SOAR: the Sky in Motion Y

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

SOAR: the Sky in Motion Y SOAR: The Sky in Motion Life on the Tilted Teacup Ride The Day in all its Glory: The Analemma Aileen A. O’Donoghue Priest Associate Professor of Physics Kiva December 1997 – October 27, 2009 Celestial Coordinates Right Ascension NCP à RA or α à From prime meridian (0h) to 23h59m59s Eastward Declination E à Dec or δ à From celestial equator (0º ) to SCP poles N & S 90º Tilted Sky Observers see sky “tilted” due to latitude To NCP To Celestial We see Equator To NCP enith ourselves ZZ “on top” of the Earth, beneath the sky. So we see λ sky motions Observer ’s Latitude tilted Standard Clock Time It’s 6 pm Every Longi tud e at s()(lisunsetgh tl y). different time It’s 9 pm. It’ s 3 pm. It’s It’s midnight. noon. It’s 3 am. It’s 9 am. It’s 6 am (sunrise). The Ecliptic (path of the sun) View from Earth àSun move s ~1º/day eastward across stars àSun moves north and south in dliideclination à Solstices & EiEquinoxes are positions in the sky. This motion is through the YEAR! Moon Phase is lit moon visible Insert is moon as see from Earth Moon Phases New Moon: Elongation = 0° (angle from sun to moon) à Waxing Phases: visible after sunset d Waxing Crescent: 0° < Elongation < 90° E d First Quarter: Elongation = 90° E d Waxing Gibbous: 90° E < Elongation < 180° Full Moon: Elongation = 180° 1st QUARTER transit WAXING WAXING GIBBOUS CRESCENT eastern western sky sky Observer’s meridian Elongation = Angle from Sun FULL NEW SUN rising south setting SETTING Moon Phases Full Moon: Elongation = 180° à Waning Phases: visible before sunrise d Wani ng Gi bbous: 90° W < ElongatElongatonion < 180° d Third Quarter: Elongation = 90° W d Waning Crescent: 0° < Elongation < 90° W New Moon: Elongation = 0° 3rd QUARTER transit WANING WANING CRESCENT GIBBOUS eastern sky western sky Observer’s meridian Elongation = NEW SUN Angle from Sun Full RISING rising south setting Fun with Time & Phase 1st quarter DiDetermine riiising, waxing waxing 6pm transit and gibbous crescent Transiting 9pm setting times of Moon 3pm Setting Observer’s Above Moon to each phase Time West Above Time is the one full mdnt noon new above the Rising Earth Moon to rotation ob’bserver’s hd!head! East 3am 9am waning gibbous 6am waning crescent 3rd quarter Question 1st quarter An observer sees waxing waxing 6pm the moon rise at gibbous crescent midnight. 9pm 3pm What phase is it? full mdnt noon new Observer’s a) First Quarter Time Above b) Full Moon rd Rising c) 3 Quarter Moon to 3am 9am waning East gibbous 6am waning crescent 3rd quarter Time Clock Time à the position of the mean sun at TZ center d eggp. 12 pm = transit of mean sun ( (gavg. of analemma) à Mean Solar Day = 24:00:00 (hours:min:sec of time) Solar Time à the position of the sun wrt the observer eg. Noon = sun transits à SlSolar Day varies as shown by analemma Sidereal Time à the position of E wrt the observer d eg. 0h Local Sidereal Time (LST) = E transits d Sidereal time = R.A. on the meridian à Sidereal Day = 23:56:00 The Sidereal Day Sidereal Day: 360° rotation puts star back on meridian ~1° along orbit The Solar Day Solar Day: 361° rotation puts sun back on meridian ~1° ~1° along orbit The Sun at Noon Noon ⇒ Sun on meridian Sun’s position varies: the Analemma 6/25/07 5/26/07 7/30/07 4/26/07 8/29/06 3/27/07 9/28/06 2/27/07 10/28/06 1/26/07 11/27/06 12/27/06 The Sun at Noon Noon ⇒ Sun on meridian Sun’s position varies: the Analemma The Analemma Position of true sun at clock noon à Clock Noon 6/25/07 5/26/07 