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1930s Astronomy
Guy Bock

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Astronomy
This skill combines a high school level knowledge of the the night sky with a touch of astrophysics.

Most of the information obtained by possession of this skill can be obtained from reading any star map or 'star wheel'. You can probably
find one at a university bookstore. If nothing else, you can potocopy one out of the 'astronomy' article in an encyclopedia.

If you don't want or need a paticularly accurate source, I've cobbled together a rough chart that should meet most adventure requirements.

(November and December are intentionally left blank)

To determine what stars are visible at a given time, locate the month
you've selected. The stars listed under that month and the two months
above and below it will be visible. Stars three months above and
below may be visible but will be very close to the horizon.

Example: In June, Regulus, Spica, Arcturus, Antares, and Vega will be
visible in the night sky. Pollux, Altair and Deneb might be.

This chart assumes the viewer is in the northern hemisphere viewing
the stars at 9:00pm. To adjust for diferent viewing times, shift down
the list one month for every two hours after 9:00pm and up one month
for every two hours before 9:00pm.

Example: At 11:00pm on a night in June, Spica, Arcturus, Antares,
Vega, Altair, and Deneb will be visible. Regulus and Formalhaut might
be.

Following is a summation of what is known of the Solar system as of
1937. In general, the distance from the Sun, length of year and
diameter of each planet is known (and is accurate by modern
standards). Little else is.

I have tried to include only information that contradicts modern
knowledge or information that is stated to be unknown. Any other
information about the Solar system can be easily found in an
encyclopedia.

As far as I can tell, the scientific knowledge needed in determining
the surface conditions of the other planets was available in the 30s.
But, apparently this knowledge had not been applied to creating the
needed technology to do so. If an adventure is set in the 1930s or
earlier the 'determing surface conditions of other planets' part of
the astronomy skill should be disallowed.

Mercury 
It is not known how long a Mercurian day lasts. It is possible that
one side of the planet faces the Sun constantly. The temperature of
Mercury is unknown, but it assumed to be very high.

Venus 
Conditions on Venus are very much like conditions on Earth. It is the
same size and probably has similar atmosphere, but with more water
vapor. Like Mercury, Venus may present one side to the Sun at all
times. The day side would be a sun-baked desert, but the night side
could be a steamy tropical land. The planet's cloud cover makes
determining the length of its day difficult. The usual method of
measuring the movement of land features as the planet rotates is
useless with Venus. However, at least one observer has reported
bright spots which may be the snow covered peaks of mountains.

Mars
Mars is of interest because of its "canals", which are dark lines on the
surface of the planet that change with the seasons. Some astronomers
believe that this is evidence of life on Mars. The theory is that Mars is
a desert planet and the inhabitants make use of the water frozen in
Mars' ice caps by digging irrigation canals.

Jupiter
Through a telescope, Jupiter is revealed to be a light and dark striped
planet. The darker stripes are actually immense bands of clouds, each
several thousand miles wide. The light bands are the actual surface of
Jupiter. Dark spots appear from time to time, gradually turn red and
then vanish. They are probably caused by clouds of gas or vapor
thrown out from hot internal fires. This internal warmth would raise
the surface temperature above comfortable levels despite Jupiter's
great distance from the Sun. Jupiter has nine moons.

Saturn
The gravity of Saturn is 2 2/3 times as strong as the gravity of Earth.
It has nine or possibly ten moons.

Very little is known about the other planets. Uranus has four moons;
Neptune has one; Pluto may or may not have a moon. Pluto is also the
only planet for which the diameter is unknown.

Earth's Moon
The craters of the Moon are thought to be volcanic in origin. Astronomers
cannot explain the light-colored material radiating like spokes from some
of the larger craters. These rays may be lava flows, but scientists cannot
account for the fact that these flows apparently run over mountains and
valleys with no respect for gravity.

Comets
The origins of comets are still mysterious, but some progress has been
made in determining their composition. Spectroscopes have confirmed
that comets are largely gaseous. In fact, the Earth has recently passed
through the tail of two comets, once in 1861 and again in 1910, with no
noticeable consequences. Only the nucleus of the comet is thought to
consist of relatively solid material. One theory is that the nucleus is
actually a swarm of meteors surrounded by a cloud of gas and dust.
Despite old superstitions, there is no need to fear the approach of a
comet. Even a collision with one of these celestial wanderers would
not result in anything more serious than a spectacular shower of meteors.

Meteors
There is little question that some meteors are bits or particles of comets
that have disintegrated. One proof of the conection between comets and
meteors is that swarms of meteors often travel in orbits which were once
occupied by comets. [This theory has actually not been disproven yet,
although it has never been proven either]

Meteorites
Objects similar to meteors sometimes strike the Earth. These are known
as meteorites or aerolites. It is possible that they are simply large meteors
that did not brun up in the atmosphere, but the materials from which they
are formed sugest a different origin. Scientists think they may be the
remains of planets which were broken up by some celestial accident.
Meteors are mostly of a stony character, though one in ten is largely
composed of iron. This iron, combined with other metals, forms alloys
different from any alloy found on Earth. No new element has been
reliably documented as coming from a meteor.

(Ok, I confess. I added the bit about 'reliably documented' because
of "The Color from Outer Space". No new element had been found,
period.)

1930 Astronomy Bibliography

"Other Worlds Than This" - by Elena Fontany (pub 1930)
"The Aryabhatiya of Aryabhata; an ancient Hindu work on astronomy"
by Aryabhata, edited by Walter Eugene Clark (pub 1930)
"Marvels of the Universe" - by Henry Davenport Northrop (pub 1887)
"Minerals of Earth and Sky" - by Fredrick William Foshag (pub 1929)
"Ptolemy's Catalogue of Stars" - by Ptolemy, edited by Christian Heinrich
Friedrich Peters (pub 1868)
"The Star People" - by Gaylord Johnson (pub 1921)
"Through Space and Time" - by Sir James Hopwood Jeans (pub 1934)

1930 Astronomers

Annie Jump Cannon (b 1863) American astronomer associated with Harvard
observatory. Discovered 300 variable stars, five new stars, and one
spectroscopic binary. She compiled a bibliography of variable stars
and a catalog of 225,000 stellar objects. She was the most eminent
woman astronomer of her time.

Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (b 1882) British professor of astronomy
at Cambridge University. Noted for researches on the motions of
stars, stellar evolution, and relativity.

George Ellery Hale (b 1868) American astronomer. Made special study
of spectroscopy, invented spectroheliograph, and directed Mount Wilson
observatory.