Time and Calendars
Time
What is time?
How do you know the passage of time?
What then is time?
What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to
him who asks, I do not know.
~Saint Augustine
Day, n. A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent.
~Ambrose Bierce
Astronomical Cycles
Time Unit Approx Length Origin
Day 24 hours Earth’s rotation
Month 30 days Moon’s revolution (phases)
Year 365 days Earth’s revolution
“Great Year”
26,000 years Earth’s precession
Sun and Stars
• Solar-time by the sun
• Sidereal-time by the stars
• Days, months, years
Solar & Sidereal Day
• Earth’s rotation
• Solar day: 24 hours
• Sidereal day: 23h, 56m, 4s– 4 minute difference– Causes stars to change with the seasons
Sidereal and Solar Day [Animation]
http://www-astronomy.mps.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast161/Unit2/Images/sidereal.gif
“Fixed stars”
Solar & Mean Times
• Local Apparent Time (LAT):– Time read from a sundial– Before time zones, every town had its own time
• Local Mean Time (LMT):– Average time, read from a wall clock
• Local Standard Time (LST):– “Time Zone” time, for example, Eastern Standard– LDT: Local Daylight Time
• Equation of time: – Difference between LAT and LMT – LAT sometimes ahead, behind LMT– Due to earth’s elliptical orbit
Synodic and Sidereal Months
• Moon’s revolution
• Synodic month: Lunar phases repeat– 29.5 days– e.g., one full moon to the next
• Sidereal month: Time for moon to pass a star again– 27.33 days
[Animation]
Tropical & Sidereal Year
• Earth’s revolution• Tropical Year: Time between successive spring
equinoxes– 365.242 days
• Sidereal Year: Time for the sun to return to the same point compared to background stars– 365.256 days– 20 minute difference due to earth’s precession
(wobble)
Earth’s Revolution
Earth’s revolution causes the constellations to appear to change with the seasons
Time Units
Time Unit
Length Origin
Day 24 hours (solar)
23.93 (sidereal)
Earth’s rotation
Month 29.5 days (synodic)
27.33 days (sidereal)
Moon’s revolution (phases)
Year 365.242 days (tropical)
365.256 (sidereal)
Earth’s revolution
Day Names
• Named for sun, moon, and the planets
• Latin names, Roman gods
• Some Norse names substituted
Modern Latin Meaning
Sunday Dies Solis Day of the sun
Monday Dies Lunae Day of the moon
Tuesday1 Dies Martis Day of Mars
Wednesday2 Dies Mercurii Day of Mercury
Thursday3 Dies Jovis Day of Jupiter
Friday4 Dies Veneris Day of Venus
Saturday Dies Saturni Day of Saturn
Day Names Table
Four of the Day Names are derived from the Norse names of the planet gods.
1Norse: “Tiw’s day”2Norse: “Woden’s day”3Norse: “Thor’s day”4Norse: “Frig’s day”
The Month
• Originally lunar phases
• i.e. one new moon to next
• Why 12 months? There are 12.4 cycles of lunar phases during a year.
• Moon = “Moonth”
The Week
• Traditional 7 days• Not a natural cycle• Bible, planets• 7 moving bodies ("planets") visible without
telescope• Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars,
Jupiter, and Saturn• Cultural: 10 day weeks were used in
ancient Egypt and the French Revolution
Dividing the Year
• Solstices & Equinoxes:– Seasons– Divide the year into quarters
• "Quarter Days" – March equinox– June solstice– September equinox– Winter solstice
Quarter Days: Solstices and Equinoxes
http://www-astronomy.mps.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast161/Unit2/Images/QuarterDays.gif
Quarter Day Table
Event Date SeasonSun Transit
(latitude) Tradition
MarchEquinox 21-Mar Spring
Equator,0° Easter
JuneSolstice 21-Jun Summer
Cancer, +23.5° July 4th
September Equinox 23-Sep Autumn
Equator,0°
First Day of School
December Solstice 21-Dec Winter
Capricorn, -23.5 ° Christmas
Traditional Quarter Days
• Vernal Equinox: Easter, Passover, Eoestre (Saxon goddess)
• Summer Solstice: Midsummer (A Midsummer Night's Dream), St. John's Eve, Fourth of July
• Autumnal Equinox: Mabon (Celtic/Welsh), Michaelmas (Feast of St. Michael the Archangel)
• Winter Solstice: Christmas, Advent, Saturnalia
Dividing the Year
• Cross-Quarter Days: Mid-way points between the Solstices and Equinoxes.
