[meteorite-list] Boguslavka fall (was...Happy Crab Nebula Day!)
From: Sergey Vasiliev <vs.petrovich_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2011 19:35:17 +0200 Message-ID: <CAGiLwjzboVc=OZuA4jXhSBjHNJsnH98Pn0deWdd3rTn61AF5zA_at_mail.gmail.com> Hi List, Enjoy the image of Boguslavka: http://sv-meteorites.com/gallery/boguslavka.jpg Regards, Sergey On Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 7:29 PM, MexicoDoug <mexicodoug at aim.com> wrote: > "I got a beautifully prepared specimen from Anda, Martin and Stefan, my star > example of a hexahedrite ..." > > Oops - that's Andi, of Meteoriten Haus! > > Kindest wishes > Doug > > > -----Original Message----- > From: MexicoDoug <mexicodoug at aim.com> > To: sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net; paw at wirelessbeehive.com; > meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com > Sent: Tue, Jul 5, 2011 1:26 pm > Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Boguslavka fall (was...Happy Crab Nebula Day!) > > > Sterling wrote: > > "By 1917, when?revolutionary Russians changed their calendars, it was 13 > days." > > Hi Sterling, > > Very informative post ... Now I have one doubt I'm going to have to check > on. > > Boguslavka hexahedrite, (fall, 1916 Oct. 18). I got a beautifully prepared > specimen from Anda, Martin and Stefan, my star example of a hexahedrite ... > > I'd like to clarify on the label the fall date: Julian or 'Gregorian'? If > the date is Old System, the modern fall date in its time zone would then be > 31 October 1916 - a Halloween in some cultures - though still October 30 (or > October 17) in the USA... I'm thinking the it was probably recalculated to > the modern calendar system since it was close enough to the change of the > official calendars on Feb. 1, 1918 or so? But their is the reference quoted > of 1916 ... > > "BOGUSLAVKA > Iron IIA-H > Fall, October 18, 1916 > Russia, Primorsk region > Two stones weighing 256.8 kg > Photo shows a 1765 g piece > The fall was at 11:45 AM, the sky was clear and weather was warm. The fall > was seen from Vladivostrok to the Han Dao He Tse rail station (475 versts) > and accompanied by light and sound phenomena. > > The fall occurred 200 cubits south of a Korean village (fan-za), and > location of the fall was shown by a resident of this fan-za, Ma Tomu Ni. The > first fragment fell near a Cossack who happened to be riding nearby, Ivan > Ovchinnikov. > > ?The meteorite Boguslavka was the first observed fall of an iron meteorite > in the Russian Empire. Based on its main mass it was a huge fall in > comparison with others, and has a beautiful external structure and fantastic > shape. ... > > O.O. Baklund, 1916" > > ref: > http://www.geokhi.ru/~meteorit/opis/boguslavka-e.html > > Maybe the Handbook of Iron Meteorites has more on this? > > Kindest wishes > Doug > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net> > To: paw at wirelessbeehive.com; meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com; MexicoDoug > <mexicodoug at aim.com> > Sent: Tue, Jul 5, 2011 2:49 am > Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] OT - Happy Crab Nebula Day! > > The Calendar-Go-Round! > > ? Simple answers first: if a source specifies "Julian calendar" > for the date of an event, it almost certainly means the event's date > in the Julian calendar system, proposed and enforced by Augustus, > Julius Caesar's adopted son and first Emperor of Rome. > > ? By the time Pope Gregory XIII decided the calendarical slide had > gone far enough, the Julian calendar of 1700 and the astronomical > calendar were 11 days apart, by the 1800's when Protestant Europe > adopted the "Gregorian" calendar, it was 12 days off. By 1917, when > revolutionary Russians changed their calendars, it was 13 days. The > Julian lags by one day every 143 years (since Year 1 AD). > > ? But it's messier than that. For example, when does a year begin? > Jan. 1? No, not for most of the past two millennia. Were calendars, > at a given time, the same in all countries? No. > > ? The Roman calendar began the year on 1 January, and this remained > the start of the year after the Julian reform. However, even after local > calendars were aligned to the Julian calendar, they started the new year > on different dates. The Alexandrian calendar in Egypt started on 29 > August (30 August after an Alexandrian leap year). Several local > provincial calendars were aligned to start on the birthday of Augustus, > 23 September. > > ? The indiction caused the Byzantine year, which used the Julian > calendar, to begin on 1 