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Armillary Sphere And Sundial, Located in front of the Sunspot Astronomy And Visitors Center The Armillary Sphere and Sundial is a 5' diameter bronze and brass structure built by staff members Donald Neidig, Scott Gregory and Mitchell Davis. The Sphere reads the Time and Date by a shadow cast onto the precisely engraved curved projection screen. It displays the horizon, zenith and the compass directions, north, south, east, and west, and also shows the direction to the north star and verifies the observer's latitude. Apparent solar time, as read directly by the sundial, differs from civil time by an amount that varies throughout the year. This difference, known as the equation of time, is caused by the elliptiticy of the Earth's orbit and the 23.4 degree tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation. To correct for the equation, read the displacement in minutes between 12 noon and the point on the analemma corresponding to the current date, and add or subtract accordingly. April 2000 |
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