2012 Transit of Venus

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Published: 08 June 2012

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NASA has taken outstanding video of the June 6th 2012 transit of Venus.  Images were recorded by the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory Satellite that records the sun's surface and corona at a number of visible light and ultraviolet wavelengths. [See sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov]   These images showing the 2012 transit of Venus were recorded at a wavelength of 171 Angstroms (AIA 171) (Extreme Ultraviolet).  This channel is especially good at showing coronal loops - the arcs extending off of the Sun where plasma moves along magnetic field lines. The brightest spots seen here are locations where the magnetic field near the surface is exceptionally strong.  

NASA video source and images may be found at http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010900/a010996/index.html

Eclipse Sundial For May 20th, 2012

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Published: 19 May 2012

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Don’t miss the Solar Eclipse this Sunday, May 20^th.  Times of the eclipse can be found at http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2012-Tab02.pdf

For those of you in the San Francisco – San Mateo California area, Bill Gottesman, NASS dialist, has created an “eclipse clock”, a new type of paper sundial made specifically for the partial solar. You need a simple pin-hole projector (a card with a small hole in it) to cast a shadow of the eclipsed sun.  The angle of the moon’s shadow tells accurate time (at least for San Mateo California). Bill will discuss how he made this dial at the NASS Sundial Conference in Asheville this August.  Come find out how he did it.

Attachments:

Eclipse_Sundial_2012.pdf

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Sundial WebCam In Action

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Published: 12 December 2011

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Hamilton Dial Dedicated

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Published: 06 June 2025

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On May 31, 2025 at 1pm, the Hamilton, Ohio, sundial (NASS Sundial Registry #1109) was re-dedicated in Monument Park. Originally dedicated in 1941 to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) near the shores of the Great Miami River by the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the sundial faced 84 years of weathering, vandalism, and neglect, leaving it in a sad state. 

Hamilton native and historian, Kathleen Stuckey Fox, stepped in to restore the dial and surrounding area of Monument Park, leading an engraved brick campaign to raise 10,000 dollars.The effort was supported by the citizens of Hamilton, Butler County Histrorical Society, the Hamilton Garden Club and the NASS who contributed 1500 dollars, which as Kathleen Stuckey Fox said, "to save one of their childrren."

Philanthropists James K. Fitton and the W.E. Smith Family Charitable Trust provided substantial support.  At the end, 19,200 dollars were raised and 140 engraved bricks to surround the dial were purchased and donated. The sundial restoration and crafting of a new sundial gnomon was done under the care and expertise of Hawkins and Hawkings, LLC of Cincinnati (https://www.studio-hawkins.com/).  They gave the bronze base and dial a warm brown patina with bight bronze pedestal legs.  The dial stans proudly on an octagonal grey granite base engraved "May 31, 2025."

During the Sundial Dedication at Monument Park, Hamilton Mayor, Pat Moeller and City Coucil presented a Proclamation thanking Kathleen Stuckey Fox, urging “all citizens to recognize and show appreciation to Kathleen and the work she has accomplished to preserve the City of Hamilton’s history.”  Mark Montgomery, representing the NASS, concluded his remarks with, “Many of the Grand Army of the Republic sundials across the country were established with great fanfare.  No less today for the GAR sundial here in Hamilton.  Enjoy this moment in time and may the sundial last another 100 years.”

Hamilton Dial under Restoration

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Published: 21 March 2025

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The Hamilton dial is in the restorative care of Jarrett and Celene Hawkins (Hawkins & Hawkins Custom, LLC in Cincinnati Ohio https://www.studio-hawkins.com/) in preparation for the dial's dedication on Saturday, May 31, 2025.

The face of the Hamilton Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) sundial has been cleaned and bead-blasted showing the dial as it was cast 84 years ago. In the process, Hawkins & Hawkins discovered a plate attached to the edge of the bottom half of the dial with the name "Newman Bros. Inc Cincinnati Ohio" The foundry most likely cast other GAR dials of similar design. Newman Brothers, Inc. began operation in 1882, providing cast iron and bronze hardware and continued into the 1950's creating "architectural and ornamental metal work in aluminum, bronze, nickel, silver and stainless steel" before closing their doors.

The restoraion is intended to leave the dial and four-post dial pedestal with minimum change to the original surfaces. What has worked well on other bronze dials is a light brown patina, leaving the top of the hour lines, marks, and lettering in a bright bronze finish.     