Mean Sun d 12:00 pm in a 24:00:00 day 7/30/07 d Position of Mean Sun 4/26/07 8/29/06 at noon 3/27/07 à True Sun’s Position 9/28/06 d varies due to Sun’s 2/27/07 10/28/06 speed along path 1/26/07 11/27/06 E varies due to elliptical path 12/27/06 E varies due to tilted path True sun East True sun West of mean sun of mean sun Mean Sun & True Sun Mean sun on meridian defines clock noon True sun on meridian defines solar noon 6/25/07 5/26/07 Mean Sun 7/30/07 4/26/07 True sun 8/29/06 True sun East of West of 3/27/07 mean sun: 9/28/06 mean sun: Solar Solar 2/27/07 noon is 10/28/06 noon is 1/26/07 late 11/27/06 early “sun slow” 12/27/06 “sun fast” The Calendar The Year à Tropical (equinox to equinox) = 365.242190 d à Sidereal (star to star) = 365.256363 d à Anomalistic (perigee to perigee) = 365.259635 d à Lunar (node to node) = 346.620076 d Julian Calendar (45 BCE) = 365.25 d à Add 1 day every four years d 365.25 – 365.24219 = 0.00781 days/year too many ⇒ Extra day every 128 years The Calendar Gregori an Cal end ar (1582) = 365.2425 d à Council of Trent: want E on March 21 d as it was during Council of Nicaea in 325 CE d Easter is 1st Sunday after 15th day of moon after E E Moon phases tabulated, not observed! à 325 to 1582 (1257 years), 9.8 days ahead d Drop 10 day s: 10/15/1582 foll owed 10/4/1582 E American Colonies 9/14/1752 followed 9/2/1752 J George Washington born 2/22/1732, 2/11/1732 OS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates à Century years divisible by 400 have leap days d 1600, 2000 had leap days, 1700, 1800, 1900 did not Doing the Math Adidoption of the Gregori an CldCalendar Leap year for Julian Leap year Leap year for Julian for Julian Leap year Leap year for all for all Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped 10 days 11 days 12 days 13 days Doing the Math Old Style & New Style dates Marriage certificate from Warsaw (then in Russia) Marriage Dated 3/16/1907 Certificate Dated Nov/Dec 23/6 Doing the Math Mean Sun à Projection of sun onto Celestial Equator d moves 360° in one year (365.242191 days) 360D v = = 0.985647356 D day Mean Sun 365.242191 days True Sun True Sun on Ecliptic à speed varies due to d S’Sun’s chihanging DlitiDeclination d Elliptical orbit Mean Sun on Celestial Equator Speed Variation Due to Tilt Analogy: Aiilrplanes on EhEarth à Both fly at same speed (mph) Airplane at high Airplane at angle latitude covers more covers fewer degrees of longitude. degrees of longitude. Speed Variation Due to Tilt 10° along Ecliptic (motion of true sun in 10 days) 10° along Ecliptic ((imotion of true sun in 10 d)days) 10° along Celestial Equator 10° along Celestial Equator (motion of mean sun in 10 days) (motion of mean sun in 10 days) Speed Variation Due to Tilt 10° along Ecliptic At equinoxes (motion of true sun in 10 days) true sun moves <1° each day ⇒ true sun falls behind mean sun ≈ 12° in right ascension (motion of true sun in sky) 10° along Ecliptic At solsti ces, ((imotion of true sun in 10 d)days) true sun moves > 1° each day ⇒ true sun gets ahead of mean sun ≈ 9° in right ascension (ti(motion of true sun in sk)ky) 10° along Celestial Equator 10° along Celestial Equator (motion of mean sun in 10 days) (motion of mean sun in 10 days) True Sun Speed Variation Solilstices à True sun and mean sun aligned, but … à True sun getting ahead of mean at maximum rate Equinoxes à True sun and mean sun aligned, but à True sun getting behind mean at maximum rate Cross-Quarter Days à Between solstices & equinoxes à True sun farthest from mean à Switching between getting ahead & behind