Hi, Troy! > I'm curious about analemmic sundials. Is it possible to move the gnomon of > the dial (along an analemma course marked with the proper days) to achieve > the same effect? I wonder since the analemma would likely be confusing to > laymen viewing the dial.
Well, if we're talking about the same type of dial, that's the exact point... The hour points are leyed out on an ellipse whose shape depends on the latitude. The date line is just that, a line, on the North-South (minor) axis. The spacing of the dates is, I believe, the same as the projection of the dates on an analemma, onto the axis. The gnomon, which is commonly the observer, stands vertically on the date point, and the shadow extends towards the hour points at all seasons. Dave