September; this date is still used in the > Eastern Orthodox Church for the beginning of the liturgical year. > When the Julian calendar was adopted in Russia in AD 988 by > Vladimir I of Kiev, the year was numbered Anno Mundi 6496, > beginning on 1 March, six months after the start of the Byzantine > Anno Mundi year with the same number. In 1492 (AM 7000), > Ivan III, according to church tradition, realigned the start of the > year to 1 September, so that AM 7000 only lasted for six months > in Russia, from 1 March to 31 August 1492. > > ? During the Middle Ages 1 January retained the name New Year's > Day (or an equivalent name) in all Western European countries > (affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church), since the medieval > calendar continued to display the months from January to December > (in twelve columns containing 28 to 31 days each), just as the > Romans had. However, most of those countries began their > numbered year on 25 December (the Nativity of Jesus), 25 March > (the Incarnation of Jesus), or even Easter, as in France. > > ? In England before 1752, 1 January was celebrated as the > New Year festival, but the "year starting 25th March was > called the Civil or Legal Year, although the phrase Old Style > was more commonly used." To reduce misunderstandings > on the date, it was not uncommon in parish registers for a > new year heading after 24 March for example 1661 had > another heading at the end of the following December > indicating "1661/62". This was to explain to the reader > that the year was 1661 Old Style and 1662 New Style. > > ? Most Western European countries shifted the first day of > their numbered year to 1 January while they were still using > the Julian calendar, before they adopted the Gregorian calendar, > many during the sixteenth century. The following table shows > the years in which various countries adopted 1 January as the > start of the year. Eastern European countries, with populations > showing allegiance to the Orthodox Church, began the year on > 1 September from about 988. > > ? Note that as a consequence of change of New Year, > 1 January 1751 to 24 March 1751 are non-existent dates > in England. > > ? The Julian calendar was in general use in Europe and Northern > Africa from the times of the Roman Empire until 1582, when > Pope Gregory XIII promulgated the Gregorian Calendar. > Reform was required because too many leap days are added > with respect to the astronomical seasons on the Julian scheme. > On average, the astronomical solstices and the equinoxes > advance by about 11 minutes per year against the Julian year. > As a result, the calculated date of Easter gradually moved out > of phase with the moon. While Hipparchus and presumably > Sosigenes were aware of the discrepancy, although not of its > correct value, it was evidently felt to be of little importance at > the time of the Julian reform. However, it accumulated significantly > over time: the Julian calendar gained a day about every 134 years. > By 1582, it was ten days out of alignment. > > ? The Gregorian Calendar was soon adopted by most Catholic > countries (e.g. Spain, Portugal, Poland, most of Italy). Protestant > countries followed later, and the countries of Eastern Europe > even later. In the British Empire (including the American colonies), > Wednesday 2 September 1752 was followed by Thursday > 14 September 1752. For 12 years from 1700 Sweden used a > modified Julian Calendar, and adopted the Gregorian calendar > in 1753, but Russia remained on the Julian calendar until 1917, > after the Russian Revolution (which is thus called the 'October > Revolution' though it occurred in Gregorian November), while > Greece continued to use it until 1923. During this time the Julian > calendar continued to diverge from the Gregorian. In 1700 the > difference became 11 days; in 1800, 12; and in 1900, 13, where > it will stay till 2100. > > ? Although all Eastern Orthodox countries (most of them in Eastern > or Southeastern Europe) had adopted the Gregorian calendar by > 1927, their national churches had not. A revised Julian calendar > was proposed during a synod in Constantinople in May 1923, > consisting of a solar part which was and will be identical to the > Gregorian calendar until the year 2800, and a lunar part which > calculated Easter astronomically at Jerusalem. All Orthodox > churches refused to accept the lunar part, so almost all Orthodox > churches continue to celebrate Easter according to the Julian > calendar (the Finnish Orthodox Church uses the Gregorian Easter). > > ? The