Modelling Lunar Extremes

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Fisher ◽  
Lionel Sims
Keyword(s):  
High Precision ◽  
Celestial Mechanics ◽  
Computer Modelling ◽  
Landscape Context ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The Moon

Claims first made over half a century ago that certain prehistoric monuments utilised high-precision alignments on the horizon risings and settings of the Sun and the Moon have recently resurfaced. While archaeoastronomy early on retreated from these claims, as a way to preserve the discipline in an academic boundary dispute, it did so without a rigorous examination of Thom’s concept of a “lunar standstill”. Gough’s uncritical resurrection of Thom’s usage of the term provides a long-overdue opportunity for the discipline to correct this slippage. Gough (2013), in keeping with Thom (1971), claims that certain standing stones and short stone rows point to distant horizon features which allow high-precision alignments on the risings and settings of the Sun and the Moon dating from about 1700 BC. To assist archaeoastronomy in breaking out of its interpretive rut and from “going round in circles” (Ruggles 2011), this paper evaluates the validity of this claim. Through computer modelling, the celestial mechanics of horizon alignments are here explored in their landscape context with a view to testing the very possibility of high-precision alignments to the lunar extremes. It is found that, due to the motion of the Moon on the horizon, only low-precision alignments are feasible, which would seem to indicate that the properties of lunar standstills could not have included high-precision markers for prehistoric megalith builders.

scholarly journals Two Hundred Years of Celestial Mechanics under the Auspices of Bureau Des Longitudes

1996 ◽  
Vol 172 ◽  
pp. 3-16
Author(s):  
Bruno Morando
Keyword(s):  
General Relativity ◽  
Celestial Mechanics ◽  
Research Laboratory ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Xxth Century ◽  
Xixth Century ◽  
Satellites Of Jupiter

Lagrange and Laplace were two of the first members of Bureau des longitudes which, among other tasks, were responsible for the improvement of astronomical tables and the progress of celestial mechanics. Between 1795 and 1850, many improved tables were published under the auspices of Bureau des longitudes: tables of the Sun by Delambre (1806), of the Moon by Burg (1806), Burckhardt (1812) and Damoiseau (1828), of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus by Bouvard (1808, 1821), of Mercury by Le Verrier (1844), of the satellites of Jupiter by Delambre (1817) and Damoiseau (1836). In his tables, Bouvard showed there was a problem for Uranus. This led to the calculations of the elements of an unknown planet by Le Verrier and Adams and the discovery of Neptune in 1846. Le Verrier's calculations were published in Connaissance des Temps for 1849. In the second half of the XIXth century, two prominent members of Bureau des longitudes, Le Verrier and Delaunay, made major contributions to celestial mechanics by building elaborate theories for the motions of the Sun, the planets and the Moon. Other theories, which improved the above, appeared elsewhere at the end of the century, especially those of Newcomb, Hill and Brown. During the first half of the XXth century, there was a decline of the studies in celestial mechanics which seemed to have reached its limits owing to the difficulties of the computations involved. Yet Sampson's theory of the motion of the satellites of Jupiter and Chazy's first attempts to introduce general relativity into classical celestial mechanics should be quoted. In 1961, thanks to A. Danjon, Bureau des longitudes was reorganized so that its computation service became a research laboratory where, since then, important work in the theories of the planets, the Moon and the satellites has been made.

scholarly journals Some Aspects of Constructing Long Ephemerides of the Sun, Major Planets and the Moon: Ephemeris AE95

1997 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 245-250
Author(s):  
G.I. Eroshkin ◽  
N.I. Glebova ◽  
M.A. Fursenko ◽  
A. A. Trubitsina
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Numerical Integration ◽  
High Precision ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Specific Character ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Special Edition ◽  
Polynomial Representation

The construction of long-term numerical ephemerides of the Sun, major planets and the Moon is based essentially on the high-precision numerical solution of the problem of the motion of these bodies and polynomial representation of the data. The basis of each ephemeris is a mathematical model describing all the main features of the motions of the Sun, major planets, and Moon. Such mathematical model was first formulated for the ephemerides DE/LE and was widely applied with some variations for several national ephemeris construction. The model of the AE95 ephemeris is based on the DE200/LE200 ephemeris mathematical model. Being an ephemeris of a specific character, the AE95 ephemeris is a basis for a special edition “Supplement to the Astronomical Yearbook for 1996–2000”, issued by the Institute of the Theoretical Astronomy (ITA) (Glebova et al., 1995). This ephemeris covering the years 1960–2010 is not a long ephemeris in itself but the main principles of its construction allow one to elaborate the long-term ephemeris on an IBM PC-compatible computer. A high-precision long-term numerical integration of the motion of major bodies of the Solar System demands a choice of convenient variables and a high-precision method of the numerical integration, taking into consideration the specific features of both the problem to be solved and the computer to be utilized.

scholarly journals Solar barycentric dynamics from a new solar-planetary ephemeris

2018 ◽  
Vol 615 ◽  
pp. A153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolfo G. Cionco ◽  
Dmitry A. Pavlov
Keyword(s):  
High Precision ◽  
Orbital Motion ◽  
Giant Planets ◽  
Reference Plane ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The Future ◽  
Dynamical Parameters ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Invariable Plane ◽  
Planetary Theories