• Once considered the start of the seasons (“midsummer” refers to the summer solstice)
Cross-Quarter Days
http://www-astronomy.mps.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast161/Unit2/Images/CrossQuarter.gif
Cross-quarter days are indicated by the red plus signs:
1st: Feb 2
2nd: May 1
3rd: Aug 2
4th: Nov 1
Cross-Quarter DaysName Date Other Names
(season)
Groundhog Day
Feb 2 Candlemas (spring)
May Day May 1 Beltane (summer)
Lammas Aug 2 Lughnasadh (autumn)
Halloween Oct 31,
Nov 1
All Saints, Samhain
(winter)
Precession
• Earth’s other motion• Slow wobble of the earth’s axis• Once every 26,000 years• Moon’s gravitational pull on the earth
Effects of Precession
• “North Star” changes• Positions of solstices and equinoxes
(“precession of the equinoxes”)• Star coordinates (Right ascension,
declination) slowly change
Earth’s Wobble
• Each wobble takes 26,000 years
• The axis will point towards the bright star Vega in 12,000 years
Click: Precession Animation
Path of the Pole
Precession of the Equinoxes
The Hour
Dividing the Day
• 24 hours, beginning at midnight
• Traditionally, day started at sunrise, ended at sunset
• Day hours were longer in the summer, shorter in the winter
• Modern clock hours are equal in length regardless of the season
Day & Night Hours
http://odin.physastro.mnsu.edu/~eskridge/astr101/day_night.jpg
12 hours?
Solar & Mean Times
• Local Apparent Time (LAT):– Time read from a sundial– Before time zones, every town had its own time
• Local Mean Time (LMT):– Average time, read from a wall clock
• Local Standard Time (LST):– “Time Zone” time, for example, Eastern Standard– LDT: Local Daylight Time
• Equation of time: – Difference between LAT and LMT – LAT sometimes ahead, behind LMT– Due to earth’s elliptical orbit
Standard Time
• With railroads and telegraphs, small differences in LAT began to matter
• 1883: United States divided into four time zones • Each zone observed the LAT at the center of
each zone (standard meridian)• US Standard Meridians: 75º, 90º, 105º, 120º
(15º of longitude apart)• Entire globe has 24 zones (360º/24h = 15º/hour)
US Standard Times75°120° 105° 90°
Standard Meridians
EST Meridian
World Time Zones
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/daylight2.html
Indiana Time (before & after)
http://www.timetemperature.com/tzmaps/intz.gif
EST only
EST, EDT
CST, CDT
EST, EDTCST,
CDT
Eastern Standard Zone
• EST: Same LAT time as 75° west meridian (Philadelphia)
• Bremen: Latitude 86°W• Earth: 360°, 24 hours of time• 1 hour = 15° longitude• 1° longitude = 4 minutes• Bremen is 86°-75° = 11° of
longitude off our central meridian
• When our standard time clocks say 12:00 pm (noon), our LAT* is actual 11° x 4 min = 44 minutes off, or 11:16 am
*Without equation of time
Equation of Time
• Equation of time: – Difference between LAT and LMT – LAT sometimes ahead, behind LMT– Due to earth’s elliptical orbit (obliquity)
and 23-degree tilt (orientation)• Result: Sun appears fast or slow
depending upon the time of year• Graph of equation of time reveals
analemma
Plot of Equation of Time
Sun “fast”
Sun “slow”
Analemma Plot
Obliquity (elliptical orbit)
Orientation (23-degree tilt)
The Tropics
•Tropic of Cancer: Sun directly overhead June 21—Solstice
•Equator: Sun directly overhead Mar 21 and Sept 21—equinoxes
•Tropic of Capricorn: Sun directly overhead Dec 21--Solstice
http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/pictures/analemma.jpg
First Analemma Photo
Labeled Analemma
A
B
C
D
Animations
• Analemma from Earth
• APOD Dec 04, 2007
http://www.perseus.gr/Images/solar-analemma-060000-UTC.jpg
http://epod.usra.edu/archive/images/main_solar-analemma-102816-utc2.jpg
http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/images/analemma.jpg
Create an Analemma•Plot the shadow tip of the end of the post
•Use the same mechanical clock time each day for plotting
•Over the course of one year, an analemma will result
Castaway
Stranded on a deserted island in the South Pacific following the crash of his Fed Ex airplane, Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) constructs an analemma on a cave wall to track the daily displacement in the shaft of sunlight through a small natural portal. He explains the science and the repetitive annual figure-8 cycle to his sanity companion, Wilson, the volleyball.
