Dates of heliacal rising and setting of any star visible to the naked eye
At intermediate terrestrial latitudes (between -66°33' and +66°33'), star rises and star sets follow one another. Some of these events occur at dusk (shortly after sunset), others in the dark night, and still others in the light of dawn (shortly before sunrise). The day and the moment at which these events occur depend mainly on the geographical latitude of the observer, on his/her visual acuity (his/her capacity to distinguish contrasting objects at a given distance), on the apparent magnitude of the star sighted, on its position on the celestial vault at the historical period considered, as well as on the local atmospheric conditions : temperature and humidity rate of the ambient air.
This software designed during my PhD thesis invites you to accurately determine the days and instants of heliacal rising and setting (in the dawnlight and the twilight) of any star visible to the naked eye of the Hipparcos catalog (5043 stars in total) since the year 4713 before our era. To do this, it combines various algorithms of astrometry (relative to the positioning of the stars on the sky) and photometry (relative to the brightness of the observed object and the local visibility conditions). More info ...
Access to the full user interface of this software is subject to a fee: € 20, payable via PayPal's secure server (payment by PayPal account or bank account). This amount includes unlimited access to the user interface of this software as well as free access to future updates. Free trials of this software are available in the Culture Diff Client Area.
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Days of solstices and equinoxes
The succession of the seasons of the year, the alternation of periods of drought and humidity, of heat, warmth and coolness, govern life on Earth - both on the surface of the continents and at the bottom of the oceans. They result from slow but inexorable variations in the duration and intensity of the sunshine. In other words, the trajectory that our Sun seems to describe above the Earth's horizon. A trajectory that differs each day: more or less extended and inclined, depending on the time of the year.
The winter solstice, the spring equinox, the summer solstice and the autumn equinox are, at intermediate latitudes, the high points of each season of the year. Their occurrence materializes key moments, at which the Sun occupies particular positions: extreme or intermediate, two to two opposite, on the celestial vault centered on our Earth.
This software invites you to accurately determine the instants at which the spring equinox, the summer solstice, the autumn equinox and the winter solstice occur since the year 4713 before our era. To do so, it combines various astrometry algorithms (relative to the positioning of the stars in the sky). More info ...
Access to the full user interface of this software is subject to a fee: € 7.50, payable via PayPal's secure server (payment by PayPal account or bank account). This amount includes unlimited access to the user interface of this software as well as free access to future updates. Free trials of this software are available in the Culture Diff Client Area.
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Astronomical source of orientation
of any monument
Since the appearance of our species on Earth, humans and stone have had a very special relationship. So that Prehistory, which began about three million years ago, is divided into periods called Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic. Both their respective names and their succession underline the evolution of our relationship with stone - from the creation of the first lithic tools to their polishing through their geometrisation and microlithisation, for essentially everyday purposes: hunting, butchering, clearing, ploughing, harvesting, construction, etc. Logically, the use of stone to record the occurrence of events that have a significant impact on our life on Earth - such as the succession of the seasons of the year - follows. Thus, most of the megalithic complexes are oriented towards the positions of sunrise or sunset at various key times of the year: winter solstice, spring and autumn equinoxes, or summer solstice. The same applies to the stone monuments erected during Antiquity... unless, for cultural or worship reasons, some particularly bright stars were sometimes preferred to the Sun?
This software designed during my PhD thesis invites you to accurately determine the astronomical source of orientation of any monument erected since the year 4713 before our era. To do so, it uses data issued from the Hipparcos catalog (coordinates of 5043 stars visible with the naked eye), combines various algorithms of astrometry (relative to the positioning of the stars on the sky) and photometry (relative to the brightness of the object sighted and the local visibility conditions). More info ...
Access to the full user interface of this software is subject to a fee: € 45, payable via PayPal's secure server (payment by PayPal account or bank account). This amount includes unlimited access to the user interface of this software as well as free access to future updates. Free trials of this software are available in the Culture Diff Client Area.
Add to cart
