# Any sundial fans here? Any members of NASS or any sundial club? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 12, 2021, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882 "2021-04-12T22:32:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/1 "2021-04-12T22:32:27Z")
It’s been a few years since we had a substantive thread on sundials. I’ve always found them fascinating and last year I discovered NASS, the North American Sundial Society. After poking around there a few months, I joined. I’ve made a correction and update to the registry and DB. Here are Google image searches of some of the different types of sundials (I created these shortened URLs and they are safe) — [https://is.gd/ufGq9U](https://is.gd/ufGq9U) \> **Horizontal Sundial** [https://is.gd/Y5HcBI](https://is.gd/Y5HcBI) \> **Vertical Sundial** [https://is.gd/ZtEdZF](https://is.gd/ZtEdZF) \> **Equatorial Sundial** [https://is.gd/pnPusU](https://is.gd/pnPusU) \> **Armillary Sphere** [https://is.gd/ufe9IC](https://is.gd/ufe9IC) \> **Analemmatic (Human) Sundial** [https://is.gd/BsUGhp](https://is.gd/BsUGhp) \> **Alignment (Stonehenge) or Meridian Sundial** [https://is.gd/rWFTXr](https://is.gd/rWFTXr) \> **Bifilar Sundial** My favorites are the analemmatic and the armillary sphere dials. Equatorial dials are elegant, too. I’m considering putting a sundial somewhere at or on my house. The details and geometry for precise sundials is dizzying. I am learning, slowly. I’m starting to visit the NASS sundials. If I need to go somewhere (like later this week for my covid vaccine), I check the registry to see if there’s one along the way. It is getting to be fun. I created two handy NASS URL shortcuts. The names should be self explanatory. [https://is.gd/ **nassMap**](https://is.gd/nassMap) [https://is.gd/ **nassRegistry**](https://is.gd/nassRegistry) So, do we have any DSFs here? (Doper Sundial Fans). Are you a DSF? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/2 "2021-04-12T22:46:11Z")
That is interesting. I have set up a couple of sundials, but was not aware that I was supposed to register them… There are various programs (eg [ShadowsPro - sundial and astrolabes](https://www.shadowspro.com/en/index.html)) that automate things by letting you select from a list of common types of sundials, input your location and other parameters, and quickly calculate what the plate would look like corresponding to your design. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/3 "2021-04-12T22:57:19Z")
How about a [digital sundial](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1068443)? (and no, I didn’t design that). ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/4 "2021-04-12T23:24:56Z")
This is a famous such design [![](http://www.fransmaes.nl/genk/fig/08-3-25b.jpg) ](http://www.fransmaes.nl/genk/fig/08-3-25b.jpg) , unfortunately, I have not had the chance to visit it in person. I suppose I have always appreciated sundials that let you read mean time directly. These sorts [![](http://precisionsundials.com/images/renaissance%20showing%20mirror&light.jpg) ](http://precisionsundials.com/images/renaissance%20showing%20mirror&light.jpg) look cool, but I do not like the fact that you have to manually adjust them according to the Equation of Time. I would rather have a planar dial with analemmas plotted out on it but no mechanical adjustment necessary after the initial installation. ETA here is a freeware program that you may find useful: > **[Download Orologi Solari](https://web.archive.org/web/20200128045724/http://www.sundials.eu/download/download_enu.html)** > > "Orologi Solari": a freeware program for design and simulation of sundials ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/5 "2021-04-12T23:59:56Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > That is interesting. I have set up a couple of sundials, but was not aware that I was supposed to register them… > > There are various programs (eg [ShadowsPro - sundial and astrolabes](https://www.shadowspro.com/en/index.html)) that automate things by letting you select from a list of common types of sundials, input your location and other parameters, and quickly calculate what the plate would look like corresponding to your design. I don’t think you’re _supposed to_ register them. It’s just a listing of them. ETA — and thanks for the info you posted! ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/6 "2021-04-13T00:01:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > How about a [digital sundial](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1068443)? (and no, I didn’t design that). I saw that on another thread here when I searched before posting the OP. It’s very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/7 "2021-04-13T00:09:33Z")
The last significant sundial I chanced upon was in Palma de Mallorca. I must’ve stood there for 20 minutes admiring it. Here’s a web photo of it. [[Album] Sundial, Palma de Mallorca (web pic, not mine) ![](https://i.imgur.com/5gbM80W.jpeg?fb "Sundial, Palma de Mallorca (web pic, not mine)") ](https://imgur.com/a/700FbE8) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/8 "2021-04-13T00:23:54Z")
Links to garden sundials which aren’t inaccurate cheap knockoffs appreciated. [Intended as a gift to a relative] ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/9 "2021-04-13T00:59:53Z")
Well, that [precisionsundials.com](http://precisionsundials.com) site, an image from which I linked to above, advertises ready as well as custom designs and materials like granite, silicon bronze, and aluminium-magnesium, at prices of several grand. But that is really a boutique/custom sundial business. ETA not for your relative, but one sundial I actually made once, is Isaac Newton’s method of a mirror on a window sill casting a spot of light onto the bedroom ceiling. ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/10 "2021-04-13T06:56:42Z")
Most well-known sundial I visited was the Sundial Bridge in Redding, CA. Pretty cool place. > **[Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundial_Bridge_at_Turtle_Bay)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Sundial Bridge (also known as the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay) is a cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge for bicycles and pedestrians that spans the Sacramento River in Redding, California, United States and forms a large sundial. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava and completed in 2004 at a cost of US$23.5 million. The bridge has become iconic for Redding. > The Sundial Bridge provides pedestrian access to the north and south areas of Turtl... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/11 "2021-04-13T14:03:13Z")
