Cultures of Astronomy Marc K Stengel 1 1022020
- Slides: 26
Cultures of Astronomy Marc K Stengel 1 10/2/2020
Paradise Lost (really? ) Some say, he bid his angels turn askance The poles of earth, twice ten degrees and more From the sun’s axle, they with labour pushed Oblique the centric globe: some say, the sun Was bid turn reins from the equinoctial road… [Milton, Book 10] 2 10/2/2020
Daring to know all …But for every myth told, there is another, Unnameable, that is not told, another Which beckons from the shadows, Surfacing only through allusions, Fragments, coincidences, with nobody ever Daring to tell all in a single story. The Marriage of Cadmus & Harmony, Roberto Calasso 3 10/2/2020
What’s in sight? l Sun – solar sights l Moon – lunar sights l Stars – sidereal sights l Planets – flaunting, wandering sights l Poles – revolving, precessing sights 4 10/2/2020
Sunshines: Ecliptic versus Equator 5 10/2/2020
Ecliptic and Seasons 6 10/2/2020
The Longer Day 7 10/2/2020
The Shorter Day 8 10/2/2020
Moonshines: Feel It In Thy Bones Engraved bone from Ishango, Congo, circa 6, 500 BCE (three faces) 9 10/2/2020
Sidereal versus Synodic Months 10 10/2/2020
The Days are Numbered l Tropical Year – 365. 2422 days l Sidereal Year – 365. 2564 days l Synodic Lunar Month – 29. 53 days l Sidereal Lunar Month – 27. 32 days l Lunations – 12. 368 full moons per year l Metonic Cycle – 235 lunations in 19. 0002 years 11 10/2/2020
Pattern-Shopping l Solar “counts” – 4, 6, 12, 30, 365 l Lunar “counts” – 4, 7, 13, 28, 52, 364 l “All at sixes and sevens” l “A year and a day” l “ 52 -card pick-’em-up”: 4 suits; 13 cards per suit; 91 ‘pips’ per suit for 364 ‘pips’ per deck and the Joker 12 10/2/2020
Oh, by the way… l Out of the first 12 integers, 10 are factors of 360 l Only 7 and 11 are excluded; but… l 11/7 = 1/2 of P (or circumference of a semi-circle with diameter-unit of 1) l In isoceles triangle of base 11, altitude 7: two bottom angles = 51° 50’ 34” l Angle of elevation for sides of the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) = 51° 50’ 40” l Latitude of Stonehenge = 51° 10’ 44” 13 10/2/2020
Thorny Issue: The Briar Rose l The Queen has a little girl; the King holds a feast l There are 13 fairies in the Kingdom, but the King has only 12 golden plates for them l Curse of 13: Princess pricks finger in 15 th year and swoons – “It shall not be death but a deep sleep” l Briar hedge surrounds and obscures castle l Prince forces the hedge, kisses the Princess; splendor returns to the Kingdom 14 10/2/2020
Stars in their eyes • Pisces, Aries, Taurus • Gemini, Cancer, Leo • Virgo, Libra, Scorpius • Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius 15 10/2/2020
Where does the time go? • 1 day = 360° = 24 hours • 1/2 -day = 180° = 12 hours • 1 month = 30° • 1 hour = 15° • 1° = 4 minutes 16 10/2/2020
The Shape of Time – Here 17 10/2/2020
The Shape of Time – There Station Stone Rectangle at Stonehenge N 51° 10′ 44″; W 1° 49′ 34″ 18 10/2/2020
Ways of the Week 19 10/2/2020
Morning Starlets Autumnal Equinox 1737 before sunrise Astarte, Ishtar, Tanit… “Her emblems were the moon and the morning and evening stars” 20 10/2/2020
Evening Starlets …Aphrodite, Venus, Freya Vernal Equinox 1825 before sunset 21 10/2/2020
Before…You Know It 22 10/2/2020
Unsteady as She Goes 23 10/2/2020
When Was When? Vernal Equinox’s Timetable Through the Zodiac • Virgo 12, 000 CE - 15, 300 CE • Libra 10, 300 CE - 12, 000 CE • Scorpius/Ophiuchus 8, 600 CE - 10, 300 CE • Sagittarius 6, 300 CE - 8, 600 CE • Capricornus 4, 400 CE - 6, 300 CE • Aquarius 2, 700 CE - 4, 400 CE • Pisces 100 BCE - 2, 700 BCE • Aries 2, 000 BCE - 100 BCE • Taurus 4, 500 BCE - 2, 000 BCE • Gemini 6, 600 BCE - 4, 500 BCE • Cancer 8, 100 BCE - 6, 600 BCE 24 10/2/2020
So, What’ll it Be? – Phanes Reveal, dis-cover – Make visible, manifest – phantom, apparition 25 10/2/2020
Will Wonders Never Cease? 26 10/2/2020
