Tangents to the astroid have fixed length if restricted to a single quadrant. In fact, the envelope of a line of fixed length that has its endpoints on the coordinate axes in the first quadrant is just the astroid. In this month's article, we explore these two aspects of the astroid, a curve also known as the four-cusped hypocycloid, as well as the tetracuspid, cubocycloid, and paracycle.
Maple Tips & Techniques
Dr. Robert Lopez