solar part of the revised Julian calendar was accepted by > only some Orthodox churches. Those that did accept it, with > hope for improved dialogue and negotiations with the Western > denominations, were the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, > the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, the Orthodox Churches > of Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria (the last in 1963), > and the Orthodox Church in America (although some OCA parishes > are permitted to use the Julian calendar). Thus these churches > celebrate the Nativity on the same day that Western Christians do, > 25 December Gregorian until 2800. The Orthodox Churches of > Jerusalem, Russia, Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine, and the > Greek Old Calendarists continue to use the Julian calendar for their > fixed dates, thus they celebrate the Nativity on 25 December Julian > (which is 7 January Gregorian until 2100). > > ? And... Here's a further deeper sample of calendrical complexity. > > ? Some examples: Should one use local solar time, local mean > solar time, or standard time? (Prior to the International Meridian > Conference in 1884, the records of that meeting indicate that only > four nations followed standard time systems: the UK, the USA > and Canada - but only just for those two, from the year before. > The Netherlands did not become part of the international standard > time system until 1954, for example. > > ? With the leap year scheme used in the Western calendar the > time of the vernal equinox ranges over 53 hours within 19-21 March, > producing a corresponding variation in the solar longitudes at which > January, or any other month, occurs. > > ? It has been assumed for a long time that the seasonal year follows > the spacing between the equinoxes and solstices, the *average* such > time being the familiar *tropical year* of 365.2422 days when again > averaged over some dozens of orbits. This assumption seems to be > wrong. The cycle time of the seasons over the past several centuries > (since temperature records began) is actually the anomalistic year, > the time between perihelion passages, which is near 365.2596 days > again when suitably averaged. > > ? Because perihelion passage shifts later by about one day every > 58 years on the Western calendar, this would imply that not only > does 'January' oscillate by 53 hours in the leap year cycle, but also > the current January is shifted, seasonally-speaking, by more than > two days compared to 'January' back in 1867. > > ? Apart from anything else, if one kept a calendar held steady > against the perihelion position (and hence the seasonal cycle *at > present* - I would anticipate that this cyclicity is only temporary for > some centuries until perihelion moves far enough away from the > winter solstice to lose the resonance) then the 24-hour period > labelled 'January 31st (Eastern Standard Time)' would in the > past have been in February. > > ? This all comes back to the calendar one uses. I have employed the > term 'Western calendar', It is a fallacy that the calendar used as the > world-wide standard (with local or religious calendars also employed) > is the 'Gregorian calendar.' That is an ecclesiastical calendar adopted > by-and-large only in various Catholic states around 1582-1610, > persisting since in Italy and Spain. Elsewhere solar calendars have > been legally adopted (by other countries) in which the same > (inaccurate) leap year rule as the Gregorian happens to be used. > The Western calendar derives basically through the major powers: > Britain's calendar reform of 1751, which was inherited by the > American colonies and thence by the initial founding states of the > USA (note that the USA does not have any legal calendar code of its own, > the familiar system is just used by common assent there and hence > elsewhere). It is this which may be termed the 'Western calendar'. > > ? But that does not make the Western calendar the same as the > Gregorian. > > ? There are several very significant differences. The Gregorian is a > luni-solar calendar in that it provides for a lunar cycle as well as > a solar sycle. Everyone knows about the leap-year corrections (three > in 400 are dropped: 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100...) but few know also of > the lunar jumps: the lunar phase (the phase of the ecclesiastical moon, > not the real moon) is assumed to follow the Metonic cycle of 19 years > which is close to 235 lunations, except that over a period of 2500 years > there are eight