| If you look at star charts or almanacs,
it is common to use degrees to indicate apparent
size of an object, and apparent distances between
objects.
Your hand can serve as a good ruler for measuring
degrees. For example, an adult finger is about 1º across. The
fist is about 10º
across:
 |
 |
 |
| One finger: 1º |
Three fingers: 5º |
The fist: 10º |
 |
 |
|
| Pinky and Index (Horns):
15º |
Pinky and Thumb (Hang
Loose): 25º |
|
Objects in the
night sky can also serve as size
references. The Full
Moon is 1/2º in diameter.
The images of the north and south poles on the previous page have a pair of stars circled:
two
stars of Ursa Major, and
two Stars of Crux. These
two are also good rulers: the space between the two Ursa Major stars are 5º apart, and the space between the two Crux
stars are 6º apart.
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