Fischer Dial Dedicated in New Milford, CT
[photo courtesy of volunteers at the McCarthy Observatory ]On Saturday, June 9th 2012, the volunteers of the John J. McCarthy Observatory in New Milford, CT, dedicated a 9-foot stainless steel sundial as the centerpiece of “Galileo’s Garden” adjacent to the John J. McCarthy Observatory. The sundial was built and dedicated in memory of Kathleen Fischer, a sixth-grade science teacher who inspired many students to pursue science.
The sundial is an open armillary, with an adjustable hour band for standard and daylight time. At the tip of the gnomon is a bronze and brass true-size rendering of Galileo’s first telescope, honoring the 400 years since Galileo explored the heavens. The North American Sundial Society was privileged to donate to this effort.
The instrument rests on a one-ton granite disk donated by Goodrich of Danbury, CT. The disk was used in the tooling process for making telescope mirrors and serves as a unique base for the sundail.
The sundial was designed with graceful geometric curves – including catenary curves, parabolas, and circle arcs. And the dial is situated in a flower garden with 60 varieties of sunflowers, part of a student gardening project. Seen with the sundial is a 6-foot model of the sun, located in the center of a six-mile scale solar system that traverses the town of New Milford.
Read more at: - http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org -special thanks to Robert Lambert
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November 11th Veterans Memorial
The Anthem Veterans Memorial in Anthem, AZ was dedicated on November 11, 2011 at 11am (11-11-11 11:11:11) to honor the service and sacrifice of the United States armed forces and to provide a place of honor and reflection for veterans, their family and friends. Veterans gather here annually on November 11th to watch a solar alignment at 11:11am when the sun precisely illuminates The Great Seal of the United States. The memorial was designed by Renee Palmer-Jones, and constructed under the guidance of Project Engineer Jim Martin and construction expert Steve Rusch.
Five years ago in 2009 RADM (Ret) Ron Tucker began an effort to create a Veterans Memorial in Anthem, AZ. Ron knew Renee Palmer-Jones, a gifted local artist and sculptor, whom he asked to create a memorial design. He then went to other Anthem friends, Jim Martin and Steve Rusch who enthusiastically joined the project which eventually would cost $190,000.
Renee's first sketch of the memorial was a drawing on the back of a napkin emphasizing the sun's alignment. She envisioned five marble pillars ranging in size from 6 feet to 17 feet standing in a row to honor the veterans of the five military services (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard). Within each massive pillar is an elliptical opening, precisely aligned to allow a beam of sunlight to shine on a mosaic of The Great Seal of the United States at exactly at 11:11am every year on November 11, Veterans Day (Armistice Day). Renee said, "My intent was to make Veterans Day significant and to distinguish it from any other day of the year by using the sun's azimuth in Anthem at that exact time." (Sundialists realize that the sun's declination of -17.28o on Veteran's Day also occurs around February 1st causing a second solar alignment at the memorial.).
Read more at this website or visit:
http://www.onlineatanthem.com/anthem-veterans-memorial
http://www.onlineatanthem.com/image-gallery-category/avm-image-gallery-photo
http://twistedsifter.com/2014/11/anthem-arizona-veterans-memorial/
Martin's technical and engineering experience was complemented by Rusch's construction knowledge, allowing the planning committee to make effective construction choices. The memorial was constructed by Haydon Building Corp and the Great Seal was manufactured by Rock Hard Designs and Surfaces of Phoenix. Anthem resident and project chief engineer Jim Martin was responsible for aligning the memorial pillars accurately with the sun. He said "The position of the sun became the primary design element relative to the placement of the pillars and the elliptical openings that pass the sun's rays through the structures...Trigonometric functions were used to calculate the angular projection shadows of the pillars onto the horizontal [ground] surface, and the elliptical openings in the columns were calculated to illuminate a perfect three-foot diameter circle to match the outline of the Great Seal..."
Nearly 3000 Belden brick pavers surround the memorial pillars,with 750 of them inscribed with names of U.S. servicemen and women to form a Circle of Honor that represents an unbreakable border of service and dedication. The Ohio red brick pavers, white Italian Carrera marble pillars and blue sky represent the colors of the American flag.
The memorial has received may awards including:
- Arizona Landmark Designation 2012 – Arizona Historical SocietyArizona Public Works Project of the Year
- Award 2012 – Arizona Chapter of the American Public Works Association
- ACEC 2012 Grand Award – Best Engineering and Environmental Consulting Project
- Historic Marker Designation 2012 – Arizona Historical Society.