single-day jumps interposed. This is done to 'regularize' > the date of Easter, the main aim of the Gregorian reform. The Gregorian > is a luni-solar religious calendar, whereas the Western is a solar civil > calendar. They are not the same thing. > > ? That is not to say that Lord Chesterfield's Act of 1751 did not address > religious matters. It had to, because Great Britain (as it was then) > is a religion-based nation. The monarch is the 'Defender of the Faith.' > In this connection the Act contains several mistakes. For anti-Catholic > and anti-Semitic reasons the phraseology employed (oft-quoted by people in > some form : "Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after > the > equinox") is nonsensical in itself, and does not lead to the Easter dates > actually printed in the Book of Common Prayer, the tables there following > the Catholic rules. The statement cited there would imply that Easter > cannot coincide with either an astronomical full moon or the Passover, > whereas such coincidences do occur. I might note that the first person > to have spelled out this nonsense, in about 1850, seems to have been > Augustus De Morgan, one-time Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society. > > ? On top of that - and this is significant - the Act mentions the desire > to > keep the solstices and equinox at the same seasonal dates. Leaving aside > the recently-recognized fact that the seasons follow the anomalistic year, > the implied necessary year-length for the calendar (the Western) as > defined > by that Act is the *tropical year* of 365.2422 days (on average, etc.). > The 'Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac' (an official > publication of the US & UK governments) actually mis-defines the tropical > year as the time between vernal equinoxes, and it is NOT. Because of the > eccentricity of our orbit four different-length years result from the > times between vernal and autumnal equinoxes, and winter and summer > solstices. The Gregorian reform was based upon regularizing Easter and > thus keeping the date of the vernal equinox near-constant (which it fails > to > do; note the 53-hour range mentioned earlier), meaning that the year > counted between those equinoxes is what is needed. This is 365.2424 days > at present. > > ? This provides another reason why the Gregorian and Western calendars > are not the same thing: their target year lengths are different. That > difference in the fourth decimal place is significant. The mean > Gregorian year of 365.2425 days is much closer to the Vernal Equinox > year of 365.2424 days than the tropical year of 365.2422 days, as used > in the Western calendar. Arguments over whether we need a 'correction' > every 3200 or 4000 years, begun by astronomer John Herschel in 1828, > are thus specious (and apart from anything else, tidal drag is > lengthening the day as defined astronomically as opposed to > atomically). > > ? The Catholic Church in the later sixteenth century would > have produced a 'better' calendar if it had instead used a 33-year > cycle containing eight leap years, as does the Persian calendar. This > (i) Makes a year 365.242424... days long on average; (ii) Makes a cycle > short enough to keep the equinox within a 24-hour range; (iii) Leads to > a better solution of the lunar phase problem connected with Easter. > > ? There is more. The Eastern Orthodox Churches have suffered splits > since in 1923 it was suggested that they alter from the Julian calendar > to what has been called the 'Revised Julian'. This would have seven > leap year days dropped from nine centuries, such that the year would > average to 365.242222... days. This was to provide one-upmanship over > the Gregorian scheme, but it is based on the mistaken belief that the > *tropical year* rather than the *vernal equinox year* is the target. > There are still arguments within those Churches on this topic, mostly > based on a totally incorrect understanding of the astronomy. > > ? But this brings me full circle. So far as I am aware the only one of > the Orthodox Churches to have adopted the Gregorian calendar is that of > Finland. Thus it is true that the Gregorian calendar is used in > Finland: within the Orthodox Church, and the Catholic Church. As for > the rest of the country, that is a different matter. One would need to > look at the Swedish legislation to see whether they adopted the > Gregorian calendar, in a legal act dated (I would imagine) 1752, the > year before the actual reform took place, although I am not sure > whether Sweden was using the