Solar Sightings

“(The Sun-Wheel) says something , not about their hands, but about their heads. I don’t think we should be surprised that early man, thousands of years ago, was intelligent. Evolution works very, very slowly. And our mind is much the same as the mind he carried around in his skull.”

Dr. John Eddy

“I thought about astronomically aligned buildings as observatories where specialized astronomers would practice their craft. Now, as I understand more about ancient cultures, I realize that it’s probably the ritual aspect of these buildings that is more important… theaters in which one tries to set the stage for the coming of the sky gods, so that when they appear, then we can conduct our rituals and we can pay our debt to the gods and we can know and be sure that the world won’t be destroyed. The ancient astronomy was driven by religion.”

Dr. Anthony Aveni

To the ancient…

…Indians of America’s plains , as to agricultural people throughout history, the changing position of the sun, stars, and planets were crucial indicators of planting and harvesting times and other seasonal events. Prehistoric stone monuments around the world, including Stonehenge, Medicine Wheel in Wyoming, and a monumental building in Mexico are all thought to be related to celestial observations.

It is clear..

…that in order to build these astronomical observatories, these early people must have kept records of the stars. Their discovery of the regularity of the seasons demonstrates that they were capable of the same patience and careful observations that modern science requires.

Such environmental awareness…

…is generally lacking in this modern age. Every animal and plant makes accommodations to the seasonal patterns of the sun. Indirectly, we may be aware of the natural rhythm of the sun on a stretch of highway we drive daily.

We describe the …

…passage of the year with references to the weather or with comments about the look of the foliage but for most of us, we mark time on devices that we wear on our wrist or watch hanging on our walls. Let’s see the measure of time in a new light by looking at the sun through the eyes of our ancestors.

When we stand beneath…

the great dome in the sky, we enjoy a panoramic view from side to side and from the ground to the top of the sky. To see the sky behind us, we need to turn around and face the opposite direction.

The panoramic horizon curves around us. To draw this view on a flat sheet of paper requires us to make this mental transition.

Four key days….

of solar backyard observing will be shown ….

as seen in a panoramic view facing south ….

and from “outside” the heavenly dome.

Often we hear that ….

the June Solstice is the “longest” day of the year. It may be better said that this is the day with the most hours of daylight.

It is also recognized as the first day of summer even though summer-like weather arrived weeks earlier.

The seasons in this study…

involve special backyard turning points for the sun that we can observe and special backyard coordinates we can plot on our sky charts.

The sun is the most dominant factor controlling weather but other factors contribute to daily conditions of the atmosphere we experience.

A noon shadow observed in Minnesota would display this yearly pattern.

At sunset an observer would see this yearly pattern…

The annual records reveal…

the seasons defined by the sun are of unequal length.

December Solstice to March Equinox – 89 days

March Equinox to June Solstice – 92 days

June Solstice to September Equinox – 94 days

September Equinox to December Solstice – 90 days.

With only sticks and stones…

for tools, our ancestors were able to see regular patterns in the apparent chaos of nature. They could now precisely predict when animals would migrate and when the rivers would be more likely to rise and flood their settlements. They could also find security by seeking harmony with the sky gods.

The solar calendar has a natural rhythm that is regular and repeatable.

The Sun Dagger at Chaco Canyon is evidence that ancient people understood and tracked the cycles of the season with the sun. Follow this link, Sun Dagger, for more information

and an interactive demo.

Credits

Intellectual property – Larry Mascotti Presentation and animations – Bob

Snyder