Bart wrote:
> I am a sundial enthusiast an have been an on-looker of this list for somew
> time. Now I need some help from all of you. I am planning on getting
> married in september of 97. I hope to get married on the equinox
> (autumnal) I would like to know the exact time of the equinox given in US
> Central time zone. Also, I wonder what is the tolerence for the equinox.
> i.e. can the whole day be considered as the equinox or even three days,
> one before and one after?
>
> My point is that if the equinox happens on a tuesday and we want to get
> married on a sunday can we call it the equinox?
First off, congratulations! May you have love, joy, prosperity, and
many happy years together.
Which brings us to the question, How long do you plan to stay married?
At your golden anniversary, you will have been married 18,262 days, so
one day more or less will be at the 50 ppm level, generally not
considered significant in human affairs.
On an astronomical level, the equinox is the *instant* when the sun lies
in the equatorial plane of the earth. A reasonable level of exactness
(for a sundial enthusiast) would be to insist that at least some *part*
of the sun lies in this plane. Using this criterion I come up with ...
0.25 deg X 365.24 dy
------------------------ = 0.637 dy
sin(23.45 deg) X 360 deg
... plus or minus 15 hrs 18 min, which doesn't leave you much leeway.
I've tried to find a different definition which could push the limits
out, but I don't think I can even make two full days out of it without
cheating.
Why do you want to get married on the equinox? The equinox is the
symbol of duality. It divides the year into summer and winter. At the
equinox the day and night are equally long. Sunrise and sunset divide
the horizon into two equal parts. Thus it is indeed an appropriate
symbol for marriage, for complementarity, for two natures which are
different but equal, and indeed are only recognizable next to each other.
This is a good philosophical basis for a life together. But the union
will lose its magic if you try to keep too close account of whether
you both are profiting equally from it. In this spirit, I would
suggest that you plight your troth near the equinox, but don't
calculate the time too pedanticly.
With best wishes,
Art Carlson
--
To study, to finish, to publish. -- Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Arthur Carlson
Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics
Garching, Germany
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.rzg.mpg.de/~awc/home.html
