RE: "season dial"

[david]

Title: Message

Dear Dialists,   Didn't see any response to this request.   Starting with an Armillary Sphere dial design a Season dial could be constructed.   1. The Central rod gnomon is replaced with a point tipped rod terminating at the centre of the sphere.  The Gnomon now casts a point shadow that will move up and down with declination and equatorially for both hour angle and equation of time.   2. The Equatorial ring is fitted with a movable curved dial plate that rotates freely around the equator of the dial.  The dial plate is inscribed with a  mirror image of the analemma, which is marked with seasons around it's length, number of days etc.   The equatorial ring is marked with hour markings.  The moveable dial plate may be moved to the point on the equatorial ring that indicates current mean time.   When the movable dial plate is aligned for the current mean time, the point gnomon casts a shadow onto a point along the analemma curve on the movable dial plate.   To read the season, set the movable dial plate according to current mean time, then observe the point shadow falling somewhere on the analemma.  Read the current season off the analemma.   Of course at the times of 'analemma crossing'  (ie mid April & early September) reading the season would be difficult.   Regards     David Pratten -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Deamicis-Roberts Sent: Wednesday, 10 October 2001 10:10 PM To: sundial@rrz.uni-koeln.de Subject: "season dial"       Hello,   I live on a large piece of property and wanted to build a large "season dial."  I imagined being able to get up at sunrise on any morning and be able to see were in the seasonal cycle we were in: how many days left in spring, summer, fall ( also marking equinoxes, olsitices, even metor showers, and the sort)     I imagined a large sundial-like device.     Are there any plans for something like this?   Thanks for your help,   Best regards,    Mike Deamicis-Roberts