If this group has religious duties to pray due East or due West then that religion must halso have the means to determine that direction, you see that in any culture in the world. So I wonder how they found those directions before.
It is more or less the same question I had earlier (and still have): how did the ancient people at the building of Stonehenge find the equinoxes?
Thibaud Chabot
At 10:44 16-09-2005, you wrote:
At first sight, this looked like a 'trivial' request - but it very
quickly became apparent that I don't have enough knowledge, and so
I have joined this mailing-list in the hope of getting help from
people who may be more able to say whether it is even possible!
I am located in Northern Ireland, and (knowing of my hobby-level
interest in Amateur Astronomy) - I was recently asked if it would
be possible to tell the exact time when the sun is DUE EAST & WEST.
There is a local group of Muslim 'asylum-seekers', who have been
moved here from mainland Britain - and (as part of their religious
observance duties), they want to arrange prayer sessions whenever
the sun is precisely in both the due East and due West directions.
Initially, I thought "Easy - just have a vertical stick (or any
simple 'nodus'), with some North/South/East/West markings on the
ground, and they can watch the shadow until it shows that time".
However, two problems - (1) What if it is not sunny, and (2) Even
if it is sunny, what would they do during the Winter period, when
the sun will rise/set without reaching the East/West directions?
My next thought was "OK, it should be possible to use a computer
program to calculate the times, for every day of the year" - BUT
the Muslim group will not accept any form of 'modern technology'
for this task, and insist that it must be done either by direct
observation or obvious mechanical means (apparently some type of
simple 'clockwork' will be OK for them, but nothing electronic).
My question is therefore "Can the moment when the sun is exactly
due East or West be determined, in any way which will satisfy this
'fundamentalist' Muslim group - or is it an impossible request?
Any thoughts or suggestions from members will be much appreciated.
Sincerely,
David Lawrence.
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Th. Taudin Chabot, home email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
