What's New Under The Sun
Today - Chicagohenge
Thursday, 22 September 2022 20:41
The date is Sep. 22, 2022, the date of the fall equinox. Although this is supposed to be the day of equal day and night, we know it's not exactly correct. We measure daytime from sunrise to sunset, measured as the first and last light from the sun peaking over the horizon. When we include sunrise and sunset plus atmospheric refration, at mid latitudes daylight wins by about 10...
Indiana French Dial Found
Saturday, 27 August 2022 19:06
Smithsonian Collection - Pocket sundial by Bourgaud of Nantes, 1660–1675. (MA.325565)
From the National Museum of American History is an article about "How did a French pocket sundial end up buried in a field in Indiana?" published 20 July 2022 by Kidwell & Schechner.
It started in 1860 when Dr. Elisha Cannon, while plowing a field in Indiana, came...
2022 - Frans Maes
Tuesday, 23 August 2022 14:17
The 2022 Sawyer Dialing Prize went to Frans Maes "for his creation of an introductory course on dialing, built on the idea of supervised self-study; for his successful multi-year running of that course in Europe; and for his inspiration of NASS’ development of a North American version.”
Fred presented Frans with an award certification, the traditional cash prize of $250 and a custom made...
Interview with Sasch Stephens
Tuesday, 09 August 2022 21:32
What makes a sundial? Practically anything. Sasch Stephens discusses how he became interested in dialing. Since then he has turned many objects into solar time devices. It takes some creative thinking to invision how a common object can become a working sundial. One of the most recent projects turned a 54 x 28 foot south side of a building it into a giant sundial...
World's Smallest Sundial Gets a Lot Smaller
Sunday, 12 June 2022 22:00
Dr. Jeremy Robinson, (Naval Research Laboratory, Electronics Science and Technology Division) combined efforts with his father-in-law, Prof. Woodruff Sullivan (Univ. of Washington Dept. of Astronomy) to construct the World's Smallest Sundial. The competition was sponsored by Cadrans Solaires pour Tous and their record is being entered into the Guiness Book of World...
Guiness Record for Smallest Sundial
Saturday, 28 May 2022 17:28
Perhaps the smallest sundial goes to IBM with the printing of a sundial in a corner of a computer chip. However it lacked a gnomon and could not really tell the time. However, Chen Fong-shean, a Taiwanese miniature craftsman, was challenged by the French astronomical society to beat the Guiness World Record for smallest sundial held by an Italian. The Italian dial created in...
British Sundial Society Founder Christopher Daniel Passes
Wednesday, 25 May 2022 14:42
NASS is saddened to report the passing of one of the UK’s pre-eminent sundial designer, Christopher St. J H Daniel who died on May 17, 2022. His works are to be found all over the UK, ranging from private commissions to major public works and to restorations and reconstruction of old and damaged sundials.
After a 13-year career at sea, Christopher Daniel joined the staff of the National...
Germany Observatory Gets Unusual Paint Over
Thursday, 05 May 2022 15:48
Hochshule KaiserLautern Observatory. HSKL Photo
When is an astronomical observatory not an observatory? When it's playing the roll of R2-D2.
According to Atlas Obscura, "A university in Germany [Hochschule KaisersLautern, University of Applied Scieces Kaiserslautern at the Zweibrücken campus] has transformed its hilltop observatory into the charming likeness...
NASS Member Hal Brandmaier Passes
Friday, 29 April 2022 16:12
NASS is saddened to report that longtime member Harold Brandmaier died on April 11, 2022. Throughout his long life, besides his ever-present sundials, Hal enjoyed stained glass, ship models, photography, travel, folk dance, and playing the hammered dulcimer and hand drums – always in company with his beloved wife Ginny. Hal had been a member since NASS founding and stepped in to help...
Eclipse of Sun by Phobos Seen by Perseverance Rover
Friday, 22 April 2022 14:45
On April 2, 2022 the Perseverance Martian rover's Mastcam-Z camera looked sunward and took a video of the eclipse of the sun by the "potato-shaped" moon Phobos.
