An Astronomy Notebook 



Recently we have had the pleasure of examining in detail a 

 notebook prepared by Miss Carolyn Slater while she was a pupil 

 in high school in New York City. The notebook was not a part 

 of her school work but was an independent enterprise, carried on 

 with a schoolmate because both were interested in astronomy; 

 perhaps the excellence of the notebook is due to the fact that it 

 was the outgrowth of her own interest and knowledge rather than 

 a study in the curriculum. 



The notebook is of the ordinary kind about 6>^ by 8>^ inches in 

 size, with the owner's name and "The Star System" on a label 

 on the cover. The inside pages are given to the sun and the 

 planets, the margin being cut to form a thumb index, like a dic- 

 tionary. The Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn 

 Uranus, Neptune, each is given several pages of interesting notes 

 culled from text books and other sources. For instance, one page 

 under "The Sun" is as follows: 



SUN SPOTS 



"Sun spots are openings in the Photosphere or outer shell of the 

 sun. The umbra or dark shadow of a spot varies from about 500 

 to 50,000 miles in diameter. The penumbra (less dense shadow) 

 surrounding the umbra is sometimes 150,000 miles in diameter. 



The depth of sun spots seldom exceeds 2,500 miles and more 

 often is between 500 and 1,500 miles." 



On the last page and on the inside of the cover are pasted 

 envelopes to hold cuttings from newspapers and journals about the 

 sun and planets. This notebook is supplemented by another one 

 in paper covers labelled "Astronomy, Miscellaneous." This is 

 also cut as to its margins making a thumb index under the follow- 

 ing divisions: Constellations, Zodiac, Spectroscope, Velocity, 

 Gravity, Star Leaders, Moon, Comets, Nebulae, Astronomical 

 signs and symbols, Diagrams, Greek meaning. 



Under Constellations are given the names of the constellations, 



alphabetically arranged and opposite the name of each is a diagram 



showing the figure made by the stars in it, for instance : 



* * * 



Cassiopeia's Chair 

 Delphinus 



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