Chris_Malcolm
Arthur's Seat Mountain View Indicator
On the summit of Arthur's seat is an Ordnance Survey trigonometric survey pedestal, now made redundant by the GPS system, and this mountain view indicator. Of particular interest to me is the NW line (straight left here) to Ben Lawers. I suspect that on the midsummer solstice on top of Arthur's Seat the sun sets behind Ben Lawers, the triangle of the mountain being a rough inscribed triangle in the circle of the sun.
The problem is that although if this happens, it will happen every year, it will only be visible if the visibility is pretty good and the horizon is clear of cloud. In Edinburgh such evenings are rare...
I have seen such a setting of the sun behind the black triangle of a mountain on the solstice twice, once from Arthur's Seat, and one from another hill I deduced later would in the line with Arthur's Seat. And many maps and much later I decided the mountain was probably Ben Lawers.
Does anyone have the astrogeographical skills to check that?
[Technical Note: Not quite centred, and includes my shadow. My excuse is shooting hand-held overhead (and so blind) in a gale :-)]
Original DSC05982
Arthur's Seat Mountain View Indicator
On the summit of Arthur's seat is an Ordnance Survey trigonometric survey pedestal, now made redundant by the GPS system, and this mountain view indicator. Of particular interest to me is the NW line (straight left here) to Ben Lawers. I suspect that on the midsummer solstice on top of Arthur's Seat the sun sets behind Ben Lawers, the triangle of the mountain being a rough inscribed triangle in the circle of the sun.
The problem is that although if this happens, it will happen every year, it will only be visible if the visibility is pretty good and the horizon is clear of cloud. In Edinburgh such evenings are rare...
I have seen such a setting of the sun behind the black triangle of a mountain on the solstice twice, once from Arthur's Seat, and one from another hill I deduced later would in the line with Arthur's Seat. And many maps and much later I decided the mountain was probably Ben Lawers.
Does anyone have the astrogeographical skills to check that?
[Technical Note: Not quite centred, and includes my shadow. My excuse is shooting hand-held overhead (and so blind) in a gale :-)]
Original DSC05982