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What Is This? A Sundial!
August 25, 2016 | Filed under: Island Science and tagged with: Island Science, Maria Mitchell IN THIS ISSUE
Association
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~ by Katherine Brooks, Maria Mitchell Association ~ Still Exceeding

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Sundial or Sun dIsle, as so cleverly named and crafted by Robert A. Snippets
diCurcio (Bob), was designed as a piece of functional art and
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commissioned for the Maria Mitchell Association in 1989. The sundial is
designed based on the latitude (41 degrees, 15 minutes North) and See TWN Play

longitude (70 degrees, 5 minutes West) of Nantucket Island. Camp Scholarship in

Memory of Son
There is a commonly held misconception that the sun attains its highest
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point during the day at noon. This assertion is wrong (unless of course
you happen to be looking at the time from the direct center of a time- 2016 Photo Contest

zone). The sundial sitting in front of the Vestal Street Observatory at the Annual Harvest Fair at
Maria Mitchell Association was designed to create an accurate reading
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using mathematics and astronomy.
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This sundial is a clock that can read both the date and time using the sun Tragedy
and shadows. Unlike other decorative sundials that may be approximate Nantuckets Guided
to the hour, this sundial is exceptionally accurate. Handmade of DuPont
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Corian and brass, the sundial has a gnomon or a triangular pointer, which
is an instrument cut so that the angle makes 41 degrees and 5 minutes Nantucket
above the horizontal. diCurcio designed the sund ial this way to make sure
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that t he angle is equal to the latitude of the sundials location
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(Nantucket). The sundial includes both hour-lines and date-lines which
were established by the height of the triangular gnomon. The gnomon Yesterdays
must also sit parallel to the rotational axis of the earth: th e imaginary line Island/Todays
passing through both poles and the center of the earth. As the earth
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rotates on its axis, the sun appears to rotate around the gnomon.
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The sun crosses the meridian line (the imaginary north-south arc) at Limerick Challenge
different times. The Earth has been divided up into twenty-four time
zones (about 15 degrees of longitude each), causing time zones to differ
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by one hour from the time zone on either side. The U.S. includes four time DEPARTMENT
zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Clearly, Nantucket is within Exploring Nantucket
the Eastern timezone which is centered about the 75th line of west
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longitude. Locations east of longitude 75 degrees see the sun cross the
meridian earlier than noon, while the locations on the western side of the Featured Entrepreneur

line will have the sun cross their meridian later. Nantucket is east of the Featured Restaurants
75th line of longitude by about 5 degrees and it sees the sun cross the
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meridian line about 20 minutes earlier than those on the west side of the
75th line. Approximately one degree of longitude equals about 4 minutes Island Cooking

of clock-time. Island Science

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When sundials were the most accurate and abundant tools to measure
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time, the terms A.M. and P.M. were created. A.M. means ante-meridian
(before the meridian) and P.M. meant post meridian, which was meant to Entertaining

describe the suns position in the sky. Now, we use A.M. and P.M. to signify Nantucket Essays
a time before or after noon.
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diCurcio set up the sundial perfectly level and oriented it so that the Nantucket History &

meridian-line is exactly north-south using a compass. Once the dial is People

aligned magnetically, the gnomon is lined up to cast a shadow on the Nantucket Style
figure of eights which shows the time (synched to a correct watch).
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Installed by diCurcio, the sundial at the Maria Mitchell Association is
accurate to this day. Below are the instructions on how to read the Sun
dIsle. We hope you stop by the Maria Mitchell Vestal Street Observatory LIKE US ON
on Vestal Street to see the 1908 observatory built by the MMA and to test FACEBOOK

out the Sun dIsle on the lawn in front. If reading shadows interests you,
 we encourage you to attend our Summer Speaker Series this Tuesday, ARTICLES BY DATE

August 30, to learn about the Effects of Light at Night with Dr. Mario E. FROM 2012
Articles by Date from
Motta.
2012
Select Month
TO READ CLOCK TIME: Read the tip: the point of the triangular shadow.
When the tip just touches a Figure of Eight, then the sundial indicates
ARTICLES 2007-
clock time ON-THE-HOUR! But: take note of the month! The little figure-of-
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eight at the bottom tells where to read! And: daylight saving time? If YES,
2007-2011 Featured
use the ROMAN NUMERALS top circle.
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TO READ THE DATE: Please read the tip: the point of the triangular 2007-2011 Island
shadow. When the tip just touches one of the curves running from side-to- Science
side, read the DATE shown at the end of the curve.
2007-2011 Nantucket

The MMA was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Maria Mitchell Essays

and to promote her belief in learning-by-doing. An astronomer and 2007-2011 Nantucket

natural scientist, as well as an educator, Maria Mitchell shot to worldwide
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fame when she discovered a comet in 1847. For her discovery, she was
2010 Nantucket Island
awarded a gold medal from the King of Denmark the first American and
first woman to receive the honor. She served as the Professor of Memories

Astronomy and Mathematics at Vassar College from 1865 until 1888. Archived Nantucket
Today, the MMA operates two observatories, a natural science museum,
Articles 2007 2011
an aquarium, and the birthplace of Maria Mitchell. The MMA conducts
scientific research, leads classes and workshops for people of all ages
year-round, and welcomes thousands of visitors to its museums and
observatories. For details, visit mariamitchell.org.

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