Sundials and Marsdials

The great societies,unlike ours when it comes to astronomical
matters,were very practical and it is about time high school students
learned how the timekeeping system we use today came to be - not the
wistful nonsense they receive from people who do not know what they
are talking about but genuine scientists with the confidence to deal
with the historical and technical details.

The first principles of timekeeping in written form surrounding an
annual flood event hence the first reference for the years and the
days enclosed in a year,eventually this gets translated into orbital
circuits and rotations.The Egyptians were the first to put down in
writing that 365 days after the Nile flooded it would do so again,and
the next year after that however in the 4 year the Nile inundation
took an extra day after the 365 year cycle.It was then that they
looked for a celestial reference which mirrored this event and the
brilliant star Sirius as it emerged from behind the glare of the Sun
provided the reference for the calendar system and the familiar 365
day/366 day format we use to keep days in sync with the annual points
and,when translated into planetary dynamics,keeps rotations fixed
closely to orbital position of the Earth.

The next advancement came well over 1500 years later with the
emergence of using the Sun as a reference for timekeeping and
specifically the development of the 24 hour AM/PM cycle in tandem with
the Lat/Long system.Of course there were many intermediary
advancements leading up to the working principles of these systems and
especially the emergence of planetary dynamics itself however human
ingenuity is no less spectacular than with the creation of the
calendar from which it emerged.

I have reviewed High school curriculum from many nations and
discovered why a problem exists in relating what is essentially
enjoyable facts to students and there are certain clear guidelines
which emerge to correct the deficiencies in national education
policies.

On Aug 22, 2:57*pm, oriel36 wrote:
The great societies,unlike ours when it comes to astronomical
matters,were very practical and it is about time high school students
learned how the timekeeping system we use today came to be - not the
wistful nonsense they receive from people who do not know what they
are talking about but genuine scientists with the confidence to deal
with the historical and technical details.

The first principles of timekeeping in written form surrounding an
annual flood event hence the first reference for the years and the
days enclosed in a year,eventually this gets translated into orbital
circuits and rotations.The Egyptians were the first to put down in
writing that 365 days after the Nile flooded it would do so again,and
the next year after that however in the 4 year the Nile inundation
took an extra day after the 365 year cycle.It was then that they
looked for a celestial reference which mirrored this event and the
brilliant star Sirius as it emerged from behind the glare of the Sun
provided the reference for the calendar system and the familiar 365
day/366 day format we use to keep days in sync with the annual points
and,when translated into planetary dynamics,keeps rotations fixed
closely to orbital position of the Earth.

The next advancement came well over 1500 years later with the
emergence of using the Sun as a reference for timekeeping and
specifically the development of the 24 hour AM/PM cycle in tandem with
the Lat/Long system.Of course there were many intermediary
advancements leading up to the working principles of these systems and
especially the emergence of planetary dynamics itself however human
ingenuity is no less spectacular than with the creation of the
calendar from which it emerged.

I have reviewed High school curriculum from many nations and
discovered why a problem exists in relating what is essentially
enjoyable *facts to students and there are certain clear guidelines
which emerge to correct the deficiencies in national education
policies.

Apologies for the wrong heading,a sundial is the same for Earth and
Mars however assigning the proper name differentiates between the
motion and timekeeping system of either planet.Creating a calendar
system for Mars, an AM/PM cycle in tandem with a Lat/Long system is as
tricky as it is for our planet.I will do it for free as usual despite
the well paid guys who seem to do nothing day in and day out.

This era with its spectacular data is the most fertile in history for
working with all the astronomical and terrestrial topics imaginable,a
veritable garden of Eden with so much fruit from so many different
areas,yet none of it is discussed in any meaningful way.I know readers
can do better than they have up to now .

The observations that are most sensitive to planetary dynamics are the
motion of a shadow across a dial and the tides with the former more
accurate as it excludes the motion of the moon.

As the Earth turns to the central Sun unevenly and from an ecliptic
axis that is 23 1/2 degrees distant from the daily rotational
coordinates,the combined effect of constant daily rotation the the
acceleration and deceleration of the planet creates spikes in the
annual component of the tides.The quasi-rotation to the central Sun
and the rate of change of that orbital component, as the polar
coordinates turn in an annual circle, effect the tides which are most
sensitive to changes in orbital dynamics and the daily rotation of the
Earth.

A new approach that incorporates the data acquired from a sundial as
the rate of change in orbital orientation shows up as the unequal
length of the natural noon cycle.This era is blessed with so much data
and especially visible data - all it takes are a new breed of
astronomer to raise the standards to a new interpretative level.