Related papers: On times and shadows: the observational analemma
The North-South asymmetry of solar activity has been recognized for different solar phenomena. Following Waldmeier, it is now assumed that solar activity dominates in the Northern solar hemisphere during the ascending part of the secular…
A method to measure the seeing from video made during drift-scan solar transits is proposed. The limb of the Sun is projected over a regular grid evenly spaced. The temporal dispersion of the time intervals among the contacts between solar…
Long-term observational data have information on the magnetic cycles of active stars and that of the Sun. The changes in the activity of our central star have basic effects on Earth, like variations in the global climate. Therefore…
It is possible that bosonic dark matter forms halos around the Sun or the Earth. We discuss the possibility of probing such halos with atomic clocks. Focusing on either a Higgs portal or photon portal interaction between the dark matter and…
This paper describes some of the astronomical effects that could be important for understanding the ice ages, historic climate changes and the recent temperature increase. These include changes in the sun's luminosity, periodic changes in…
The objective reality of the Earth's motion about the Sun was finally proven observationally by Bradley (1727) when he correctly explained the ~20'' annual, elliptical motions of stars as being due to aberration of starlight caused by the…
We describe the defining observations of the solar cycle that provide constraints for the dynamo processes operating within the Sun. Specifically, we report on the following topics: historical sunspot numbers and revisions; active region…
Ptolemy's model of the Moon's motion implied that its distance varies by nearly a factor of two, implying that its angular size should also vary by nearly a factor of two. We present an analysis of 100 naked eye observations of the Moon's…
I describe how to obtain a rather good experimental determination of the eccentricity of the Earth orbit, as well as the obliquity of the Earth rotation axis, by measuring, over the course of a year, the elevation of the Sun as a function…
The Sun is a variable star whose magnetic activity varies most perceptibly on a timescale of approximately 11 years. However, significant variation is also observed on much shorter timescales. We observe a quasi-biennial (2 year) signal in…
A surprisingly large amount of information on our solar system can be gained from simple measurements of the apparent angular diameters of the sun and the moon. This information includes the average density of the sun, the distance between…
The cosmological applications of atomic clocks so far have been limited to searches of the uniform-in-time drift of fundamental constants. In this paper, we point out that a transient in time change of fundamental constants can be induced…
The interface between the bright solar surface and the million-degree corona continues to hold the key to many unsolved problems in solar physics. Advances in instrumentation now allow us to observe the dynamic structures of the solar…
In this paper we describe a simple conceptual problem, regarding the actual position of the Sun at sunset or sunrise. Although this problem can be easily explained in terms of rotating frames of references and standard Coriolis Effect, it…
Using wavelet analysis approach, the temporal variations of solar activity on time scales ranging from days to decades, are examined from the daily time series of sunspot numbers. A hierarchy of changing complex periods are careful detected…
The magnetic cycle of the Sun, as manifested in the cyclic appearance of sunspots, significantly influences our space environment and space-based technologies by generating what is now termed as space weather. Long-term variation in the…
It is shown how repeated observations of the sunset from various points up a tall building can be used to determine the Earth's radius. The same observations can also be used, at some latitudes, to deduce an approximate value for the amount…
The kinematics of the Solar zenith passage on the Earth was shown as a simple harmonic motion. This analytical model used the uniform circular motion to describe the Earth's rotation relative to its axis and relative to the Sun, also this…
A re-investigation of the parapegma of Euktemon (5th century BC, Athens), based on the assumption that some star observations may in fact have been calculated rather than directly observed. The calculation follows Pliny, Natural History…
The changing heavens have played a central role in the scientific effort of astronomers for centuries. Galileo's synoptic observations of the moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus starting in 1610, provided strong refutation of Ptolemaic…