March 25th New Year as was Britain until > 31st December 1751. I would imagine that the Lutherans of Sweden, like > the Anglicans of Britain, would have written an Act which did not > mention the Catholic Church/Pope etc., but rather defined a parallel > solar calendar with some definition for when Easter is to be > celebrated. Perhaps they made the same silly (and > religiously-motivated) mistakes as did the British. > > ? It is very easy to make glib statements like "We use the Gregorian > calendar" without realizing what is actually involved. For example, > making January 1st the New Year's Day is often ascribed to the Gregorian > reform, but that is a false belief. It was already in use before that. > Off and on it has been used since at least 153 BC. Similarly we use > calendar months which have been unaltered since 45 BC, notwithstanding > claims that Augustus Caesar fiddled with them. Thus the months, as such, > are not defined as part of the Gregorian calendar. > > ? Our year numbers are ordinals, not cardinals. Notwithstanding the > fact that we count a 'zeroth law of thermodynamics', and a 'zeroth' > Pharaonic dynasty in Egypt, it makes little sense to have a 'zeroth > year'. AD 1 is 'the first year of the Lord'. (1 BC is the 'first year > Before Christ', a seventeenth-century invention by an astronomer, by > the way.) One may wonder how AD 1 can be 'the first year of the Lord' > if he was born on December 25th (I am talking here about *traditional* > dates rather than historically-veracious dates). When Dionysius > Exiguus was setting up his framework for Easter dates in 525-253 (he > was not trying to define an era) he correctly recognized that a Jewish > boy's life is reckoned from his circumcision, not from birth. > > ? Thus Dionysius equated 1st January (in the year which two centuries > later became labelled AD 1) as the date of the circumcision, it being the > start of the year. (Look into a Church Missal and you will find January > 1st named as the Feast of the Circumcision, and our method of counting > years from that date is technically referred to as the *Stylo > Circumcisionis*.) Circumcision occurs on the eighth day counting > exclusively (see your Bible), putting the traditional Nativity on 25th > December 1 BC, which was the traditional (but not actual, even then) > date of the winter solstice festivities. (The early Church had actually > used January 6th, Epiphany, to avoid the pagan solstice celebrations.) > Dionysius then counted back the nine month gestation period to the > traditional (but not actual) vernal equinox of March 25th in 1 BC, and > he counted years from there as the *Anni ab Incarnatione*. This is the > year which astronomers call 0 (using cardinals) but is more generally > termed 1 BC (using ordinals). The fact that March 25th was the > Incarnation/Annunciation/Lady Day was what led to the British and > eventually American colonies using that date for New Year, although > counted FROM THE WRONG YEAR! (AD 1 instead of 1 BC). > > ? Although the USA now uses the Western calendar, and previous > to 1752 the Julian was used in the Atlantic colonies, do not imagine > that no use has ever been made of other systems. When the first > Catholic missionaries arrived, they imposed the Gregorian calendar. > > ? Thus when (say) Texas and California joined the USA, although > their dating systems may have been continuous they did move from the > Gregorian to the Western calendar. Those parts in the Louisiana > Purchase were on the Gregorian until they were administered for three > weeks under the French Revolutionary Calendar in late 1803, before > Napoleon sold the region to the USA. That's something to note next > time you eat Lobster Thermidor in New Orleans. > > ? Until Alaska was sold in 1868 to the USA it was part of the Russian > Empire, and thus on the Julian calendar. But it is more confusing than > that. The day of the week there was different to that throughout the > rest of North America. Although a change from Julian to Western (or > Gregorian) calendar did not involve a change in the day of week sequence > elsewhere, in Alaska it did because that region, in the absence of any > International Date Line, used both the date and the day of the week > appropriate for Moscow. > > [Deep breath] > > ? But the date of the supernova is recorded in the Chinese calendar, > not the Western calendar, as "Zhihe era of the reign, first year, fifth > lunar month, ji-chou day," says the Wenxian Tongkao of 1280 CE > and the Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian of 1320 CE. But