Cross Quarter Days Days ½ way between sollistices & equinoxes à Beltane ~May 1 d ½ way from Vernal Equinox to Summer Solstice à Lughnasa ~ August 2 d ½ way from Summer Solstice to Autumnal Equinox à All Hallows (Samhain) ~November 1 d ½ way from Autumnal Equinox to Winter Solstice à Candlemas (Imbolc) ~ February 2 d ½ way from Wint er So ls tice to Verna l Equ inox If Candlemas Dayyg be fair and bright, If Candlemas Dayyp be damp & black, It Winter will have another flight will carry cold winter away on its back. Speed Variation Due to Tilt Solstices & Equinoxes (June & December) à mean and true sun align, fastest rate of change Cross-Quarter Days à maximum separation of mean and true sun à switchinggg direction of change 3 True sun fthstfarthest west 2 (early, fast) 1 Mean sun 0 & true sun 12/22 3/22 6/20 9/18 12/17 aligned -1 -2 True sun farthest east -3 (late, slow) Speed Variation Due to Tilt 3 Maximum rate of change at solstices & equinoxes 2 1 0 12/22 3/22 6/20 9/18 12/17 Maximum difference at cross-quarter days -1 (direction of change switc hes ) -2 -3 Tilt Analemma 70 PiiPosition of true sun 65 through the year for Earth in a circular 60 orbit. 55 50 3 True sun west of mean sun 45 est 2 ast EE 40 WW 1 35 0 12/22 3/22 6/20 9/18 12/17 -1 30 -2 25 -3 True sun east of mean sun 20 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 Tilt Analemma 70 PiiPosition of true sun 65 through the year for Earth in a circular 60 orbit.
Recommended publications
  • Understanding Handwriting, Abbreviations, Dates and More Dan Poffenberger, AG® British Research Specialist ~ Family History Library [email protected]
    Understanding Handwriting, Abbreviations, Dates and More Dan Poffenberger, AG® British Research Specialist ~ Family History Library [email protected] Introduction Searching English records can be daunting enough when you are simply worrying about the time period, content and availability of records. A dive into a variety of records may leave you perplexed when you consider the handwriting styles, Latin, numbering systems, calendar changes, and variety of jurisdictions, record formats and abbreviations that may be found in the records. Objectives The objective of this course is to help you better understand: • Handwriting and Abbreviations • Latin • Numbers and Money • Calendars, Dates, Days, Years • Church of England Church Records Organization and Jurisdictions • Relationships Handwriting and Abbreviations Understanding the handwriting is the most important aspect to understanding older English records. If you can’t read it, you’re going to have a very hard time understanding it. While the term ‘modern English’ applies to any writing style after medieval times (late 1400’s), it won’t seem like it when you try reading some of it. More than 90% of your research will involve one of two primary English writing scripts or ‘hands’. These are ‘Secretary hand’ which was primarily in use from about 1525 to the mid-1600’s. Another handwriting style in use during that time was ‘Humanistic hand’ which more resembles our more modern English script. As secretary and humanistic hand came together in the mid-1600’s, English ‘round hand’ or ‘mixed hand’ became the common style and is very similar to handwriting styles in the 1900’s. But of course, who writes anymore? Round or Mixed Hand Starting with the more recent handwriting styles, a few of the notable differences in our modern hand are noted here: ‘d’ – “Eden” ‘f’ - “of” ‘p’ - “Baptized’ ss’ – “Edward Hussey” ‘u’ and ‘v’ – become like the ‘u’ and ‘v’ we know today.