Earth’s Revolution
• At perihelion, earth revolves faster in its orbit, slower at aphelion
• Sun’s apparent size changes slightly as a result
Close and Far
What Time is It?
• Click: http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Eastern/d/-5/java
Sundials
Sundials
• Sundials are the earliest form of clocks
• Read local apparent time (LAT) directly from the sun
• Times can be converted from LAT to LMT
• Main Types– Horizontal– Equatorial
Horizontal ‘Dials
• Designed for a single latitude ()
• Parts:– Gnomon– Style– Hour lines– Furniture
Polaris (North)
Latitude
The Style points toward the North Celestial Pole
(Polaris)
Identify: style, gnomon, hour lines, furniture
Horizontal
Equatorial ‘Dials
• Can be adjusted to work in any latitude by tilting gnomon to latitude value ()
• Seasonal: Sun shines on top of dial plate after the March equinox, below the dial plate after the september equinox
• Parts:– Gnomon– Hour lines– Dial plate (disk)
Gnomon
Dial plate
Equatorial
Polaris
Latitude
Identify: gnomon, hour lines, dial plate (equator)
Seasonal ‘Dial
Adler Planetarium Equatorial ‘Dial, Chicago
Wood Equatorial Dial
Human Sundial
Calendars
The “Modern” Calendar
• Our modern calendar is the same as the Gregorian Calendar introduced in 1582
• Gregorian Calendar reformed the older Julian Calendar
Astronomical Basis of the Year
• Equinoxes and solstices are anchors
• Calendar measures a “tropical year,” the time between two vernal equinoxes
• Tropical year = 365.2425 days
• Leap years used to correct the extra six hours (0.2425 day) per year
Julian Calendar
• Reform of 10 month Roman Calendar
• Julius Caesar, 45 BC
• Inserted leap day every 4 years
• Resulted in 10-day error between starts of seasons by 1500s
• Gregorian calendar removed the extra days, changed the leap day procedure
Gregorian Calendar
• Every year divisible by 4 is a leap year• Every century year (multiple of 100) is
NOT a leap year, unless it is divisible by 400
• The tropical year equals 365.2425, equal to an error of one day 3300 years
• Our modern calendar• 2000 was a century year. Was it also a
leap year?
Western Calendars
Calendar Used Founder Features
Roman
(355 days)
< 45 BC Romulus & Remus*
10 months initially
Julian
(365.25 days)
45 BC Julius Caesar
Leap day
Gregorian
(365.2425 days)
1582 AD to present
Pope Gregory XIII
Leap day (refined)
*legendary founders of Rome
Gregorian Month Names
Our months are named for numbers, gods, festivals, and Roman emperors
1. January: Januarius, the god Janus
2. February: Februarius, the festival of Februa
3. March: Martius, the god Mars
4. April: Aprilis, the goddess Aphrodite
5. May: Maius, the goddess Maia
6. June: Junius, the goddess Juno
Month Names, Cont.
7. July: Julius, after Julius Caesar
8. August: Augustus, after emperor Augustus
9. September: The seventh month (septem)
10.October: The eighth month (octo)
11.November: The ninth month (novem)
12.December: The tenth month (decem)
Gregorian Months
http://www.spirit-of-yggdrasil.com/images/Gregorian%20-%2012%20months.jpg
Dog Days
• Caesar based his new calendar on one used in Egypt• The Egyptians counted days from the first appearance of
the Dog Star Sirius in the morning sky before sunrise• Sirius is the brightest star in the sky (other than the sun)• This heliacal rising of Sirius was the beginning of the
Egyptian year, today it occurs in July• The heliacal rising of Sirius also coincided with the
annual flooding of the Nile river upon which life in Egypt depended
• We still call mid-July the Dog Days because some of the Greeks believed that the heat of summer came from the combined energy of the sun and Sirius
http://www.astropix.com/IMAGES/B_WINTER/SIRIUS.JPG
?Calendar Changes
• This change was (from Julian to Gregorian) observed in Catholic countries such as Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain.
• Protestant countries were reluctant to change. For example, Great Britain and America eventually changed in 1752.
• Washington’s Birthday was originally Feb 11, 1732 in the Julian Calendar, today we say it was Feb 22, 1732
http://archives.cnn.com/
When is Easter?
