With the invention of writing, a great change came over primitive man. First with pictures, later with simple writing, he could leave for his children a record that was not entirely dependent upon memory. As we shall show, many of these earliest records were astronomical. The Babylonian “boundary stones” were decorated with pictures representing the constellations; and many Egyptian temples… (more…)
Tag Archives: sun
The first great division of time is marked by day and night
The first great division of time is marked by day and night. The Earth rotates on its axis like an orange strung on a wire before a steady light and the glow falls first on one side then on the other. Were we situated on a distant star, we should see in this motion the most perfect regularity known to… (more…)
“There are 360 days,”— a slightly inaccurate calculation
Since we wish the divisions of our day to be equal, the hour lines on the board must be of unequal length. The Sun gains far more altitude between 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M. than between the hours of 11:00 and noon. In fact for a short while at midday the change in the Sun’s altitude is so slight that… (more…)
From summer to winter the change is gradual and slow
From summer to winter the change is gradual and slow. Days are separated by nights of darkness; but seasons pass almost imperceptibly, flowing into one another until the casual observer can hardly say where one begins and another ends. If we are astronomers, we may go out on a cold snowy day about the twenty-first of March, perfectly confident that… (more…)
The Sun’s passage through the equinox was invented by the Chinese
The festivals are dependent upon agriculture; but agriculture and astronomy were interwoven from the very beginning, not only in legend and mythology, but for very precise practical purposes. The very word “season” means “to sow” and spring was considered the season, par excellence. In most calendars the year commenced at the moment when the Sun crossed the equator, northward bound;… (more…)
Sun’s changing declination is the variable length of days
The Sun travels in right ascension throughout the year, starting at 0h 0m 0s at the vernal equinox, or the first point of Aries, and returns to it the following year after having been all the way up to 24h. Right ascension is measured in hours as it is directly related to time. As the Sun’s actual passage is along… (more…)
Apollo, Adonis and Helios were Greek Gods of the Sun
Apollo, Adonis and Helios were Greek gods of the Sun, all borrowed from older civilizations which had been content to venerate, and to calculate only when necessity demanded. But the Greeks loved knowledge for its own sake. Soon they were poking their inquisitive minds into the nature and movements of their deity. How far was the Sun from the Earth?… (more…)
Early studies in the nature of light
Due to early studies in the nature of light, the science of optics has reached a very high stage. Through the spectroscope we can break light into its constituents. Characteristic lines belong to certain elements. An examination of the light emanating from the Sun and the stars tells directly their composition. By means of the spectroscope we know that the… (more…)
The little “rings with wings”
If the Sun is bright and the temperature too low for comfortable outdoor observations, you can still give a splendid demonstration by casting the projection onto a piece of white cardboard set at right angles to the telescope in an otherwise darkened room. In such projections the only visible portion of the Sun is the disc, known to astronomers as… (more…)
In the old days the sight of Earthshine was considered an evil portent, a prophet of disaster
We are glad to know that our Earth is shining forth upon the heavens; but in the old days the sight of Earthshine was considered an evil portent, a prophet of disaster. “I saw the new moon late yester’een With the old moon in her arm And if we gang to sea, master, I fear we’ll come to harm.” Fear… (more…)
- Important events in astronomical history
- 24 Hours is a Clumsy Mode of Expression
- 50 Years of Listening for Aliens
- A Slightly Inaccurate Calculation
- Astronomers in the Middle Ages
- Babylonian Astrology
- Big Clue to Stonehenge
- China UFO sparks rampant speculation
- Chinese Science and the Equinox
- Dissapearance of Water Clocks
- Early Studies in the Nature of lLight
- Greek Gods of the Sun
- Ingenuity and Scientific Care in Egyptian Construction
- Local Mean Time of the Observation and GMT
- Monotheism in the Valley of the Nile
- Moon Complicated Everything
- Noon and Sunset
- Polar Auroras or Dance of the Spirits
- Sand Glasses Vs. Water Clocks
- Seasonal Change from Summer to Winter
- Space and Galaxies
- Sun's Changing Declination
- The Astronomy in Babylonia
- The Belt Known as the Zodiac
- The Chinese Observed Sunspots in Ancient Tmes
- The Ecliptic is the Path of the Sun
- The End of Twilight
- The Evening and the Morning
- The First Great Division of Time
- The Little "Rings with Wings"
- The Moon Goddesses
- The Moon is Irregular
- The Moon is Linked with the Superstitions
- The Sight of Earthshine
- The Sun was Worshiped as a God
- The Time Has Come…
- The Wrath of Heaven
- Thousands flock to see asteroid pod in Japan
- Time Appears to Be Neglected
- Time Reckoning Methods in Rome
- Universe and Secrets
- We Have Babylon…
- What is the Sun Declination?
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