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Global Astronomical-Project for Schools

The Astronomy Club at the High School in Birkenfeld constructed a revolving astronomical chart for the whole school during the school year 1999/2000. Suspended from the ceiling in the entrance hall, it shows the present constellations with the corresponding compass directions over Birkenfeld.

The revolving constellation chart has a diameter of 4,50 m. It shows over 400 stars with the most important constellations. The construction has an overall diameter of 4,80 m.

From a purchased revolving chart the students transferred the constellations to scale on blue cotton material. With the help of cardboard templates the most important stars were painted according to their brightness as yellow circles. The most important connecting lines between the constellations were drawn with a ruler and silver felt tip. The appropriate names were added in black.
Student of the Arts Course completed the wooden construction. A cross was made out of some planks. Several fibre board strips were bent and glued, and then screwed onto the ends of the planks to form a wooden wheel. The blue cotton material with the constellations was then fixed to the wheel. This construction was then mounted on the ceiling by means of a metal turntable made by one of our teachers. Under the blue chart we installed a cover with an elliptical opening corresponding to the present celestial situation. This cover was also made of cloth – a light-coloured natural cotton. The Art students once again constructed a ring from fibre board which was covered with the light material and secured from the ceiling directly under the blue construction. The compass points on the cover were then aligned with the correct directions.

The astronomical chart is re-adjusted every month with the help of a purchased chart. On this we enter the constellations for the evenings of the middle of the month. Then we turn our great chart to correspond to the purchased chart. Yellow discs, which represent the planets, are fixed in their new positions every month when necessary.
Thus every student and every visitor is shown the evening sky over Birkenfeld in the entrance hall.

Link to "Astronomical chart online" and photogalery

Link to "The Planet Trail Nonnweiler" and photogalery