According the NASA Mars Exploration Program site, "It’s the most zoomed-in, highest-frame-rate observation of a Phobos solar eclipse ever taken from the Martian surface." NASA reports that "Several Mars rovers have observed...
2022 Conference - Nashville
Saturday, 26 February 2022 17:52
The 27th annual meeting of the North American Sundial Society was held at the Holiday Inn – Vanderbilt in Nashville from 11-14 August. The Thursday night social included meeting old friends, exchanging stories about sundials, and for a lucky dozen-plus attendees, receiving sundial books and related door prizes. One of the highlights of Friday’s sundial tour was seeing the symbolic...
Sun Tower Under Construction on Yantai Seacoast
Thursday, 17 February 2022 20:35
According to NewAtlas.com (https://newatlas.com/architecture/sun-tower-open/), construction of the Sun Tower exhibition building and outdoor theater is underway in the Chinese city of Yantai. The tower is being constructed by a French firm, Ducks Sceno and the engineering firm Arup, raising to 50m (164 ft) gracefully into the sky. The tower symbolizes the historic watch towers of...
Territorial Sundial Restored
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Territorial Sundial at Washington State Capitol Campus before Resotration |
John W. Elliot, a Seattle master craftsman designed and executed the Territorial Sundial, a 6-foot dial hand-hammered in brass with a bronze rod gnomon in 1959. (NASS SUndial Registtry #319). But the dial had tarnished with age and weather and the gnomon bent and broken.
As of January 4, 2018, the Territorial Sundial returns to the Washington State Capitol Campus. For the last six months the 59 year old dial went through considerable rennovation. A new gnomon has been crafted as a replica of the original, but with improved attachments. According to "From Our Corner", the Washinfgton Secretary of State Blog, "Repairs have also been made to the face of the sundial, as well as work on the sundial’s base and anchoring system to ensure its face is flat and horizontal...The sundial will now be sturdier than ever with improved durability while maintaining its original historic appearance. [The] Department of Enterprise Services consulted with the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation and the State Arts Commission in deciding to replicate the artwork."
Within the 6-foot dial face "There are eight panels that depict important milestones in our territorial history. The quote by Marcus Aurelius on its display reads, “Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current.” This beautiful dial, now restored as an accurate device more measuring solar time, will be dedicated at noon on Tuesday, January 30th, 2018.
Read more at: https://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2018/01/territorial-sundial-returns-to-capitol-campus/
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Territorial Sundial Installation - January 2018 |
Update your Browser sundials.org Web Link
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You can now reach the NASS website using
http://sundials.org or https://sundials.org
On some web browsers you'll get a notice using http://sundials.org that this is not a secure site. For example on Firefox you get the outline of a lock with a red line through it, and on Microsoft Explore (Windows 10) you'll get a not saying "Not secure sundials.ort" followed by "Your connection to this site isn't secure."
All of that is solved. Switch your web browser link to https://sundials.org All of the menu items and pages remain the same.
Your NASS webmaster.
NASS Website Updated
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As of Feb 8, 2019 the NASS sundials.org website has been upgraded with the latest Content Management System. Users of the website should see little change, as the content and the layout has been maintained. We appreciate all of you who visit this website. Our goal is to engage you into the history, current events, and mathematics of the many different types of sundials that exist across North America. Our sundial registry has nearly one thousand dials. You may easily search the NASS website by using the search feature in the top right-hand column. For example you can type the word "equatorial" and find articles and sundials all related to the equatorial type dial. Or you could type "Boston" to find dials from that city. Welcome to our new Content Management System. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Analemmatic Sundial SourceBook
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 Drawing of Horizontal and Analemmatic Sundial"Analemmatic or Azimuthal Dial"
J.J. de LaLande 1784
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The Analemmatic Sundial SourceBook was first published in 2004, revised in 2014, and now is again available in digital form on CD or by download from the north American Sundial Society. What is it? It is a very comphrehensive reference to the origins, history, and modern evolution of the analemmatic sundial compiled and edited by Fred Sawyer III, President of NASS.