    [Show full text]
  • Unity in Diversity, Volume 2
    Unity in Diversity, Volume 2 Unity in Diversity, Volume 2: Cultural and Linguistic Markers of the Concept Edited by Sabine Asmus and Barbara Braid Unity in Diversity, Volume 2: Cultural and Linguistic Markers of the Concept Edited by Sabine Asmus and Barbara Braid This book first published 2014 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2014 by Sabine Asmus, Barbara Braid and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-5700-9, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-5700-0 CONTENTS Introduction .............................................................................................. vii Cultural and Linguistic Markers of the Concept of Unity in Diversity Sabine Asmus Part I: Cultural Markers Chapter One ................................................................................................ 3 Questions of Identity in Contemporary Ireland and Spain Cormac Anderson Chapter Two ............................................................................................. 27 Scottish Whisky Revisited Uwe Zagratzki Chapter Three ........................................................................................... 39 Welsh
    [Show full text]
  • Equatorial and Cartesian Coordinates • Consider the Unit Sphere (“Unit”: I.E
    Coordinate Transforms Equatorial and Cartesian Coordinates • Consider the unit sphere (“unit”: i.e. declination the distance from the center of the (δ) sphere to its surface is r = 1) • Then the equatorial coordinates Equator can be transformed into Cartesian coordinates: right ascension (α) – x = cos(α) cos(δ) – y = sin(α) cos(δ) z x – z = sin(δ) y • It can be much easier to use Cartesian coordinates for some manipulations of geometry in the sky Equatorial and Cartesian Coordinates • Consider the unit sphere (“unit”: i.e. the distance y x = Rcosα from the center of the y = Rsinα α R sphere to its surface is r = 1) x Right • Then the equatorial Ascension (α) coordinates can be transformed into Cartesian coordinates: declination (δ) – x = cos(α)cos(δ) z r = 1 – y = sin(α)cos(δ) δ R = rcosδ R – z = sin(δ) z = rsinδ Precession • Because the Earth is not a perfect sphere, it wobbles as it spins around its axis • This effect is known as precession • The equatorial coordinate system relies on the idea that the Earth rotates such that only Right Ascension, and not declination, is a time-dependent coordinate The effects of Precession • Currently, the star Polaris is the North Star (it lies roughly above the Earth’s North Pole at δ = 90oN) • But, over the course of about 26,000 years a variety of different points in the sky will truly be at δ = 90oN • The declination coordinate is time-dependent albeit on very long timescales • A precise astronomical coordinate system must account for this effect Equatorial coordinates and equinoxes • To account
    [Show full text]
  • W.I.S.E. Words 1983 2018
    W.I.S.E. words The Newsletter of W.I.S.E. Family History Society Wales – Ireland – Scotland - england Volume 19, Number 4 Denver, Colorado October, November, December 2018 Celebrating 35 Years W.I.S.E. is 35—What Will the Next 35 Years Bring? Volume 19 began with a 35th Anniversary article, and it’s fitting to close with one as well. For the past year I’ve had the opportunity to assemble and peruse 1,090 pages of W.I.S.E. Words and have gleaned these nuggets from our history. Because of the breadth of information contained in over a thousand pages, I concentrated on reading through the Presidents’ messages through the years. One common theme was a smorgasbord of excellent programs through the years, which has allowed our society to fulfill its mission of fostering interest in the Genealogy and Family History of the British Isles, increasing the educational opportunities and knowledge of the society members and the general public, publishing W.I.S.E. Words, and supporting the Denver Public Library with the donation of at least 155 books. Commenting on the quality of the programs, then President James Jeffrey posed the question in 2006, “How many other North American British Isles groups can lay claim to having hosted the President of the Guild of One-Name Studies, first Vice President of the Federation of Family History Societies, Pres- ident of the Federation, and the founder of the Ulster-Scots History and Heritage Soci- ety?” (W.I.S.E. Words, Volume 7, Number 2, April May June 2006, page 16).
