[Nfb-science] Taking an Astronomy Class

[Jewel S.]

Hi all,

I love astronomy a huge amount. I read a lot of astronomy books, and
am particularly interested in studies about black holes, super-earths,
and the possibility of a mission to Centaurii Alpha. I am intending to
take as many astronomy classes in college as are available. However,
as a blind student, I am not sure the best accommodations to learn
astronomy tactilely.

I am considering using a Lite Brite, a pegboard that lights up, to
imitate a planetarium set up. Basically, I would get images of
constellations, solar systems, and the like blown up to the right size
for the Lite Brite. Then, I would have a sighted person (probably a
volunteer who enjoys Astronomy) place pegs in the board in positions
that simulate the image best, making holes in the picture placed on
the board. Once a picture is done once, I would be able to go back and
place the pegs myself at a later date to study constellations, solar
system types, planet size differences, planet distances, etc. What do
you guys think of this idea as an accommodation for a student who has
some residual vision (enough that I can see colours and lights, though
not much else). Do you think this is a good way to study the stars'
shapes and positions in space? If so, do you have any ideas of
improvemnt; if not, do you have any suggestions of other ways of
learning the shapes, sizes, and distances of constellations, solar
systems, solar flares, varying ray types, and the like?

I have read the NFB/NASA books, and loved them, but I know that
creating images like the ones in those books is an expensive process
and requires a Tiger embosser, which my school does not have, nor do
they have any plans of getting one. Is ther a reasonably-priced way of
creating tactile images without using a lot of a person's time (in
other words, something that the college might be willing to provide as
an accommodation?).

Any other suggestions about making astronomy easier to study and more
fun to learn tactilely would be much appreciated. I am very interested
and quite excited about taking astronomy classes, but a bit concerned
that it will be too visual. I took one astronomy class before, and it
was very visual, taking place in a planetarium where we spent most of
the class period staring up at the ceiling as the professor created
the images. We rarely opened our books in that class, except to study
what we had gone over in class, and much of what was on the test was
based on constellatin and system projections in the planetarium. One
test, the professor would point at a star, constellation, or planet,
and we had to write down its name and classification, an entirely
visual test...what would be an alternative to a test like this?

Curious and hopeful to study astronomy,
Jewel