shadows
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of the shadows you measured change from day to day and month
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the Sun appears much higher in the sky at noon in summer
because the north end of Earth’s axis is pointing toward the Sun.
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The Sun’s position next to the horizon where it rises and sets also
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Sun sets more toward the south.
Many ancient cultures built elaborate structures to track the
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track seasons.
The following show a few examples of the structures these
ancient civiliations built.
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Stonehenge
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have been aligned with important solar events like midsummer
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strikes another stone called the Altar Stone.
Sun Dagger
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it in half before leaving it in shadow once again. On the winter
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Chichén Itzá
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a play of light and shadow creates the appearance of a snake that
gradually moves down the pyramid’s stairway. This snake is comjjjjj6j
angles of the pyramid’s walls. The image may represent the Mayan
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Temple of the Sun
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The curved portion of this building in Peru may have served as a
solar observatory. A rock inside the temple could have been used as
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into one of the temple’s eastern windows and the Sun’s rays fall
upon the rock.
Studying the Sun Today
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the space-based solar telescopes. The Solar Dynamics Observatory
and the Interstellar Boundary Explorer are uncovering mysteries of
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Learn More
For more info and other activities, visit:
LawrenceHallofScience.org/do_science_now/diy_sun_science
Credits
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,,1IJĻĻĶ!56ƶ6jtions expressed in this program are those of the author and do not
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The DIY Sun Science app allows families and educators to investijjjj
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images and videos.
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All rights reserved.
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