A Space & astronomy forum. SpaceBanter.com

Go Back   Home » SpaceBanter.com forum » Astronomy and Astrophysics » Amateur Astronomy
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Fundamental unit of human timekeeping



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old October 17th 12, 05:18 PM posted to sci.astro.amateur
oriel36[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 8,478
Default Fundamental unit of human timekeeping

The first time this insight appeared in written form was the Canopus
Decree -


".. on account of the procession of the rising of the Divine Sothis by
one day in the course of 4 years,.. therefore it shall be, that the
year of 360 days and the 5 days added to their end, so one day shall
be from this day after every 4 years added to the 5 epagomenae before
the new year, whereby all men shall learn, that what was a little
defective in the order as regards the seasons and the year, as also
the opinions which are contained in the rules of the learned on the
heavenly orbits, are now corrected and improved" Canopus Decree

http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/...pus_decree.htm

The sighting of Sirius from behind the glare of the central Sun as a
consequence of the orbital motion of the Earth constitutes the
fundamental unit of timekeeping in that it refers the number of
rotations coincident with the star's annual appearance - the accuracy
of the observation being that the completion of an annual circuit does
not happen consistently after 365 rotations but will take an
additional rotation after 4 cycles from whatever starting point is
chosen.

Using the return of an external star prohibits using the daily return
of a star in stellar circumpolar motion as a means to interpret
planetary dynamics as the secondary reference for human timekeeping
are the natural noon variations covering 1461 rotations in 4 orbital
circuits which reduces to trivia as 365 1/4 rotations to one orbital
circuit.

Genuine astronomers will have no objections whereas empirical Ra/Dec
observers insist on 1465 rotations for 4 orbital circuits and that is
not just wrong,it is a cruelty that must stop.


  #2  
Old October 18th 12, 08:51 AM posted to sci.astro.amateur
oriel36[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 8,478
Default Fundamental unit of human timekeeping

How the great timekeeping systems came to be is a source of admiration
for all those who love astronomy and there is even room for taking
notice of the recent mistake,albeit a few centuries old,which
overreached with the AM/PM system and tried to drop the relationship
with the Lat/Long system where planetary geometry and timekeeping
mesh.

I am not isolated in all this as I keep the company of astronomers
who,despite being historically cut off from each other,developed the
great timekeeping systems that we use as a matter of practicality
without really taking notice of the great cycles and the references
that supply these jewels of human ingenuity.Our bodies respond to the
daily and annual cycles so when an ideology comes along which stresses
an unnatural asymmetry between the 24 hour day and a rotation in terms
of experienced effects,the human response to the artificial ideology
should be immediate and decisive.

I am a Christian so all talent,creative or interpretative, belongs to
God and never to the person who uses it so that it is the Universal
acting through the individual that makes the difference rather than
the individual trying to speak for the Universal as though it were
separate.






 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
New Book Discusses Implications of Decoupling Civil Timekeeping from the Earth's Rotation (Forwarded) Andrew Yee[_1_] News 0 January 9th 12 09:01 PM
Timekeeping in Genesis oriel36[_2_] Amateur Astronomy 2 November 11th 11 07:38 PM
Nice discussion of astronomical timekeeping Dave Typinski[_3_] Amateur Astronomy 3 February 14th 10 06:15 AM
What is the difference between unit h and unit h = h / 2pi? socratus Misc 1 July 26th 06 08:38 AM
Interplanetary timekeeping Jim McCauley Policy 15 June 19th 06 11:57 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 02:10 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 SpaceBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.