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VLA Sundial Memorial
Bracewell Memorial Sundial at VLA Photo Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSFIn 1961 Professor Ronald Bracewell at Stanford University created an X shaped array (called a “Chris-Cross array” for W.R. “Chris” Christiansen) using 32 10-foot diameter dish antennas to form a radio spectroheliograph nestled in the hills of Palo Alto, California.
The radio telescope, operating at a wavelength of 10 cm, produced daily maps of solar radio activity that NASA used during the Apollo moon landings. Bracewell used the antenna piers as a novel “guest book,” handing visiting astronomers a hammer and chisel to carve their signatures into the concrete. He accumulated more than 200 of these signatures from many of the leading pioneers of radio astronomy.
Bracewell’s radio telescope, dismantled in the 1980’s, now has a second life as part of a sundial designed by Professor Woody Sullivan from the University of Washington. Dr. Sullivan is an avid dialist and member of the North American Sundial Society. In 2012 donations from the Friends of the Bracewell Observatory Association, Associated Universities Inc., and the National Science Foundation provided funds to create a memorial to Dr. Bracewell who passed away in 2007.
The memorial is a horizontal gnomonic sundial at the entrance of the Very Large Array (VLA) of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) visitor center in New Mexico. Ten of the 6-foot antenna piers with their historic signatures mark the hours. They are positioned just northward of the winter solstice line. As described by Dave Finley of the NRAO, “The central portion of the sundial is on a 46-by-35-foot concrete slab. Markers that indicate the time of day are embedded in the slab, where the shadow of a metal sphere mounted atop a post can fall on them. Visitors can walk around the sundial to find not only the time of day but the approximate time of the year. Other markers indicate important dates in the history of radio astronomy, and solar noon at other observatories. Unlike any other sundial, this one ... allows visitors to locate the approximate position in the sky of three celestial objects that played important roles in radio astronomy: two distant galaxies and the remains of an exploded star in our own Milky Way.” Read more at:
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Hampton to Build 9/11 Memorial Sundial
[photo credit: Rob Walton]Todd Petty reported in the Hunterdon County Democrat that Tom Carpenter, a member of Fire Company 13 for forty-three years, presented plans to the city council for a 9/11 memorial in Veteran’s Park located in Hampton Borough, New Jersey.
The park has memorials honoring local veterans from The Great War to those of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the twin tower collapse of 9/11 Tom Carpenter recalled, “Thank God we didn’t have anyone from Hampton Borough, but Lebanon and Bethlehem did. We did respond to Ground Zero within hours …and spent two days there. Hampton does have a direct connection [to 9/11] and we’re proud of it.”
Councilman James Cregar has begun design sketches of a memorial sundial to be built with twin towers steel beams received from the New York Port Authority. “The steel brought back memories. The significance of this little sundial design gives recognition to the loss on 9/11 and I think what the committee is doing is going above and beyond the patriotic duty. I want to thank you … for allowing me to participate.”
Carpenter, Cregar, and a committee of volunteers are working with the North American Sundial Society to design the memorial sundial with shadows cast on plaques at the time of the 9/11 disasters. Engraved bricks will also be included where people can put a family name or a short message. If interested in purchasing a brick or making a donation, call Tom Carpenter at 908-537-4521. [photo credit: Rob Walton]
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September 11th Remembrance
September 11th is a time of remembrance. At Freedom High School in Woodbridge, Virginia stands a large sundial dedicated in 2004 with four inlaid plaques. The plaques are arranged on the ground such that the gnomon shadow tip falls on them at 8:45, 9:03, 9:37 and 10:07 AM, the times of the four air crashes. Near the sundial is a low, black granite panel commemorating the citizens of Prince William County that lost their lives on September 11th, and the names of those citizen are on bricks surrounding the sundial.
A new September 11th sundial memorial is being proposed at Croton Landing, New York, the using some of the twisted metal remains of the World Trade Center. The metal remains come from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey that has been giving away pieces to municipalities and corporations for memorials since 2009.
In response, the Town of Cortland and the Villages of Buchanan and Croton-on-Hudson joined together to submit a request for steel pieces to create a Sundial Memorial. The Sundial Memorial is a collaborative design between James Rhodes and Lauren Davis as seen in the drawing below. Called the “Reaching Through the Shadow” Memorial, the sundial will be located along the Hudson River at Croton Landing. It will use a steel beam of the World Trade Center to cast a shadow in remembrance of Ground Zero. A twisted and scarred beam from the North Tower, seemingly out of balance, will reliably point to commemorative markers on the ground for every future September 11th. Within the shadow of the steel beam is a lone figure of a woman sculpted in bronze. She represents those lost, as well as those left to mourn.
Consider donating to this project: http://www.9-11remembrance.com
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