Devices for aiding astronomers to locate stars and other celestial bodies

摘要

A hollow transparent sphere has light reflecting spots formed on its surface in positions corresponding to the actual locations of stars in the night sky. The sphere is illuminated from within so that a viewer looking through the globe sees the spots in the same relative locations as stars in the background sky behind the globe. An equatorial band may be marked to correspond to nearby landmarks as an aid to an orientation of the globe.