Dear Siegfried,

You ask:

> I am confused ... about your sundial design / drawing

Most sundials have a polar-oriented gnomon, and the shadow directly
indicates the hour-angle of the sun. The hour lines (and other features) on
such a sundial are a *gnomonic* projection of part of the local celestial
sphere.

'My' design (which is many centuries old!) requires a vertical gnomon, and
the shadow directly shows the azimuth of the sun (its direction). The
relationship between azimuth and hour-angle varies according to the time of
year so I include seven circular arcs for different times of year. The
extreme arcs are for the winter and summer solstice.  The central arc is
for the equinoxes.

This is one example of an azimuth sundial. There are many possibilities. In
the design I attached, I use a *stereographic* projection of the local
celestial sphere. The centre of the design corresponds to the local zenith
and the outermost circle corresponds to the horizon.  This design can
therefore show the entire heliodrome. A gnomonic projection can show only
part of it.

My design is intended for 52.2 N and your latitude is about 49 N.  If you
print out the design it will work approximately.  If you can fix a day-trip
to Hanover it will work better!

One great advantage of this design is that you can cut it in half and
rearrange it.  I give a full description in the book 'Sundials - Cutting
Time' which you can see at:

  www.kindersleyworkshop.co.uk/shop

The stereographic projection is one of the greatest gnomonic inventions.
You don't have to have the zenith in the centre. On astrolabes, the centre
is a projection of the north celestial pole.

Frank
Frank King
Cambridge, U.K.
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