Preface ········································································································· 3

01 Relationship between the size and distance of the Sun, Earth, and Moon ·································· 9
1) The Sun and the Moon ································································································ 9
2) Aristarchus's Measurement Experiment ································································································· 12
3) Relationship between the solar and lunar radii ······················································································ 14
4) Relationship between the distance and radius of each celestial body ············································································· 15
5) Need for further observation and measurement ················································································· 16
6) Size of the Earth ··········································································································· 18
7) Results ········································································································ 20
8) Another way to find the distance between the Earth and the Sun ································································· 20
9) What do the Earth and the Sun look like from the Moon? ········································································· 22

02 Distance between the Earth and the Moon ·············································································· 25
Activity 1: Finding the Earth's Radius ·········································································· 28
Finding the distance to the second month of activity ······················································································· 31

03 Measurement of the lunar diameter ································································································ 35
Activity 3 Finding the angular diameter of the moon ················································································································· 39
Activity 4 Finding the angular diameter of the sun ································································································· 43
Activity 5: Finding the Sun's Rotation Period ······································································· 46

04 Finding 1 AU using Venus's transit across the Sun ································ 53
Activity 6: Finding the Distance Between the Sun and Earth ··························································· 60

05 Planetary Orbits ······················································································································· 65
1) Background of the underlying scientific theory ················································································· 65
2) Basic Learning ································································································· 65
3) Determination of planetary orbits covered in secondary education curriculum ················································ 66
4) In-depth learning ································································································· 70
5) Project-based learning ········································································································ 77
Activity 7: The Moon's Orbit Using Phase Changes ·········································································· 80

06 Is the Earth's orbit an ellipse? .......................................................................................... 89
Activity 8 Finding the height of a lunar crater ·································································· 98
Activity 9 Orbital Cycle of the Moon ································································································ 103
Activity 10: Finding the Eccentricity of the Earth's Orbit ································································································ 110
Activity 11 The Eccentricity of the Moon's Orbit ································································································ 116

07 Finding Kepler's Laws ·········································································· 125
Experiment 1.
Drawing the orbits of Mercury and Venus (see Chapter 5) ······················································· 126
Experiment 2.
Finding Kepler's First Law ································································ 130
Experiment 3.
Does the Earth move in a circle or an ellipse? ········································· 134
Experiment 4.
Simulating Planetary Motion Using Excel ········································· 139
Experiment 5.
How can we discover Kepler's third law? ···································· 146
Experiment 6.
Extended Kepler's Laws ·········································································· 150

08 Planetary Motion: Numerical Methods ························································· 151
Activity 12: Drawing a Graph Using Excel ········································································· 157

09 Finding the Mass of Jupiter ················································································· 165
1) Observation of Jupiter ········································································································· 166
2) Using the Law of Harmony ·················································································· 167
3) Dry plate scale(s) ······································································································· 167
Activity 13.
Finding the Mass of Jupiter ························································································· 169

10 Measuring the Sun's Luminosity ············································································· 179
1) How to use a candle photometer ································································· 179
2) How to use a copper tube photometer ································································ 180
3) Differences between the two experiments ···················································································· 182
4) Solar Observation ···························································································· 183

Appendix 1 Solar Size (SOHO) Data ························································································· 185
Appendix 2: Telescope Installation and Polar Alignment ······································································· 201
Activity 14 How to Use a DSLR Camera ···························································································· 211
Activity 15 Fixed Shooting Method ················································································· 221
Activity 16: Direct Focus Photography ································································································ 234
Appendix 3: Constellation Movements and Planetary Observations 243
Experimental Results and Discussion Answers and Explanations ································································· 252

The activities here are mainly about important physical quantities related to the sun and other planets in the solar system among various contents of astronomy, and they take the form of solving questions or problems related to the solar system at the school science level of secondary science rather than the science of astronomers.

The first activity is 'Finding the radius of the Earth', which is part of the middle school science curriculum.
However, while dealing with this activity, we did not think about why the activity of 'finding the radius of the Earth' is important.
Therefore, the first chapter of this book develops around this very question and deals with how humans in the past engaged in related activities.
Now, the question naturally arises as to how the physical quantities of the moon, which is close to the Earth, were obtained.
Naturally, astronomical phenomena observable on Earth should be utilized.

An easily observed natural phenomenon related to the moon is the phases of the moon.
And furthermore, there are lunar and solar eclipses.
Several physical quantities that can be obtained by observing natural phenomena related to the moon in this way allow us to determine the distance and size of the moon.
Of course, the mathematics learned in the middle school curriculum is used at this time.
Mathematics is a language that describes natural phenomena, and if used well, it can reveal various scientific facts.
When doing these activities, sometimes you need to make appropriate assumptions and know the necessary physical quantities, even if they are unknown, to solve the problem.


Therefore, it is necessary to devise a method to solve this unknown physical quantity at the school science level.
In this way, this book describes questions and problem solving, as well as new questions that arise and how these questions are resolved at the level of school science.
Therefore, although the activities presented here are all connected and form a single unit, they are also good science activities for instructors who understand the interconnectedness of individual activities to have students perform individually.
If you do the whole thing, it could be one big science project.

In this book, the computer program Excel was used for convenience of calculation.
Even if you don't know computer programming languages ​​such as Fortran, C, or Java, you can perform all calculations and complete graphs in the spreadsheet used in this program.
And to use these languages ​​for calculations, you have to code, and you can learn this coding process to some extent by using Excel spreadsheets.
Moreover, since the calculation results can be used in a short period of time, it is very helpful in carrying out ‘doing science’ in secondary school curriculum.
One of the features of this book is that it provides a certain level of training in the use of Excel in science.

Another unique feature is that you can photograph astronomical phenomena using telescopes and DSLR cameras that are readily available at school, and even create astronomical phenomenon observation data.
Because the activities presented in this book can be performed based on these observational data, this book can be used as training for conducting observation-related research in astronomy.