It started with J.L de Vaulezard publishing a small work of 15 pages in 1640 descibing the dial in vague terms, promising to reveal its construction later "if I see that the work has been well received by you...." Four years later de Vaulezard published his "Treatis of the origin, demonstration, construction and usage of the analemmatic dial". A decade later Samuel Foster published "Elliptical or Azimuthal Horologiography" further describing the analemmatic sundial. The SourceBook reprints a facsimile of this and three other of Foster's original works.
The Historical Period includes not only the works of de Vaulezard and Foster but works by Aubri, Tuttell, Richer, Parent, Bion, Lalande, Bedos de Celle, Lambert, Oberreit, Boutereau, Meikle, Perret, Peaucellier, Viala, Lisbonne, Gruey, Marchand, Roguet and Chomard. For over 250 years these authors provide the earliest proof of the analemmatic dial, the introduction of the Foster/Lambert, diametral, and Parent variations, as well as many important historical and theoretical discussions of the analemmatic dial and its properties.
Study of the analemmatic sundial had a revival at the turn of the 20th century and again beginning in 1986 with the publication of "Equator Projection Sundials" by de Rijk. Other articles include R.J. Vinck's "Times of Sunrise and Sunset on the Analemmatic Sundial" further descriptions of seasonal points by Bailey and Sonderegger. Vinck's "The Elliptical, Circular and Linear Dials" detailing of the mathematical foundation of a whole class of azimuthal sundials with examples of strange looking sundials by Sawyer, Olgesby, Gianni, Massé, Sassenburg, Sonderegger, and Rouxel.
Fred Sawyer III has a number of articles within the Analemmatic SourceBook, including "Of Analemmas, Mean Time and the Analemmatic Sundial", "Foster's Diametrical Sundial", and many more.
The Analemmatic Sundial SourceBook provides a rich historical and mathematical account of the Analemmatic Sundial and its modern derivatives. Order yours today by clicking here: NASS Publications Order Form
Open the "Read More" to see the detailed contents
Birkenau - A village with more than 200 Sundials
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Seattle, WA wants to call itself the sundial capital of the world, but it runs a pale second to Birkenau, Germany. This small village in the south of Germany with about 10,000 inhabitants holds the record as the village with the highest density of sundials in the world. (https://www.sonnenuhren-birkenau.de/service-269/news/news-details/world-record-for-the-village-of-sundials.html). You can find sundials everywhere: on homes, in gardens, on the walls of public buildings, and there is even a Sundial Park with 28 dials by Vinzenz Philippi a sundialist from the Saarland region and 5 other dials from other dialists.
The Birkenau Sundial Society offers tours of the village sundials in German or English. If you venture out on your own there are four sundial trails with each dial clearly labeled.The majority of the dials are vertical and easily visible from the street. The second most polular dial is the Equatorial.
For only 2€ you can get the Birkenau sundial cube, a decorated cardboard box with a horizontal sundial on top. https://www.sonnenuhren-birkenau.de/service/kontakt.html The dial's gnomon is a pencil set for Birenau's latitude and longitude (40.5 deg N, 8.7 deg W).
The Birkenau Sundial Society promotes and preserves the historical sundials in Birkenau, constructs new sundials and documents all of them. https://www.sonnenuhren-birkenau.de/sundials-in-birkenau.html
Adler Astronomy Live - Time, Culture, and Social Change
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Every Thursday at noon central time the Adler Planetarium presnts "Adler Astronomy Live" with a variety of interesting topics and speakers.
On Thrsday Oct 8th, 2020 the series presents Dr. Sara Schechner on the topic of Time, Culture, and Social Change. As the Adler website states:
"The Adler Planetarium has the best and most comprehensive collection of sundials in North America. Sundials played a central role in shaping people’s sense of time, and show how the latter has been influenced by their culture, politics, religion, labor, society, and geography throughout the ages. Join us for a conversation with Dr. Sara J. Schechner, author of Time of Our Lives: Sundials of the Adler Planetarium, on some of the most spectacular sundials in the Adler’s collections and their stories. Set a reminder on YouTube"
Dr. Schechner is an engaging speaker with a wealth of experience in historical instruments and has a passion for sundials. Adler has recently published the beautifully illustrated book Time of Our Lives: Sundials of the Adler Planetarium. The North American Sundial Society helped underwrite the production of this book, nearly a decade in the making.
