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The Ejs Celestial Globe model simulates the Two Sphere Universe theory of the Ancient Greeks. This theory supposes the stars to be fixed on the surface of a Celestial Sphere, with the spherical Earth at the center of this sphere. The simulation shows the motion of Sun and stars in this model, as well as the horizon plane for an observer on the spherical Earth. Two views are shown: one from outside the Celestial Sphere, and the other from the point of view of an observer on Earth looking up. Most of the characteristics of the simulation can be adjusted, including the period of Sun's motion, the tilt of the ecliptic relative to the equator, the latitude of the observer, the time of day and the time of year.
Ejs Celestial Globe model was created using the Easy Java Simulations (Ejs) modeling tool. It is distributed as a ready-to-run (compiled) Java archive. Double clicking the ejs_astronomy_CelestialGlobe.jar file will run the program if Java is installed. Ejs is a part of the Open Source Physics Project and is designed to make it easier to access, modify, and generate computer models. Additional Ejs models for astronomy are available. They can be found by searching ComPADRE for Open Source Physics, OSP, or Ejs.
Please note that this resource requires
at least version 1.5 of Java (JRE).
Celestial Globe Model for Teachers
A customizable Celestial Globe Model that allows teachers to set the display parameters. The customized simulation is automatically saved with associated curricular in a new jar file that can be redistributed. download 1315kb .jar
Last Modified: July 21, 2012
previous versions
Celestial Globe Model Source Code
The source code zip archive contains an XML representation of the Ejs Celestial Globe Model. Unzip this archive in your Ejs workspace to compile and run this model using Ejs. download 102kb .zip
Published: August 18, 2009
previous versions
Celestial Globe Model for Teachers Source Code
Source Code for the Celestial Globe Model for Teachers. The source code archive contains an XML representation of the EJS model. Unzip this archive in your EJS Workspace to compile and run this model using Ejs. download 104kb .zip
Last Modified: July 21, 2012
previous versions
K-2: 4A/P2. The sun can be seen only in the daytime, but the moon can be seen sometimes at night and sometimes during the day. The sun, moon, and stars all appear to move slowly across the sky.
T. Timberlake, Computer Program CELESTIAL GLOBE MODEL, Version 1.0 (2009), WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9379&DocID=1278).
T. Timberlake, Computer Program CELESTIAL GLOBE MODEL, Version 1.0 (2009), <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9379&DocID=1278>.
Timberlake, T. (2009). Celestial Globe Model (Version 1.0) [Computer software]. Retrieved November 10, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9379&DocID=1278
%0 Computer Program %A Timberlake, Todd %D August 18, 2009 %T Celestial Globe Model %7 1.0 %8 August 18, 2009 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9379&DocID=1278
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