Abstract:
An educational monument, comprising a designated geographical area accessible to a general public, a first structure having a first face positioned to receive a solar light beam, an aperture formed through the first structure for projecting the light beam at predetermined times and, a second structure positioned to receive the light beam at a first predetermined time. A third structure positioned to receive the light beam at a second predetermined time. Wherein a transition of the light beam reflects a change in the seasons and an alignment of Earth illustrating a physical representation of the transition at a plurality of successive predetermined times, each respective predetermined time being the same hour on a different day. Wherein a plurality of ellipses are scaled from the receiving wall, accurately representing the scaled orbit of the planets.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    The claimed technology relates generally to astronomy, and more particularly, to an outdoor monument that directs sunlight onto a designated locations corresponding to calendar events. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Monuments have long been a fundamental part of human society, both in the large scale as well as the small. In today&#39;s society, monuments may be created to represent an event relevant to a geological region, or to commemorate the life or achievements of a person or group. In ancient society, monuments were also constructed to track astronomical movements, including tracking the stars and solar patterns. Evidence of this can be seen, for example, in various stone placements throughout England (such as Stonehenge, Kintraw, and the Cultoon stone circle in Islay). The placement of each sites&#39; stone structures lines up with a solar phase as the rotation of the Earth and the seasons change. Monuments of this nature are large and only convey a small amount of astronomical information. 
         [0003]    Structures that illustrate the alignment of the sun exist in the old world and the new, as evidenced by the sun&#39;s alignment with city planning of New York City. The Commissioners&#39; Plan of 1811 laid out a city grid that aligned the city streets in such a way that twice during the year the sun will rise and set in alignment with east-west streets. This phenomenon is not limited to New York City, but can be found in cities throughout the world when a uniform street grid has been incorporated into the city planning. While natural demonstrations of this nature are fascinating to the public, they are also limited in their educational scope. 
         [0004]    Planetariums offer educational representations of the solar system and the sun, but a planetarium is an enclosed environment. A planetarium is limited by the space encapsulated by the dome of the building and the quality of the projection system. This educational experience is unable to fully realize the vast scale of the solar system. The projector system&#39;s ultimate objective is to provide an accurate relative understanding of motion witnessed in the sky at night. There are limitations as the planetariums range in size from small inflatable domes to 20-meter plus permanent structures with fixed seating. Visitors may gain the benefit of seeing the entire solar system and the night sky but true scale of the universe can be lost by the visitor because of the size of the building. 
         [0005]    Thus, there are shortcomings in both a monument of grand scale, offering only limited information and planetariums with limited personal scale. In addition, there is a need to have a truly representative scale in an educational monument, one that expresses more than just a visual representation but also a spatial one. The disclosed technology addresses this need. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is an illustrative map, showing the placement of the one embodiment of the disclosed technology in a cityscape. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2A  is a representation of another embodiment of the disclosed technology&#39;s central display. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2B  is a frontal view of a first structure with receiving aperture according to one embodiment of the disclosed technology. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a representation of an analemma according to one embodiment of the disclosed technology. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a frontal view of a second structure detailing an analemma according to one embodiment of the disclosed technology. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5A  is a magnified overview of a monument in a cityscape according to one embodiment of the disclosed technology. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5B  is a representation of one embodiment of the disclosed technology&#39;s planetary display. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the claimed technology and presenting its currently understood best mode of operation, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the claimed technology is thereby intended, with such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device and such further applications of the principles of the claimed technology as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the claimed technology relates. 
         [0014]      FIGS. 1 through 5  illustrates a first embodiment of the educational monument system  100  present in the novel technology. This particular embodiment relates to the solar system, but embodiments may be constructed to represent other phenomena.  FIG. 1  shows a central location  101  where an educational monument  200  is positioned, so that additional planetary representational structures  500  may be accurately positioned from that point moving outward in generally elliptical patterns scaled to represent planetary orbits  105 ,  110 ,  120 ,  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160 ,  170 , and  180 . The central location  101  typically hosts a plurality of structures  210 ,  220  to define an educational monument  200  for visitors to explore. The central location  101  represents the center of our solar system, with the Sun or Sol as a prominent feature. Sol&#39;s accurate shape and scaled size may be incorporated into the structures  210 ,  220  located at the central location  101  but that may not be done in other embodiments. 
         [0015]    From the central location  101 , additional structures  500  and orbital patterns  105 ,  110 ,  120 ,  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160 ,  170 , and  180  are positioned to define a scaled representation of the distances between the planetary or astronomical bodies depicted by the monument system  100 . A set scale of representation is typically established at the central location  101  that is generally uniform through the educational monument  200 . This allows for accurate placement of the other structures such as planetary representations  500 , so that a predetermined and uniform scale is achieved both in the distances between each structure  500  and the size of the astronomical body represented in that informational display  540 . The planetary representations  500  of this embodiment include Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Other embodiments may further include Pluto as the ninth planetary representation  500 . 
