[meteorite-list] Dog Days and Sirius: was "List is Quiet"

From: bernd.pauli at paulinet.de <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: 01 Aug 2010 21:31:47 UT
Message-ID: <DIIE.0000007000004E55_at_paulinet.de>

Sterling wrote:

"It is the *heliacal rising of Sirius*, the *Dog Star*, which achieved conjunction
with the Sun on July 31, but won't be briefly visible on the eastern horizon at dawn
until August 7th or so...It was the basis of the Egyptian calendar, for the appearance
of Sirius marked the start of the rising of the Nile to flood. Anciently, the heliacal
rising of Sirius at that time and latitude happened on July 23 every year."


Hi Sterling and List,

As for the heliacal rising of Sirius, I totally agree. That's why the first sighting of
the brilliant star Sirius in the morning sky (shortly before sunrise) was regarded as the
true New Year's Day by the ancient Egyptians.

Unfortunately "not every year", at least for the ancient Egyptians because they used
a civil year of 365 days instead of 365 ? days. They did not use our leap-year so that
after about 120 years the civil year would be a whole month in advance of the astro-
nomical year. Because of this defect in the civil year, it sometimes happened that the
real summer fell in the winter of the civil calendar, and vice versa.

Reference:

GARDINER A. (1994) Egyptian Grammar (Third Edition, Revised, pp. 204-205).


Best wishes,

Bernd
Received on Sun 01 Aug 2010 05:31:47 PM PDT