• Easter, the death and resurrection of Jesus in about 30 AD
• Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the (vernal) spring equinox
• March 21 is considered the spring equinox
• Catholic Church’s Council of Nicea in 325 AD
http://www.adventurepostoffice.com/cards/easter/bunny99-05-l.gif
Lunar Calendars
• Ancient calendars, still used by Jews and Muslims
• New moon begins each month• Islamic calendar, crescent moon is sighted • Jewish calendar kept aligned with the
seasons• Islamic calendar dates drift through the
seasons• Used mainly for religious purposes
http://www.observetheheavens.homestead.com/files/crescent_moon_website.JPG
Jewish Lunar Calendar
• Ancient, used for religious observances
• Hebrew calendar aligned with the seasons by adding “leap months” when needed
• Year contains 12-13 months, 353-385 days
• Jewish year linked to equinoxes
Jewish CalendarMonth Name Length Gregorian Holidays (dates)
1 Nissan 30 days Mar-Apr* Passover (15 Nissan)
2 Iyar 29 days Apr-May
3 Sivan 30 days May-June
4 Tammuz 29 days June-July
5 Av 30 days July-Aug
6 Elul 29 days Aug-Sep
7 Tishri 30 days Sep-Oct** Rosh Hashanah (1-2)
8 Cheshvan 29 or 30 days Nov-Dec
9 Kislev 29 or 30 days Nov-Dec Chanukkah (25)
10 Tevet 29 days Dec-Jan
11 Shevat 30 days Jan-Feb
12 Adar I 30 days Feb-Mar
13 Adar II (leap) 29 days Feb-Mar
*Mar Equinox, **Sep Equinox
Islamic Lunar Calendar
• Ancient, used for religious observances
• Year contains 12 months, 354-5 days
• Islamic calendar is purely lunar and dates drift through the seasons
2008 Islamic CalendarMonth Name Gregorian Holidays (dates)
1 Muharram 1429 Jan 10 New Year
2 Safar Feb 8
3 Rabi-I Mar 9
4 Rabi-II Apr 7
5 Jumada-I May 6
6 Jumada-II June 5
7 Rajab July 4
8 Sha’ban Aug 2
9 Ramadan Sept 1 Ramadan
10 Shawwal Oct 1
11 Dhul-Qi’dah Oct 30
12 Dhul-Hiija Nov 29 Pilgrimage to Mecca
1 Muharram 1430 Dec 29 New Year
Lunar Calendar HolidaysGregorian Easter Jewish New Year Muslim New Year
2001 Apr 15 Sept 18 Mar 26
2002 Mar 31 Sept 7 Mar 15
2003 Apr 20 Sept 27 Mar 5
2004 Apr 11 Sept 16 Feb 22
2005 Mar 27 Oct 4 Feb 10
2006 Apr 16 Sept 23 Jan 31
2007 Apr 8 Sept 13 Jan 20
2008 Mar 23 Sept 30 Jan 10
2009 Apr 12 Sept 19 Dec 29
2010 Apr 4 Sept 9 Dec 18
March Equinox September Equinox
Competing Years (2009)
Western Calendar
2009 AD Birth of Jesus
Jewish Calendar
5760 Age of universe in Torah (Genesis)
Islamic Calendar
1430 Mohammed flees to Medina (Hegira)
Calendar Current Year Start
Counting the Years
• Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian monk, created the BC, AD system of counting years
• Based on estimation of the birth of Jesus• 1 AD was the year of Jesus’s birth, 1 BC would
have been the year before• No year “0”, which has created some confusion• Modern scholarship reveals that Jesus was
actually born in 4 BC
http://www.mike.lawton.clara.net/Homersweb/doh.jpg
Counting the Years, Cont.