         [0016]    Each of the planetary representations  500  may be constructed from a variety of materials that may consist of stone, metal, ceramic, glass, or other like items. The second structure  220  may be constructed of low reflection materials so the light beam  250  will not be reflected. A low reflection material used in this second structure would be measured by the Albedos Scale in the range of 0.09 to 0.18. This low reflection will allow the second structure  220  to better show the position of a light beam  250 . 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  shows various elliptical paths  105 ,  110 ,  120 ,  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160 ,  170 , and  180  around the central location  101 , the paths representing the orbits of the planetary representations  500 . Each path  105 ,  110 ,  120 ,  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160 ,  170 , and  180  is typically visible in some fashion throughout the local city, and/or region, typically providing a representative outline for the visitor to traverse when exploring the entire monument system  100 . Typically, there are inherent geographic limitations on the size and placement of the paths  105 ,  110 ,  120 ,  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160 ,  170 , and  180 , as each orbit will intersect a building, a road, or the like. Crosswalks and other safety measures may be included to facilitate safe movement along each path. The educational monument system  100  typically includes both the planetary orbits  105 ,  110 ,  120 ,  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160 ,  170 , and  180  as well as representations of other celestial phenomena  600  of note, such as the asteroid belt, Haley&#39;s Comet, the Kuiper belt, comets, various moons, and the like. These individual astro-structures (not shown) are also scaled to the corresponding size of the monument system  100 . 
         [0018]    The central location  101  is typically interactive with the phases of the sun  280 . One embodiment of the educational monument system  100  may have two centralized structures  210 ,  220  that redirect light beams  250  from the sun  280  during a specific time each day. The first structure  210  faces the sun  280  and has a focusing medium  235  placed at a specific intake point  230  to direct the light beams  250  onto the second structure&#39;s  220  receiving face  290 .  FIG. 2A  shows sun light  249  entering the focusing medium  235  of the first structure  210  of the central monument  200 . The light beams  250  are focused through a transparent medium  235  at a predetermined location  240  in the first structure  210  and projected onto the second structure  220 . The second structure  220 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , includes a receiving wall  290 , which is typically oriented parallel to the first structure  210  and typically contains a central display  400  and informational instruction  410 . This central display  400  has an analemma  260 , which defines a skewed “figure-8” that is created by the axial tilt of the Earth during its rotation around the sun  280 . As the seasons change, the light beam  250  reflects the terrestrial alignment of the Earth. As shown in  FIG. 4 , a calendar  300  or information pertaining to the sun&#39;s alignment may be etched or otherwise displayed onto the monument  220  as well so that the analemma  260  displaying the proper date at the time in which the light beam  250  appears on the receiving wall  220 .  FIG. 2B  shows the first structure  210  with the aperture or the focusing component  230 . This is used to block direct sunlight  249  from the receiving wall  220  at a specific time and only allow the desired light  250  to shine on the surface  290  of the receiving wall  220 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 5A  is an enlarged view of the monument system  100  and the correlating planetary orbits  105 ,  110 , and  120  with their respective planet  520 , which is scaled to the correlating size. Each planetary representation  500  may have its own display  510 , each optionally detailing a series of facts  540 ,  570  known about the planet  520 . Additionally, the display  510  may show scaled representations of localized celestial bodies  530 , such as moons or rings.  FIG. 5B  shows the display  510  for a typical planet  520 , having a moon  530 .  FIG. 5B  shows the planet  520  in particular for illustrative purposes, and that the other planets, moons, comets, and the like are similarly represented by the monument system  100 . Each planetary monument  500  typically comprises a planet  520 , any respective moons  530 , planetary information  540 , a central support structure for the planet  560 , and/or planetary orbital information  570 . The display  510  is typically placed on an illuminated path tracing the respective planets orbit  105 ,  110 ,  120 ,  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160 ,  170 , and  180 , alternatively, may simple be positioned in a more desirable place. In this embodiment, representations of this nature are used to represent each celestial body, and as such require a predetermined amount of space to allow for proper scaling. 
         [0020]    The monument structure  100  as a whole is typically used to instruct, through actual spacing, the viewer as to the true scale of the solar system. Pictures, like those taken by Voyager, are inherently limited in how much they can teach. Since humans, as a whole, rarely comprehend the size and distance of objects that are beyond their daily observations, the monument  100  allows visitors, in real time, to better understand the vastness of their solar system. By starting with a central accurate representation of the sun  280  and then properly scaling the remaining solar system, a better physical representation of vast size is created. When visitors personally move through each display  510  in the monument  100 , they have a more realized sense of scale. Walking the orbital paths  105 ,  110 ,  120 ,  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160 ,  170 , and  180  further illustrates the scaled distance. This representation helps to foster an understanding of the vastness of space as more comprehendible to the visitor in ways that cannot be accomplished through traditional media. 
         [0021]    While the claimed technology has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character. It is understood that the embodiments have been shown and described in the foregoing specification in satisfaction of the best mode and enablement requirements. It is understood that one of ordinary skill in the art could readily make a nigh-infinite number of insubstantial changes and modifications to the above-described embodiments and that it would be impractical to attempt to describe all such embodiment variations in the present specification. Accordingly, it is understood that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the claimed technology are desired to be protected.