the Song > Huiyao, a Sung source, gives the date as "Zhihe era, first year, seventh > lunar month, 22nd day" when it was observed as a faint yellow > star that then brightened. The account contains considerable > observational detail: "...has been seen in daylight, like Venus. > It had rays stemming in all directions, and its colour was reddish > white. Altogether visible [in the day] for 23 days." This date would > shift the supernova date from the Fourth of July into September, > however. > > ? Japaenese sources (three) all agree with each other but put it > one linar month earlier than the Chinese account and are all > inconsitent with rising times. > > ? An Islamic oberservation was discovered in 1978 that places > the supernova in the year 446 of the Islamic calendar, which year > ran from 12th of April 1054 to the 1st of April 1055 (it's a lunar > calendar] at the summer low level of the Nile, which fits the July > date. Claims that certain vague European accounts are of the > Crab are rejected by most astronomers. > > Interpretations of the dates are not straightforward. the 24th of > April and the 11th of May have also be argued for as the correct > date by various scholare. The July 4 date was calculated by > Jan Julius Lodewijk Duyvendak for Jan Oort in 1942. > > Sterling K. Webb > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > ---------- > ----- Original Message ----- From: "MexicoDoug" <mexicodoug at aim.com> > To: <paw at wirelessbeehive.com>; <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com> > Sent: Monday, July 04, 2011 10:15 PM > Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] OT - Happy Crab Nebula Day! > >> >> >> It ought to be Julian since that was in effect ... or else all the > > > references would have to say something about the re-adjustment of the > > date, but that's just an opinion! In astronomy, generally the 1582 > > conversion is respected by astronomers if I recall - I.e., before that > > time events are on the Julian Calendar, and afterwards Gregorian, even > if > they nation of the observation was still on the Julian date; > usually that > doesn't matter and by convention the expression I time I > believe changes > in 1582. Jean Meeus's incredibly useful books, if I > had them would have an > excellent discussion of the subject, but I > don't have my references with > me. Some other list member could look it >> >> up as Meeus'd be the expert. >> >> Best wishes >> Doug >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > --- >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Patrick Wiggins <paw at wirelessbeehive.com> >> To: MeteorList <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com> >> Sent: Mon, Jul 4, 2011 10:12 pm >> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] OT - Happy Crab Nebula Day! >> >> >> I've often wondered and maybe someone here can answer. >> >> Since 1054 was long before the 1582 conversion from the Julian to > > > Gregorian >> >> calendar, is the July 4 date that gets mentioned for the first > > > sighting of >> >> supernova a Julian date or has it been converted to Gregorian? >> >> ??? >> >> patrick >> >> >> On 04 Jul 2011, at 10:25, Gary Fujihara wrote: >> >>> >>> Cosmic Fireworks: On July 4, 1054, Chinese astronomers observed a >> >> "guest star" >> in the constellation Taurus, the result of a star exploding or going >> Supernova. >> At mag -6, SN1054 (Supernova of 1054) became about 4 times brighter > > > than Venus, >> >> was visible in daylight for 23 days, and lasted a period of two > > years. > Today we >> >> can still see remnants of SN1054 as the Messier Object 1 (M1) Crab > > > Nebula. >>> >>> >>> http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/_M1.jpg >>> >>> Oh, and for those terrestrially bound in the USA, Happy Fourth of >> >> July! >>> >>> >>> Gary Fujihara >>> Big Kahuna Meteorites (IMCA#1693) >>> 105 Puhili Place, Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 >>> http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/ >>> http://shop.ebay.com/fujmon/m.html >>> (808) 640-9161 > > > ______________________________________________ > Visit the Archives at > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > Meteorite-list mailing list > Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > > > ______________________________________________ > Visit the Archives at > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > Meteorite-list mailing list > Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > Received on Tue 05 Jul 2011 01:35:17 PM PDT |
StumbleUpon del.icio.us Yahoo MyWeb |