    [Show full text]
  • Vestiges of Midsummer Ritual in Motets for John the Baptist
    Early Music History (2011) Volume 30. Cambridge University Press doi:10.1017/S0261127911000027 M A A Email: [email protected] FIRE, FOLIAGE AND FURY: VESTIGES OF MIDSUMMER RITUAL IN MOTETS FOR JOHN THE BAPTIST The thirteenth-century motet repertory has been understood on a wide spectrum, with recent scholarship amplifying the relationship between the liturgical tenors and the commentary in the upper voices. This study examines a family of motets based on the tenors IOHANNE and MULIERUM from the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist (24 June). Several texts within this motet family make references to well-known traditions associated with the pagan festival of Midsummer, the celebration of the summer solstice. Allusions to popular solstitial practices including the lighting of bonfires and the public criticism of authority, in addition to the cultural awareness of the sun’s power on this day, conspicuously surface in these motets, particularly when viewed through the lens of the tenor. The study suggests the further obfuscation of sacred and secular poles in the motet through attentiveness to images of popular, pre-Christian rituals that survive in these polyphonic works. In the northern French village of Jumièges from the late Middle Ages to the middle of the nineteenth century, a peculiar fraternal ritual took place. Each year on the evening of the twenty-third of June, the Brotherhood of the Green Wolf chose its new chief. Arrayed in a brimless green hat in the shape of a cone, the elected master led the men to a priest and choir; Portions of this study were read at the Medieval and Renaissance Conference at the Institut für Musikwissenschaft, University of Vienna, 8–11 August 2007 and at the University of Chicago’s Medieval Workshop on 19 May 2006.
    [Show full text]
  • 3.- the Geographic Position of a Celestial Body
    Chapter 3 Copyright © 1997-2004 Henning Umland All Rights Reserved Geographic Position and Time Geographic terms In celestial navigation, the earth is regarded as a sphere. Although this is an approximation, the geometry of the sphere is applied successfully, and the errors caused by the flattening of the earth are usually negligible (chapter 9). A circle on the surface of the earth whose plane passes through the center of the earth is called a great circle . Thus, a great circle has the greatest possible diameter of all circles on the surface of the earth. Any circle on the surface of the earth whose plane does not pass through the earth's center is called a small circle . The equator is the only great circle whose plane is perpendicular to the polar axis , the axis of rotation. Further, the equator is the only parallel of latitude being a great circle. Any other parallel of latitude is a small circle whose plane is parallel to the plane of the equator. A meridian is a great circle going through the geographic poles , the points where the polar axis intersects the earth's surface. The upper branch of a meridian is the half from pole to pole passing through a given point, e. g., the observer's position. The lower branch is the opposite half. The Greenwich meridian , the meridian passing through the center of the transit instrument at the Royal Greenwich Observatory , was adopted as the prime meridian at the International Meridian Conference in 1884. Its upper branch is the reference for measuring longitudes (0°...+180° east and 0°...–180° west), its lower branch (180°) is the basis for the International Dateline (Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 the Equatorial Coordinate System
    General Astronomy (29:61) Fall 2013 Lecture 3 Notes , August 30, 2013 1 The Equatorial Coordinate System We can define a coordinate system fixed with respect to the stars. Just like we can specify the latitude and longitude of a place on Earth, we can specify the coordinates of a star relative to a coordinate system fixed with respect to the stars. Look at Figure 1.5 of the textbook for a definition of this coordinate system. The Equatorial Coordinate System is similar in concept to longitude and latitude. • Right Ascension ! longitude. The symbol for Right Ascension is α. The units of Right Ascension are hours, minutes, and seconds, just like time • Declination ! latitude. The symbol for Declination is δ. Declination = 0◦ cor- responds to the Celestial Equator, δ = 90◦ corresponds to the North Celestial Pole. Let's look at the Equatorial Coordinates of some objects you should have seen last night. • Arcturus: RA= 14h16m, Dec= +19◦110 (see Appendix A) • Vega: RA= 18h37m, Dec= +38◦470 (see Appendix A) • Venus: RA= 13h02m, Dec= −6◦370 • Saturn: RA= 14h21m, Dec= −11◦410 −! Hand out SC1 charts. Find these objects on them. Now find the constellation of Orion, and read off the Right Ascension and Decli- nation of the middle star in the belt. Next week in lab, you will have the chance to use the computer program Stellar- ium to display the sky and find coordinates of objects (stars, planets). 1.1 Further Remarks on the Equatorial Coordinate System The Equatorial Coordinate System is fundamentally established by the rotation axis of the Earth.
