nass news 2024 dec VSSC PolarSundIn November 2024, a team consisting of members from SPL, TTDG and CMD of VSSC successfully designed and installed an accurate and fully functional sundial at the Rocket Garden of VSSC Space Museum, Thumba (8.53°N, 76.86°E). Following a space theme, the vertical gnomon is a 3-stage rocket that casts its daily and seasonal shadow on a dial face 1 1/2 meters by 1 meter.  The the sundial face is the top of a wedge with an angle of 8.53°.  Instead of hour and minute lines, every 15 minutes shows a complete analemma with the path from December to June in red and from June back to December in blue. The dial is corrected for longitude and shows Indian Standard Time from 9:00 to 15:30.

Photos of the sundial can be seen on India Space Research Organization (ISRO) website: https://www.isro.gov.in/SundialVSSCSpaceMuseum.html