A total of $19,200 for the dial's restoration was raised through donations and selling 140 engraved bricks that will be along a pathway leading to the dial. The path is being designed by Adam Cornette, Director of the Hamilton Parks Conservancy and his team. The engraved polished granite hexagon for the dial base is in Cincinnati, waiting to be delivered. The 140 engraved bricks are in safekeeping at a Hamilton storage facility. Everything has been arranged for the dedication on May 31, 2025, at 1:00pm at Monument Park in Hamilton.  Mark Montgomery of the North American Sundial Society is slated to be one of the eight guest speakers. Following the dedication, a reception follows in the beautiful Soldiers, Sailors, and Pioneers Monument, dedicated on July 4, 1906.

Photos courtesy of Hawkins & Hawkins

Hamilton Dial Restoration

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Published: 04 November 2024

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NASS Registered Sundial #1109 at https://sundials.org/index.php/sundial-registry/onedial/1109 is one of a series of bronze sundials presented by Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, dedicated to the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic. Unfortunately the dial in Hamilton, Ohio, suffers from neglect and the gnomon has long been missing.

With support, this dial has been designated for restoration in 2025. A tri-fold brochure from the Butler County Historical Society is attached, explaining the restoration effort and asking for donations. Once restored it will be returned to Monument Park in Hamilton. NASS has contributed 1000 USD to the restoration effort and a local philanthropist has donated 5000 USD. Kathleen Fox, head of the restoration effort, reports that as of Nov 1, 2024, "Our total cash on hand now is a little over 15,000 USD and counting. We have two more months of the campaign left... and the goal of selling [memorial] bricks has just passed 100....We are also purchasing a polished granite hexagon piece on which to place the sundial. I have applied for a 2,500 USD grant to cover that cost."

Click on https://hamiltonthrive.com/c/restore-the-gar-sundial/ to read the history of this dial and to support the restoration effort through a 501(c)3.  A short video is on this internet page explaining the restoration effort. 

Attachments:

Butler County Historical Society - Sundial Donations

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Louis B. Toomer and Sundial Remembered

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Published: 13 April 2019

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In June 2018 the Georgia Historical Society dedicated a historical marker in Chatham Square to Louis B. Toomer, which read in part "Louis Burke Toomer, African-American leader, local bank founder, and realtor, was born in Savannah in 1897. Raised and educated locally, Toomer established the Georgia Savings and Realty Corporation on February 23, 1927, in the historic black business district on West Broad Street. During segregation, the company provided banking, investment, and insurance services for blacks who were not always allowed access to white banking establishments...." [1]

But before the historical marker was the Louis B. Toomer sundial in Chatham Square. As Georgia Wright Benton (past president of the Savannah Chapter of the National Conference of Artists) recalled:

"The sundial was dedicted in the spring of 1963 by the Savannah Chapter of the National Conference of Artists ... an organization comprised of black students throughout Chatham County along with their art teachers. West Broad Street School for black students was closed in 1962 and the pupils were transferred to Barnard Street School. Members of the National Conference of Artists visited the new school and one of our members observed that the park in front of the school, Chatham Square, needed improvement. Beautification of Chatham Square became a project for the organization, and the group decided to place a sundial in the square. We wanted something permanent that represented the black community in front of the Barnard Street school."

"The organization held several fundraisers to pay for the sundial. The primary fundraiser was a concert held in the Beach High School auditorium during the fall of 1962. Our concert artist was Kiah’s sister, a soprano singer. The fundraiser was a success and the sundial was purchased with help from Carver State Bank and Toomer’s wife, Janie. ... This sundial was the first dedication to an African-American in a Savannah square contributed by black students of a black organization." [2]

Over the years vandals have attacked and damaged the sundial. Each time, members of the Savannah-Chatham Historic Site and Monument Commission restored the sundial, " [making] a public plea for help and a reminder to the monument marauder that destruction of public property is a felony..." [3] You can see more of this dial in the NASS Sundial Registry (Georgia/Savannah #942).

[1] https://georgiahistory.com/events/historical-marker-dedication-louis-b-toomer-founder-of-carver-state-bank/
[2] https://www.savannahnow.com/opinion/20181129/letters-to-editor-friday-recalling-history-of-chatham-square-sundial
[3] https://www.savannahnow.com/news/2012-01-18/vandals-target-chatham-square-marker