• Years before the birth of Jesus are labeled BC, (“Before Christ”)
• Years after the birth of Jesus are labeled AD (Anno Domini, “In the year of the Lord”)
1 BC Birth of Jesus 1 AD
BCE, CE
• BCE (Before the Common Era) = BC• CE (Common Era) = AD• Ex:
Battle of Thermopylae
480 BC
480 BCE
Fall of Constantinople
1453 AD
1453 CE
Millenia
• The first millenia, or thousand year period, began in 1 AD
• Millenia have special significance due to statements in the Bible (Revelations)
• The millenia are counted:– 1st millenium: 1-1000– 2nd millenium: 1001-2000– 3rd millenium: 2001-3000
• The 3rd millenium, and the 21st century, started on January 1, 2001
• People tend to go crazy every 1000 years
http://www.american-buddha.com/2001SPACEODYSSEYABOL2.jpg
Julian Days (not years)
• Julian days (JDN) are a method of numbering days regardless of year, they provide a unique numerical value for any calendar date
• For example, on Friday, March 2, 2007, the JDN was 2,454,162
• Decimals provide fractions of one day. Ex: 0.1 = 2.4 hours
• Day 0 of this cycle occurred on Monday, January 1, 4713 BC in the Gregorian calendar. Because of this, multiples of 7 are Mondays
• Julian days are set to begin at noon, not midnight• Julian days are used in astronomy to minimize the
confusion of using calendars
Scaliger Days
• The Julian day number was proposed by Joseph Scaliger in 1583, at the time of the Gregorian calendar reform
• The Julian day is a multiple of three separate cycles:– 15 (Indiction cycle) × 19 (Metonic cycle) × 28 (Solar cycle) =
7980 years
• Its beginning point falls at the last time when all three cycles were in their first year together, 4713 BC—Scaliger chose this because it predated all historical dates
• According to legend, Scaliger named his cycle after his father, who was named Julius (confusing, yes)
Julian Day Cycles
• Indiction, 15 year tax collection cycle of the Roman Empire
• Metonic cycle, 19 years, represents an equal number of years and lunar phase cycles
• Solar cycle = 28 years, represents the time for a leap day to cycle through every combination of days (Mon-Sun)
15 × 19 × 28 = 7980 years
French Revolutionary Calendar
• New calendar created during the French Revolution in 1789• The year consisted of 365-366 days divided into 12 months of 30
days each, followed by 5-6 additional days• The months were named after seasons and weather (Ex:
Thermidor, Fructidor)• Each month was divided into three “decades” of 10 days, of which
the final day was a day of rest.• The 10 days of each decade were numbered (Primidi, Duodi, etc.).
The 5-6 additional days were unnumbered festivals• Each year was to start on the Autumnal Equinox (around Sept 22)• The Revolutionary calendar was used between Nov 24, 1793 and
Jan 1, 1806 (Gregorian). It’s “0” year was the French Revolution itself, in 1789.
• The French wanted to “de-Christianize” the calendar, but workers didn’t enjoy 9 days of work per “week”
Maya Calendar
• The Maya of Central America used systems of interlocking calendars, and they were adept at calculating dates in each calendar or converting one calendar to another
• The earliest Maya calendric system dates back to 500 BC and originated with the Maya ancestors the Olmecs
• Mayan Calendars:– Tzolkin-260 day “Divine calendar”– Haab-365 day Civil calendar– Long Count– Venus Cycle
Tzolkin & Haab• The Tzolkin was a 260 day calendar used to date religious
functions• The Tzolkin combines 20 day names with 13 days to produce
260 unique combinations• The origin of the 260 cycle is unknown• It might reflect the human gestation period of 9 months, or the
number of days that Venus is visible in the evening or morning sky
• The Haab represented a 365 day solar calendar• The Haab did not account for the extra ¼ day in the solar year,
so the Haab tended to drift through the seasons. It appears that the Maya, like the Egyptians, were aware of this discrepancy
• When combined, the Tzolkin and Haab created a 52 year Calendar Round
• Each Calendar Round date had a unique value
Long Count• Used for dates beyond the Calendar Round of 52 years• The Long Count used a 20 day number base
– The day was K’in– 20 Kins is one winal (20 days)– 18 winals make one tun (360 days~1 solar year)– 20 tuns make one katun (20 solar years)– 20 katuns make one baktun (400 solar years)
• The Long Count also had higher terms measuring up to 63 million years (1 alautun)
• Interestingly, the Maya placed special significance upon the end of 13 baktuns, and in the Gregorian calendar this occurs on the winter solstice in 2012
• The starting date of the first baktun in this cycle was August 11th, 3114 BC
Venus Cycle
• The Maya also kept track of the visibility of Venus
• The Dresden Codex, one of only two surving Maya books, describes the Maya calculation of the Venus cycle
• The Maya were able to calculate the visibility of Venus for thousands of years into the past or future
• It is conjectured that the Caracol, a round building at Chichen Itza, served as a Venus observatory
Maya Venus “Observatory” at Chichen Itza
http://centros.edu.aytolacoruna.es/sfxabier/world_links/mexico_observatory.jpg
World Calendar
• A new calendar proposed to replace the Gregorian
• Every year is the same• For example, your birthday would fall on the
same weekday every year• Includes a leap day and other corrections• Proposed in the 1920s, but never caught on• http://www.theworldcalendar.org/
TWCandDescription.pdf
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