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Napanee's Human Sun Dial
Napanee has a Human Sundial?! or as mathematicians call it an Analemmatic Dial.
Analemmatic dials are not very common. They are a particular kind of horizontal sundial in which the shadow-casting object is vertical, and is moved depending on the date, based on the declination of the sun on a given day. The time is read from the dial by noting where the shadow, cast by the vertical pin, crosses hour points laid out on an ellipse. If the dial on the ground is large enough, the shadow can be cast by a person. This makes it very different from the traditional sundials we often see where the shadow is cast by a triangular shaped wedge.
The analemmatic sundial is perfect as a piece of large mathematical sculpture.
Analemmatic dials are not very common. They are a particular kind of horizontal sundial in which the shadow-casting object is vertical, and is moved depending on the date, based on the declination of the sun on a given day. The time is read from the dial by noting where the shadow, cast by the vertical pin, crosses hour points laid out on an ellipse. If the dial on the ground is large enough, the shadow can be cast by a person. This makes it very different from the traditional sundials we often see where the shadow is cast by a triangular shaped wedge.
The analemmatic sundial is perfect as a piece of large mathematical sculpture.
