Thursday 11 October, keep evening free Thursday 18 October weather date. Next Wednesday 10 October 5:30 pm, 1111 CCC

Transcription

1 Star Party next week Thursday 11 October, keep evening free Thursday 18 October weather date SAB Next Wednesday 10 October 5:30 pm, 1111 CCC 1 Excursions: Read Sarah Elaine s e mail First year book talk Tuesday 16 October afternoon, 4:00 p.m. in the Hoff Theater James Randi talk Tuesday 16 October evening Bioscience Research Building, room :30pm 9:30pm National Geographic talk, 50 years of planetary exploration, evening Wednesday 24 October, will be cancelled if < 10 people sign up, $10 deposit 2 1

2 Excursions: Greenbank trip October, get $20 deposit in, partially refundable 3 4 2

3 Step 1: Project overhead and below points to infinity Straight overhead is the Zenith Straight below is the Nadir Measure in degrees with horizon as the zero point So the altitude of the Zenith is? 5 Step 2: Project horizon to infinity Cardinal points (compass points) go along for the ride Measure in degrees clockwise starting at North (zero point) So East is? South is? West is? 6 3

4 Quick point North! The Meridian is the N S line that passes though the Zenith Over the course of a night the stars move how? When an object crosses the Meridian it is said to transit Most stars do it once Circumpolar stars do it twice, greatest and least culmination 7 8 4

5 Go south a bit from College Park to 35 N And start the Earth spinning And stay up all night

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7 13 Short term gives us diurnal motion The spin also causes the Earth to bulge out at the Equator But the Sun is not in the Equatorial plane So what happens? 14 7

8 15 I think of the Pyramids 16 8

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10 Ruler Currently accepted accession date Orientation: West Side Orientation: East side Djoser 2640 BCE +180 Snofru Meidum 2600 BCE Snofru Bent Pyramid 2583 BCE Snofru Red Pyramid 2572 BCE Khufu 2554 BCE Khafre 2522 BCE Menkaure 2489 BCE Sahure 2446 BCE Neferirkare 2433 BCE Unas 2317 BCE Senwosret I 1956 BCE -90 Amenemhat III 1853 BCE Tombs for the pharaohs Built during the 3 rd 2 nd millennium BCE Oldest 2640 BCE Great pyramids BCE Latest 1853 BCE This is during the Old and Middle Kingdoms 20 10

11 Archaic Old Kingdom First Intermediate Middle Kingdom Second Intermediate New Kingdom A bunch of rulers Ptolemaic BCE BCE BCE BCE BCE BCE BCE BCE From time of start of Old Kingdom to end of New Kingdom 1,600 years ( 22 of polar precession) 21 That the pyramids are extremely well aligned with the cardinal directions does not prove they were aligned that way on purpose Correlation does not equal causation If you went and measured the alignment of every building on campus I would bet you would find some that are well aligned with the cardinal directions Think of it as a murder mystery Must show motive Must show opportunity (technique) Even if aligned on purpose does not mean used as observatories 22 11

12 23 The builders of the great pyramids left no written records of their intentions So what do we know about ancient Egyptian culture? 24 12

13 Osiris Isis

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15 Tombs are found in: Giza Abusir Saqqara Thebes What do you notice? 29 Don t have direct written evidence of the plans of the builders of the Giza pyramids Have written evidence from later pyramids Prayers describe Pharaoh s ascent to the sky among the stars Regulates the night, and sends the hours on the way To go to the imperishable stars 30 15

16 Think of me as Laura Croft (I personally don t see the resemblance, but some people tell me )

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19 37 One way to look at it, is it is a cycle of death and rebirth Isis brings Osiris back to life Isis brings the Nile back to life How long does it take to make a mummy? How long is Isis (Sirius) not visible in the night sky? 38 19

20 Osiris King Tutankamen 39 Osiris 40 20

21 Don t have direct written evidence of the plans of the builders of the Giza pyramids Have evidence of from later pyramid texts about the Pharaoh's connection to the stars Importance of Osiris / Isis saga In time for mummification In cycle of death and rebirth Death and rebirth Occurred here on Earth Occurred in the sky 41 Culture believed fervently in life after death But must be sent on the right way Still had a job to do Your religious beliefs (truths?) require you to solve a scientific/technical problem: Align the faces of the pyramids with the cardinal directions

22 Align the pharaoh's tomb so that His Ka goes to the right place in the afterworld Ensuring that order and stability in the world is maintained How do you do it? What you don t have: A compass A north star 43 Location of the North Magnetic Pole University of Tromsø, Auroral Observatory 44 22

23 What if your Horizon looks like this? or this? Can you solve this with a little Engineering? 45 Ruler Currently accepted accession date Orientation: West Side Orientation: East side Djoser 2640 BC +180 Snofru Meidum 2600 BC Snofru Bent Pyramid 2583 BC Snofru Red Pyramid 2572 BC Khufu 2554 BC Khafre 2522 BC Menkaure 2489 BC Sahure 2446 BC Neferirkare 2433 BC Unas 2317 BC Senwosret I 1956 BC -90 Amenemhat III 1853 BC

24 Path of star in the sky in one night W E Path of North Pole in the sky (long time) North Pole Path of star in the sky in one night 47 W E Path of star in the sky in one night Path of North Pole in the sky (long time) North Pole Path of star in the sky in one night 48 24

25 W E Path of star in the sky in one night Path of North Pole in the sky (long time) North Pole Path of star in the sky in one night

26 Ruler Currently accepted accession date Orientation: West Side Orientation: East side Djoser 2640 BC +180 Recalibrated Accession Date Snofru Meidum 2600 BC BC 7 Snofru Bent 2583 BC Pyramid Snofru Red Pyramid 2572 BC Khufu 2554 BC BC 5 Khafre 2522 BC BC 5 Menkaure 2489 BC BC 10 Sahure 2446 BC BC 25 Neferirkare 2433 BC BC 25 Unas 2317 BC Senwosret I 1956 BC -90 Amenemhat III 1853 BC Stretching the Cord at the Temple of Amun Re at Karnak 52 26

27 Looking to the sky at the course of the rising stars, recognizing the ak of the Bull s Thigh constellation, I establish the corners of the temple of Her Majesty I have grasped the stake along with the handle of the mallet. I take the measuring cord in the company of Seshat. I consider the progressive movement of the stars. My eye is fixed upon the Bull s Thigh constellation. I count off time, I scrutinize the clock, and establish the corners of thy temple 53 Without a telescope can observe: Sun Moon Stars Planets What happens to them? They rise into the sky They move across the sky They set They do it all over again 54 27

28 Without a telescope can observe: People Animals Plants What happens to them? They are born They grow and mature They die But, life goes on 55 Earth Sky Birth Growth Death But, life goes on Objects rise Passage though the sky Objects set Objects reappear 56 28

29 Your turn to make the connection in a creation myth Each group will have a different locale in the galaxy Need to explain the sky you observe (2 3 paragraphs) Your planet s size, structure, features, and life forms are very similar to earth. You are free to make any unique changes in these items if you wish to do so

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31 61 Echoes of the Ancient Skies: The Astronomy of Lost Civilizations by E. C. Krupp Spence, Kate. Ancient Egyptian chronology and the astronomical orientation of pyramids, Nature 408, ,