    [Show full text]
  • 2 Coordinate Systems
    2 Coordinate systems In order to find something one needs a system of coordinates. For determining the positions of the stars and planets where the distance to the object often is unknown it usually suffices to use two coordinates. On the other hand, since the Earth rotates around it’s own axis as well as around the Sun the positions of stars and planets is continually changing, and the measurment of when an object is in a certain place is as important as deciding where it is. Our first task is to decide on a coordinate system and the position of 1. The origin. E.g. one’s own location, the center of the Earth, the, the center of the Solar System, the Galaxy, etc. 2. The fundamental plan (x−y plane). This is often a plane of some physical significance such as the horizon, the equator, or the ecliptic. 3. Decide on the direction of the positive x-axis, also known as the “reference direction”. 4. And, finally, on a convention of signs of the y− and z− axes, i.e whether to use a left-handed or right-handed coordinate system. For example Eratosthenes of Cyrene (c. 276 BC c. 195 BC) was a Greek mathematician, elegiac poet, athlete, geographer, astronomer, and music theo- rist who invented a system of latitude and longitude. (According to Wikipedia he was also the first person to use the word geography and invented the disci- pline of geography as we understand it.). The origin of this coordinate system was the center of the Earth and the fundamental plane was the equator, which location Eratosthenes calculated relative to the parts of the Earth known to him.
    [Show full text]
  • Celestial Coordinate Systems
    Celestial Coordinate Systems Craig Lage Department of Physics, New York University, [email protected] January 6, 2014 1 Introduction This document reviews briefly some of the key ideas that you will need to understand in order to identify and locate objects in the sky. It is intended to serve as a reference document. 2 Angular Basics When we view objects in the sky, distance is difficult to determine, and generally we can only indicate their direction. For this reason, angles are critical in astronomy, and we use angular measures to locate objects and define the distance between objects. Angles are measured in a number of different ways in astronomy, and you need to become familiar with the different notations and comfortable converting between them. A basic angle is shown in Figure 1. θ Figure 1: A basic angle, θ. We review some angle basics. We normally use two primary measures of angles, degrees and radians. In astronomy, we also sometimes use time as a measure of angles, as we will discuss later. A radian is a dimensionless measure equal to the length of the circular arc enclosed by the angle divided by the radius of the circle. A full circle is thus equal to 2π radians. A degree is an arbitrary measure, where a full circle is defined to be equal to 360◦. When using degrees, we also have two different conventions, to divide one degree into decimal degrees, or alternatively to divide it into 60 minutes, each of which is divided into 60 seconds. These are also referred to as minutes of arc or seconds of arc so as not to confuse them with minutes of time and seconds of time.
