While it has been proven that many of the Vermont megalithic sites are oriented to the cardinal days of the solstices and equinoxes, I have found other alignments to the quarter days. James Evans, in The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy, says “since the exact moment of the summer solstice is difficult to determine precisely, the measured lengths of spring and summer are subject to rather large errors—up to a half day or even more. “This difficulty can be avoided by using instead of the equinoxes and solstices, four other reference points on the zodiac spaced at 90º intervals. For example, one could use the points placed halfway between the equinoxes and the solstices. That is, rather than trying to observe the moments when the Sun reaches the zeroth degree of the Ram, Crab, and Balance, one could observe instead the moments when the Sun reaches the 15th degree of the Bull, Lion, and Scorpion. The sun’s declination changes rapidly enough at these points that the uncertainty is greatly reduced in comparison with the uncertainty associated with solstices. The moment when the Sun reaches the midpoints of each of these signs could be determined by noon altitudes taken with a meridian quadrant.”
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 13:27:33 +0000
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