[AZ-Observing] Re: April 11, 1533 9 30
- From: kellerjt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- To: RGP14159@xxxxxxx, AZ-Observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 09:42:29 -0700
I know this is off topic. I'm sorry. Thanks so much for everyone's
response direct to me with this personal barely related to astronomy
project. So many great astronomers in Arizona! I love this place!
April 11, 1533 9 30 appears on a painting done by Holbein (the younger)
called The Ambassadors. It appears in two places, once on a sundial and
once on a calendar. The astronomical/astrological (then the same)
instruments that appear in this painting belonged to King Henry VIII's
astronomer/astrologer (how embarrassing), Nicolaus Kratzer. Holbein also
did a painting of Kratzer making the Sundial-- a strange polyhedral (sp)
affair.
The painting also has a metamorphosis in it. There is a disk painted at the
bottom that if you look at the painting in it at a certain angle it comes
together into a skull.
Anyway I was just kind of lost into this different kind of armchair
astronomy, getting a fix until the weather cleared so I was researching
this, prompted by a good friend, artist, from Budapest, Istvan Orosz. Check
out his work on the internet!
So in my research I found that Geographer Reiner Gemma Frisius published
this idea that if you know Clock or Mechanical Time, you can figure
longitude with the Sun Time. He is the first known person to point this out
in his 1533 edition of De principis astronomiae et cosmographie. This of
course was the right idea, but not perfected for a few hundred more years
with the Harrison Clocks.
Anyway, I am thinking maybe the Calendar is to represent Mechanical Clock
Time and the Sundial is to represent Sun Time. And the discovery of how to
calculate longitude is the secret message in this painting. Having the
secret of longitude in 1533 would give your country an enormous amount of
power.
I was also thinking maybe some huge astronomical event occurred then, or
cool planetary alignment. I was thinking maybe the 9 30 could be r.a. or a
meridian of longitude.
I don't know what the Prime Meridian was then, I don't think it was
Greenwich.
Thanks to all of you who replied direct to me. I promise, next bought of
bad weather, I'll work on my telescope or something!
Jennifer the PEST!
-----Original Message-----
From: RGP14159@xxxxxxx [mailto:RGP14159@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2001 9:48 PM
To: kellerjt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: April 11, 1533 9 30
Well, Jennifer, you have whetted my curiosity! Haven't
heard any further
communication about this date, other than the one response
you initially got
on AZ-Observing. I looked this date up on both Redshift 3
and Starry Night
Deluxe, but nothing stands out as significant. I don't
think either one of
these two programs are as high powered as the one referenced
in the first
response you got. I also looked in Compton's reference
collection, which
includes a world history and encyclopedia on disk, but
didn't have anything
specific to 1533. However, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia
has 45 articles
relating to the year 1533, the most notable being King Henry
VIII marrying
Anne Boleyn that year; but not necessarily in April. Don't
find anything
relating to astronomy.
I am curious as to the reference source to this particular
date? Have you
got any further information?
Sorry to be so nosy, but if you don't mind, would like to
try to see this
through!
Randy Peterson
EVAC
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