Projects: EarthDials
Links and References
Finding your Latitude and Longitude
For any city or town in the world, find
its longitude and latitude.
For any location in the USA (even by zip code), find
its longitude and latitude.
Finding North
Give your longitude and latitude and this site returns your magnetic
declination,
that is, the angle between magnetic north (what a compass shows) and true
north, to which any sundial needs to be aligned.
Calculating Times
The “solar calculator” at this site tells you (for your location
and for any clock time) the exact coordinates
of the sun, local solar time, exact times of solstices and equinoxes, etc.
A Java-based calculator that produces Julian
Day, Equation of Time, and Sidereal Time for a given clock time.
Further information about the differences between solar (sundial) time
and clock time
For your location and time zone, this
site will tell you the difference between solar (sundial) time and clock
time for any day of the year.
Sundials
North American Sundial Society
International sundials
For teachers and kids
“Astronomy with a Stick,” a great series of classroom activities
dealing with the sun, time, compass directions, seasons, etc.
The Eratosthenes Project, a great educational project.
“Me
and My Shadow,” from the Sandburg Center for Sky Awareness. Excellent
list of links to educational resources using sundials.
Sundial related books
Buy the books at Amazon.com through the links below and 15% of your purchase
benefits The Planetary Society!
Waugh, A.E. (1973). Sundials:
Their Theory and Construction (New York:
Dover).
The best single book for the basics.
Mayall, R.N. and Mayall, M.W. (1938). Sundials:
Their Construction and Use (New York: Dover).
Also a good book, if you’d like another approach.
Rohr, R.R.J. (1968). Sundials:
History, Theory and Practice (New York:
Dover).
Much more detail on the history and the math
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