Yes, the armillary sphere was more prominent on historical flags of Brazil. The 
white band, the ecliptic ring, is all that remains of the armillary.

My concerns on the misrepresentation of the armillary on the Portuguese flag 
were based on the image in my presentation from this data source, the CIA World 
Factbook. 
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/po.html . In 
this image, the sections of the rings do not lie up and sections of the 
tropical rings are missing.

Other images on the internet show clearly show the Manueline Armillary behind 
the crest. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Portugal.svg Only the 
lower front right section of the tropic of Capricorn is missing.

I have learned a lesson on whom we should trust as a data source. Wiki or the 
CIA?

Regards, Roger 



--------------------------------------------------
From: "Frank King" <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 2:21 AM
To: "Roger Bailey" <[email protected]>
Cc: "Sundial Mailing List" <[email protected]>; "Frank King" 
<[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Fwd: [Flags] (pt) Canedo Commune (Ribeira de Pena Municipality,  
Portugal)

> Dear Roger (with a question for James Morrison),
> 
> You prompt an interesting side-track in your
> observation that...
> 
>> The national flag for Brazil also incorporates
>> an armillary sphere...
> 
> It seems that you are living just a bit in the past
> here.  Aren't we all?  The flag of Brazil incorporated
> an armillary sphere until 1816 when it was largely
> covered up and in 1826 it disappeared from the flag
> altogether.  See:
> 
>   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Brazil
> 
> This article describes the current flag in great
> detail.  It is dominated by a representation of
> the night sky over Rio de Janeiro at 08:37 on
> the morning of 15 November 1889.
> 
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