Coménius Juin 2011, Paris UPMC

FLAGS and ASTRONOMY Michel FAYE, lycée Louis Le Grand, Paris

Email : mfaye2@wanadoo.fr

Level: kids/students : 10-15 years old

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Flags and Astronomy

For many countries the national flag is connected with astronomy:

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Flags and Astronomy

For many countries the national flag is connected with astronomy:

With the Sun:

Bangladesh Japan Argentina Uruguay

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Flags and Astronomy

For many countries the national flag is connected with astronomy:

With the Sun:

Bangladesh Japan Argentina Uruguay

Maldivas Islands Pakistan Algeria

With the Moon:

Malaisia

With the Moon:

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Flags and Astronomy

For many countries the national flag is connected with astronomy:

With the Sun:

Bangladesh Japan Argentina Uruguay

Maldivas Islands Pakistan Algeria

With the Moon:

Malaisia

With the Moon:

With stars

United Statesof America China Syria Europa

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With constellation(s)(mainly Southern Cross):

New Zeland Australia BrazilPapouasiaNew Guinea

Flags and Astronomy

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With constellation(s)(mainly Southern Cross):

New Zeland Australia BrazilPapouasiaNew Guinea

This list is not limited! You can find other examples.

One country has an astronomic instrument on the national flag: it’s Portugal with an astrolab:

Detail: astrolab

Flags and Astronomy

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Sun : flags are connected to religious reasons: Japan ( Sun Godness

Amaterasu is said to be the Emperor’s ancestress) ; Argentina (Inca

god Inti )

or for poetic reason : Bengladesh ( Tagore’s poem :Thanksgiving)

Moon:most of the countries that have the Moon on their national flag

are muslim ones.

For many cultures, the Sky is the land of the perfection, the Heaven;

the link between the Sky and us is the light of the stars, perfect objects.

1st step: Sun, Moon and stars

Flags and Astronomy

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About the European Flag

An interpretation of this flag: Europa is a christian land

The blue color is the color of Virgo and the cercle of the twelve golden stars is the crown of Virgo

You can see the Virgo with her crown on a painting inside the church of the benediktin monastery of Ettal (Bavaria, Germany).

Flags and Astronomy

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2nd step: Southern Cross Constellation on three flags:

New Zeland, Australia , Brazil

Southern Cross Constellation has been chosen by countries of Southern Hemisphere because the sky helpt travellers inland or at sea.

Flags and Astronomy

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Flags and Astronomy

What can we see?

On the New Zeland flag : South Cross with 4 stars

On the Australian flag : South Cross with 5 stars! Why?

On the Brazilian flag: South Cross with 5 stars but this South Cross is axial Symetric with the South Cross of the Australian flag! Why?And more than that, they are many stars (27 exactly) on the brazilian flag. What do they stand for?

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Flags and Astronomy

3th step : Difference between New Zeland flag and Australian flag

The 5th star who appears on the Australian flag and not on the New Zeland flag is ε Cru

This is a picture of the South Cross made with Stellarium (Free software)

The five brightest stars are:

α Cru (Acrux) Mag: 1.25 β Cru ( Mimosa) Mag: 1.25 γ Cru ( Gacrux) Mag: 1.55 δ Cru Mag: 2.75ε Cru Mag: 3.55

The bigger is magnitude, less brightthe star is.On the NewZeland flag there is only the 4 brightest stars of this constellation

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Flags and Astronomy

4 th step: The axial symetry of the Southern Cross between the Australian flag and the Brazilian flag

Southern Crosssee from the Earth Australian flag Brazilian flag Southern Cross

seen from the Cosmos

It’s the different point of view that explain this axial symetry!Brazilian flag maps the Constellation seen from the Cosmos

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Flags and Astronomy

5 th step: the Brazilian flag, a planetarium viewed from the sky

The brazilian flag:

We can see Southern Cross ( Axial symetry) and other constellations

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Flags and Astronomy

Sky on Rio De Janeiro the 15th of november 1889 à 12h 30 GMT, the day of independance. Let us use Stellarium

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Flags and Astronomy

And the same sky seen from the cosmos: we get the brazilian flag!

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Flags and Astronomy

On the Brazilian flag , there are 8 constellations:

Canis MinorCanis MajorHydraCarinaOctansVirgoAustrale triangulumand Scorpius

Try it: find these constellations an the Brazilian Flag!

Nota: there are 27 stars = the number of states in Brazil

At the moment of the independance’s declaration the main axe of Southern Cross was perfectly in line with the meridian of Rio de Janeiro