Seeing the analemma
Di Ardaoin, 29 An t-Samhain 2007
164.9.1.20 Samhain
I have long known about the “analemma”, but now I have actually observed it. The analemma is the apparent path of the sun in the sky, as observed at the same time each day, allowing for daylight savings time. This traces out the shape of a figure of eight in the sky (see image below) due to the tilt of the Earth and the slight ellipticity of its orbit, which causes it to travel at different speeds around the sun during the year.
One effect of this is the “Equation of Time”. This is the difference between absolute solar …
Comet Holmes
Di Màirt, 13 An t-Samhain 2007
164.9.1.4 Samhain
I had a glimpse of this the other night. It is not very bright and rather small, and looks a bit like a fuzzy star with the naked eye. A quick look through the binoculars identified it as I could see it more clearly as a fuzzy blob beside Mirfak in the constellation Perseus. So, it is not spectacular, but interesting to see nonetheless.
Samhain - Celtic New Year
Di Sathairne, 10 An t-Samhain 2007
164.9.1.1 Samhain
The Celtic year has finally come to an end and the new year begins with Samhain (pronounced SOW-in, the SOW rhyming with “cow”). This time of year is probably the origins of the Pagan festival of Samhain, celebrated now as Halloween on 31st October. In my notional calendar this marks the beginning of Year 9 of the current lunar cycle, and Year 8 in the NCC (New Coligny) calendar (starts with Year 0). So the numeric dates will begin with 164.9 this year. In the Anglo-Saxon calendar it is Before Yule Moon and in the Moonwise it is Yew …