Home

Site Map

Search

astronomy,
                      education, software, applet, java, sundial, dial,
                      pie sundial
GeoAstro
Applets

Astronomy
horizontal
                    sundial, vertical sundial, dial, contruction,
                    applet
Chaos Game
horizontal
                      sundial, vertical sundial, dial, contruction,
                      applet
Java
horizontal
                    sundial, vertical sundial, dial, contruction,
                    applet
Miscel-

laneous

Horizontal, Equatorial, and Vertical Sundial

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), the famous Renaissance painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist, presented a drawing with a detailed method for the construction of sundials using compass and straightedge. He published it in 1525 in the third book of his treatise >Underweysung der messung, mit zirckel und richtscheyt< (Teaching of Measuring).
  


 

latitude
Enter latitude in decimal degrees, and press RETURN key.
longitude Enter longitude in decimal degrees (eastern positive, western negative) and press RETURN key.

Use Shift key and click to move the center.

Setting the longitude to zero the hour lines will indicate the local apparent time (solar time).

Taking into account the longitude the hour lines will indicate the standard time if the equation of time is added or subtracted.

+ = sundial is fast on clock time
- = sundial is slow on clock time


equation of
          time

horizontal and
          vertical sundial

The sundial is using a polar gnomon (parallel to the Earth's axis).

Albrecht durer
          sundial construction

table

Dürer's construction of the Archimedean spiral


horizontal
          vertical equatorial sundial

Testing the sundial at 51.62° N, 7.97° E on May 12 at 14:05 CET
(equation of time 3:40 min, dial is fast)

Web Links

Albrecht Dürer (Wikipedia)

Albrecht Dürer (MacTutor History of Mathematics archive)

Albrecht Dürer: Underweysung der Messung, mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt
(Sächsische Landesbibliothek -Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden)

Underweysung der Messung, mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt, in Linien, Ebenen unnd gantzen corporen/Drittes Buch (Wikisource)

G. Wolfschmidt: A Historian Looks at Astronomy in the Classroom

Books
Albrecht Dürer: Unterweisung der Messung mit dem Zirkel und Richtscheit, Faksimile-Neudruck der Ausgabe Nürnberg 1525, Verlag Dr. Alfons Uhl, Nördlingen 2000,
ISBN 978 3 921503 17 1.

Updated: 2023, Oct 06

© 2011-2012 J. Giesen


email