Aims. The barycentric dynamics of the Sun has increasingly been attracting the attention of researchers from several fields, due to the idea that interactions between the Sun’s orbital motion and solar internal functioning could be possible. Existing high-precision ephemerides that have been used for that purpose do not include the effects of trans-Neptunian bodies, which cause a significant offset in the definition of the solar system’s barycentre. In addition, the majority of the dynamical parameters of the solar barycentric orbit are not routinely calculated according to these ephemerides or are not publicly available. Methods. We developed a special version of the IAA RAS lunar–solar–planetary ephemerides, EPM2017H, to cover the whole Holocene and 1 kyr into the future. We studied the basic and derived (e.g., orbital torque) barycentric dynamical quantities of the Sun for that time span. A harmonic analysis (which involves an application of VSOP2013 and TOP2013 planetary theories) was performed on these parameters to obtain a physics-based interpretation of the main periodicities present in the solar barycentric movement. Results. We present a high-precision solar barycentric orbit and derived dynamical parameters (using the solar system’s invariable plane as the reference plane), widely accessible for the whole Holocene and 1 kyr in the future. Several particularities and barycentric phenomena are presented and explained on dynamical bases. A comparison with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory DE431 ephemeris, whose main differences arise from the modelling of trans-Neptunian bodies, shows significant discrepancies in several parameters (i.e., not only limited to angular elements) related to the solar barycentric dynamics. In addition, we identify the main periodicities of the Sun’s barycentric movement and the main giant planets perturbations related to them.

Sweat of the Sun and Tears of the Moon. Gold and Silver in Pre-Columbian Art

1967 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 215
Author(s):  
Earle R. Caley ◽  
Andre Emmerich
Keyword(s):  
The Sun ◽  
The Moon

scholarly journals How dim is dim? Precision of the celestial compass in moonlight and sunlight

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1565) ◽  
pp. 697-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Dacke ◽  
M. J. Byrne ◽  
E. Baird ◽  
C. H. Scholtz ◽  
E. J. Warrant
Keyword(s):  
Dung Beetle ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Polarization Pattern ◽  
Animal Group ◽  
Straight Line ◽  
Celestial Orientation ◽  
Polarization Compass ◽  
Celestial Compass ◽  
Diurnal Species

Prominent in the sky, but not visible to humans, is a pattern of polarized skylight formed around both the Sun and the Moon. Dung beetles are, at present, the only animal group known to use the much dimmer polarization pattern formed around the Moon as a compass cue for maintaining travel direction. However, the Moon is not visible every night and the intensity of the celestial polarization pattern gradually declines as the Moon wanes. Therefore, for nocturnal orientation on all moonlit nights, the absolute sensitivity of the dung beetle's polarization detector may limit the precision of this behaviour. To test this, we studied the straight-line foraging behaviour of the nocturnal ball-rolling dung beetle Scarabaeus satyrus to establish when the Moon is too dim—and the polarization pattern too weak—to provide a reliable cue for orientation. Our results show that celestial orientation is as accurate during crescent Moon as it is during full Moon. Moreover, this orientation accuracy is equal to that measured for diurnal species that orient under the 100 million times brighter polarization pattern formed around the Sun. This indicates that, in nocturnal species, the sensitivity of the optical polarization compass can be greatly increased without any loss of precision.

scholarly journals Astronomy at the service of the Islamic society

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S260) ◽  
pp. 514-521
Author(s):  
Ilias M. Fernini
Keyword(s):  
Proper Time ◽  
Astronomical Observatory ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Scientific Institutions ◽  
Mathematical Astronomy ◽  
Islamic Empire ◽  
New Moon ◽  
Islamic Society

AbstractThe Islamic society has great ties to astronomy. Its main religious customs (start of the Islamic month, direction of prayer, and the five daily prayers) are all related to two main celestial objects: the Sun and the Moon. First, the start of any Islamic month is related to the actual seeing of the young crescent after the new Moon. Second, the direction of prayer, i.e., praying towards Mecca, is related to the determination of the zenith point in Mecca. Third, the proper time for the five daily prayers is related to the motion of the Sun. Everyone in the society is directly concerned by these customs. This is to say that the major impetus for the growth of Islamic astronomy came from these three main religious observances which presented an assortment of problems in mathematical astronomy. To observe these three customs, a new set of astronomical observations were needed and this helped the development of the Islamic observatory. There is a claim that it was first in Islam that the astronomical observatory came into real existence. The Islamic observatory was a product of needs and values interwoven into the Islamic society and culture. It is also considered as a true representative and an integral par of the Islamic civilisation. Since astronomy interested not only men of science, but also the rulers of the Islamic empire, several observatories have flourished. The observatories of Baghdad, Cairo, Córdoba, Toledo, Maragha, Samarqand and Istanbul acquired a worldwide reputation throughout the centuries. This paper will discuss the two most important observatories (Maragha and Samarqand) in terms of their instruments and discoveries that contributed to the establishment of these scientific institutions.

scholarly journals XLIV. Variation of the compass, as observed on board the Endeavour Bark, in a voyage round the World

1771 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 422-432 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Sun ◽  
The Moon ◽  
The World

The day of the month is noted according to the nautical account, which therefore in all observations noted P. M. is one day forwarder than the civil account. The latitude in is deduced from the last preceding meridian altitude of the Sun; and the longitude in is corrected by the last observations of the distances of the moon from the Sun and stars.

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