To hear the presentation live or in recording after the event, go directly the Adler's YouTube channel to find the presentation at: https://www.youtube.com/adlerplanetarium
Twilight of Sundials?
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It's rare that a sundialist casts a shadow on UK education, but that's exactly what Dr. Frank King did the other day in a BBC interview (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-47133011). Dr. King, a Fellow in Computer Science at Churchill College, has long been intrigued with time remarking to the BBC in an interview, "Anything from atomic clocks to the most ancient of sundials I can tell you about." He is Keeper of the Clock, responsible for Cambridge University's official timepiece on Great St. Mary's Church. But the number of people interested in sundials is on the wane. As president of the British Sundial Society,(a group like the North American Sundial Society who all truly enjoy time systems and the anciernt and beautiful art of designing sundials) Dr. King notes with sadness that the number of people who "really understand" the science behind sundials "are few and far between..... There seems to be no teaching of spherical triangles, and very little teaching of solid geometry. How many school leavers have heard of Euclid?"
Some could argue that who needs sundials in this age of digital watches, GPS navigation, and fit-bit monitors? The UK Register reports that "[Dr.] King would likely be deeply saddened to know, then, that there are people of adult age out there incapable of reading analogue clocks." But for those interested in promoting STEM in schools and getting students excited in something beyond designing a video game, the study of sundials offers a wonderful perspective. As stated by the BBC, "Dr. King strongly believes the sundial - 'the perfect collaboration of science and art' - has a place in the digital age. But he is concerned that the skills needed to create them may dwindle, and believes education could play a greater role."
The development of an aethetically pleasing sundial involves using digital computer aided design tools that sometimes significantly altering classic designs. Sundials requires artisan skill and craft for the selection of materials, casting, engraving and even 3D printing of dials. A sense of artistic proportion is needed to create pleasing embellishments that still remain true to the underlying mathematics that convey acurate time. Artist, sculpture, craftsman, geometer, mathematician, computer programmer, engraver and metal worker are but a few of the talents encompassing the talents of a dialist.
Read more at:
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/02/18/sundials_dying_out_and_millennials_are_to_blame/
Roll-Top Ribbon Cutting
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Amid the rain and cloudy skies, on Saturday October 1st, 2016, a ribbon-cutting ceremony officially opened the Roll-Top Observatory at Observatory Park, Turner Farm in Great Falls, VA. Tim Hackman, Dranesville District representative of the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) Board, introduced all those who made the Roll-Top observatory possible through public-community-and-private funding. Initiated in 2007 in collaboration with the Analemma Society, the million-dollar facility was funded in part by the 2008 and 2012 Park Bonds, telecommunications funds, Mastenbrook grant money and a donation provided by Jean and Rick Edelman through the Fairfax County Park Foundation.
Ground breaking for Roll-Top began in 2014 and over the next two years the Roll-Top Observatory design by architects Shaffer Wilson Sarver & Gray of Herndon, VA, was carried out by the construction company Brown and Root of Arlington, VA.
Sundial Outreach Success
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This year nearly 300,000 students, parents and teachers attended the 3rd USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington DC during 25-27 April 2014. The Analemma Society and the North American Sundial Society jointly featured a very successful booth to encourage science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through sundials. The Analemma Society and NASS were among hundreds of exhibits from universities, scientific organizations, government agencies, and companies in the defense and educational industries.
Volunteers from the Analemma Society and NASS demonstrated a number of sundial types and provided paper sundial cut-outs that were enjoyed by children, students, parents and teachers alike. They handed out over 1400 of the sundial cut-outs, with the classic horizontal sundial and Briggs polar dial being the most popular. Especially important were the numerous contacts made with teachers who will now enhance their science classes with sundials.
Volunteers from the Analemma Society and NASS who made this outreach possible were Ken Clark, Jeff Kretsch, Bob Kellogg and Dru Anne Neil. They did a terrific job explaining that indeed, sundials are the world’s oldest clocks.
In the photo at left NASS member Ken Clark and Analemma Society member Jeff Kretsch show how sundials work while you dialists cut out their sundials.