I’ve been working recently on analemmas. I thought that I had found an ancient analemma marked by large rocks at an American site, but after performing the calculations I realized that it wasn’t really the correct shape or proportion. (In fact, none of the suspected ancient analemmas around the world actually are analemmas. It’s just similarity of shape and, in some cases, orientation). However, in recent years there have been several modern ground analemmas. There’s one in France thought to date back centuries, and one in Italy that over 150 years old. > **[The Bergamo Analemma - Slow Nomads](https://slownomads.phoosh.net/the-bergamo-analemma/)** > > A Solar Analemma is a graph or plot that shows the position of the Sun in the sky at a single location and at the same time of the day throughout the year. Here in Bergamo, a hole in a metal disk causes a dot of sunlight to be projected on the ground... And there are several in Australia made recently, for some reason. [![](http://www.austintek.com/astro/analemma/images/1627_Richmond_analemma.jpg) ](http://www.austintek.com/astro/analemma/images/1627_Richmond_analemma.jpg) > **[The analemma](https://scientificgems.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/the-analemma/)** > > If you photograph the sun at the same time every day (or every few days), you will find that the sun traces out a path in the sky, called the analemma. György Soponyai, in Budapest (Hungary), did e… [https://equation-of-time.info/sundials-with-moving-styles](https://equation-of-time.info/sundials-with-moving-styles) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/12 "2021-04-13T18:22:41Z")
Here is another design where you have to move/touch the sundial to make an observation: [https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf2.myportfolio.com/cf59f354b34391ef9ddbec41a1409bef/3bac49bf-c0f9-4a67-8cb4-b354672b9a33\_rw\_1920.JPG](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf2.myportfolio.com/cf59f354b34391ef9ddbec41a1409bef/3bac49bf-c0f9-4a67-8cb4-b354672b9a33_rw_1920.JPG) [http://chrisma.es/heliochronometer/](http://chrisma.es/heliochronometer/) Nice and accurate, and corrects for the equation of time/time zones, but this style of dial is more like an instrument you actively use than a purely decorative object standing in the garden. You adjust the vernier every day to keep it correctly reading mean time. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/13 "2021-04-13T22:23:30Z")
@ **DPRK** I like the double analemmatic dials in the brief article you shared. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/14 "2021-04-13T22:26:33Z")
@ **CalMeacham** , about the analemma traced by the sun, years ago at Stanford Hospital, in the main corridor by the main entrance, they had a nice, framed time lapse photo of the sun above the Stanford campus, and the analemma was very clear. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/15 "2021-04-13T23:34:26Z")
The bifilar ones that geometrically solve the equation of time with no moving or adjustable parts are my faves by far. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/16 "2021-04-14T02:44:27Z")
Have you seen the article about all the mission churches in California where the church was built and statuary positions so that the statue of the patron saint is illuminated on the saint’s day, or the altar is illuminated on the solstice. [Smithsonian article](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-sun-illuminates-spanish-missions-on-winter-solstice-180967619/) StG ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/17 "2021-04-14T05:55:08Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Have you seen the article about all the mission churches in California where the church was built and statuary positions so that the statue of the patron saint is illuminated on the saint’s day, or the altar is illuminated on the solstice. > > [Smithsonian article](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-sun-illuminates-spanish-missions-on-winter-solstice-180967619/) I did not know that. Interesting. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/18 "2021-04-14T12:47:21Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The bifilar ones that geometrically solve the equation of time with no moving or adjustable parts are my faves by far. Which one is that? It does not have any curved hour lines or require you to rotate the dial manually? ETA I have not yet considered all the possibilities, but, ignoring the potential difficulties in precisely shaping and mounting the wires, with a bifilar sundial you have the freedom to use arbitrarily shaped and positioned curves for the gnomon, therefore letting you control the resulting dial in exotic ways. ETA2: I agree that would be a favorite! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/19 "2021-04-14T13:28:19Z")
The wiki is not as good as it should be, but the pix in the OP’s link lead to some other reading on point. As best I can put it together (and no guarantees expressed or implied) … _if_ you correctly arranging the two straight wires in 3D space versus the plane of the dial and the latitude and orientation of the dial _then_ the point of intersection of the shadows as projected onto the dial deals with EOT. Depending on other details you may need curved hour lines inscribed on your dial but not necessarily. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882/20 "2022-06-08T08:08:54Z")
Big bump. I ordered a Wenger Sundial from Daniel Wenger for my house. This type of sundial works only at a specific location, and mine is for my house. I pick it up Sunday and can’t wait! The Wenger Sundial — [[Album] The Wenger Sundial ![](https://i.imgur.com/3PipgE5.jpeg?fb "The Wenger Sundial") ](https://imgur.com/gallery/aMmnyoz) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sundial-fans-here-any-members-of-nass-or-any-sundial-club/939882.md?page=2)