    [Show full text]
  • Positional Astronomy Coordinate Systems
    Positional Astronomy Observational Astronomy 2019 Part 2 Prof. S.C. Trager Coordinate systems We need to know where the astronomical objects we want to study are located in order to study them! We need a system (well, many systems!) to describe the positions of astronomical objects. The Celestial Sphere First we need the concept of the celestial sphere. It would be nice if we knew the distance to every object we’re interested in — but we don’t. And it’s actually unnecessary in order to observe them! The Celestial Sphere Instead, we assume that all astronomical sources are infinitely far away and live on the surface of a sphere at infinite distance. This is the celestial sphere. If we define a coordinate system on this sphere, we know where to point! Furthermore, stars (and galaxies) move with respect to each other. The motion normal to the line of sight — i.e., on the celestial sphere — is called proper motion (which we’ll return to shortly) Astronomical coordinate systems A bit of terminology: great circle: a circle on the surface of a sphere intercepting a plane that intersects the origin of the sphere i.e., any circle on the surface of a sphere that divides that sphere into two equal hemispheres Horizon coordinates A natural coordinate system for an Earth- bound observer is the “horizon” or “Alt-Az” coordinate system The great circle of the horizon projected on the celestial sphere is the equator of this system. Horizon coordinates Altitude (or elevation) is the angle from the horizon up to our object — the zenith, the point directly above the observer, is at +90º Horizon coordinates We need another coordinate: define a great circle perpendicular to the equator (horizon) passing through the zenith and, for convenience, due north This line of constant longitude is called a meridian Horizon coordinates The azimuth is the angle measured along the horizon from north towards east to the great circle that intercepts our object (star) and the zenith.
    [Show full text]
  • Exercise 1.0 the CELESTIAL EQUATORIAL COORDINATE
    Exercise 1.0 THE CELESTIAL EQUATORIAL COORDINATE SYSTEM Equipment needed: A celestial globe showing positions of bright stars. I. Introduction There are several different ways of representing the appearance of the sky or describing the locations of objects we see in the sky. One way is to imagine that every object in the sky is located on a very large and distant sphere called the celestial sphere . This imaginary sphere has its center at the center of the Earth. Since the radius of the Earth is very small compared to the radius of the celestial sphere, we can imagine that this sphere is also centered on any person or observer standing on the Earth's surface. Every celestial object (e.g., a star or planet) has a definite location in the sky with respect to some arbitrary reference point. Once defined, such a reference point can be used as the origin of a celestial coordinate system. There is an astronomically important point in the sky called the vernal equinox , which astronomers use as the origin of such a celestial coordinate system . The meaning and significance of the vernal equinox will be discussed later. In an analogous way, we represent the surface of the Earth by a globe or sphere. Locations on the geographic sphere are specified by the coordinates called longitude and latitude . The origin for this geographic coordinate system is the point where the Prime Meridian and the Geographic Equator intersect. This is a point located off the coast of west-central Africa. To specify a location on a sphere, the coordinates must be angles, since a sphere has a curved surface.
    [Show full text]
  • Varro's Roman Seasons
    HAL, Submitted 30 November 2019 Varro's Roman Seasons A. C. Sparavigna1 1 Dipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy The four seasons of the Roman calendar, as described by Marcus Terentius Varro, are different from our seasons, in the sense that they start on days which differ from those that we are using today. In his Books on Agriculture, Varro shows that the Roman seasons started on the Cross Quarter-days instead than on the Quarter-days of the year as it happens today. Besides the classic subdivision in four parts, in the Books on Agriculture we can also find the year divided into eight parts, that is eight seasons having quite different lengths. In our discussion of Varro's seasons we will compare the days he mentions for the separation of seasons to the Cross Quarter- and Quarter-days that we find in Celtic calendars. Keywords: Chronology, Roman Chronology, Julian Calendar, Celtic festivals. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.3559524 Marcus Terentius Varro (116 - 27 BC) was a Roman scholar and writer. In his political career, he became tribune of the people, quaestor and curule aedile. Supporting Pompey, Varro reached the office of praetor [1,2]. He was also one of the members of the commission that carried out the agrarian plan of Julius Caesar for the resettlement of Capua and Campania (59 BC) [2]. During the civil war, Varro commanded one of Pompey's armies in Spain. After the battle of Pharsalus, he reconciled with Julius Caesar, and Caesar appointed him to oversee the public library of Rome [1].
    [Show full text]