Summer Solstice 21/12

[glenc]

Today is the longest day of the year in the southern hemisphere.

Tonight the Sun will set in the SW at its most southerly point.
Tomorrow the Sun will rise in the SE at its most southerly point.

The latest sunset will be early next month because of the equation of time.
The earliest sunrise was at the start of this month.

The Sun is 23 degrees 26 minutes south of the equator and is overhead on the Tropic of Capricorn today.

December was supposed to be the 10th month and March the first month of the year, but someone messed it all up.
http://webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar.html

I think the year should begin at the March equinox and have 13 months with 4 weeks in each.
That means every month in a year would start on the same day of the week.
The year would be 13x4x7=364 days and the last day would be a holiday (365 days), 2 holidays in a leap year (366 days).

[OneOfOne]

Sounds like a good idea to me! This would give the astrologers a "spot" to put in the missing constellation on the ecliptic (Ophiuchus).

We would then have 13 "Moonths" in a year. It would also mean, if it was New Moon on the first of the month, it would be new moon on the next month...it would just slowly "walk" through the calendar as a month and moonth don't exactly coincide. If New Moon was on a weekend, it would be around the weekend for several months...allowing the best viewing to be on the weekend for a year or more at a time.

They could just change the old rhyme to:

28 days hath September, April, June and November. All the rest have 28, except February (which is also the last month of the "new" year) which has 28 but 29 every leap year, but it is a holiday anyway so who cares!:lol:

I just don't know how the triscadecaphobians will handle it!

[glenc]

triscadecaphobians???
What r they?

[Satchmo]

For the practising Pagans amongst you that take their Solstice celebrations most seriously , Summer Solstice is 11 22 AM on Friday morning NSW time ;)

Mark

[erick]

Have set the alarm! :D Don't want to miss it!

[Ric]

Does that mean we have to dance naked around the Gum trees or something like that. :lol:
And will it make the clouds go away. :P

Probably a lot more preferable than the Winter Solstice.

Cheers :D

[Gargoyle_Steve]

I've done a little playing around with Starry Nights (the software :P ) and checked back to my date of birth, etc .... despite the fact that my birthday falls very squarely in the middle of the Cancer period when I was born (mid July) the sun was most definitely in Gemini. Many people will find that a similar thing will apply, generally speaking if the date you were born lies within the first half of your sign the sun was probably REALLY sitting within the sign previous to yours.

If you want a hint as to why this inaccuracy has occurred set your favourite "sky" software to whenever your birthday falls prior to October 1582 and check the suns position against the constellations, then check it again at your following birthday (post october 1582).

Side note: In addition to those who were actually born under the sign of Ophiuchus (g'day Ron!) I have noticed that it may be possible to have been born under the sign of Orion!

[ballaratdragons]

They sure did Glen,

Most people don't even notice the obvious. Sept means 7, Octo means 8, and Dece means 10.

[glenc]

Sept means 7, Octo means 8, and Dece means 10.
Yes that's what I was getting at.

Also Julius Caesar had 31 days in July so Augustus changed August from 30 to 31 days.

Full moon occurs on average every 29.530589 days so if if you want a calendar that follows the moon you have alternately 29 and 30 days in a month with a correction as needed. That gives 12.37 months in a year so you need an extra month about every 3 years or so if you want to have 29 or 30 days in a month.

It gets messy.

See for Moon phases.
http://www.lunarrepublic.com/info/phases.shtml

[CoombellKid]

Happy summer Solstice to everyone, have fun! even if you
do like dancing around naked. I think they have a pagan
festival up here in the bush somewheres.

regards,CS sunny days

Rob