tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6742475.post7943483924992885067..comments2023-06-01T09:09:04.165-04:00Comments on CAMPVS MAWRTIVS: The Moon and MarsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6742475.post-71454605770772194502007-04-05T21:45:00.000-04:002007-04-05T21:45:00.000-04:00I'm using v.5.03, a "Special Edition," released in...I'm using v.5.03, a "Special Edition," released in 2005. I suspect that this is also the "basic" version, since it came free with my telescope.David Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02416064825544118818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6742475.post-51906301992018179162007-04-05T20:57:00.000-04:002007-04-05T20:57:00.000-04:00curiosity question from the rogueclassicist ... wh...curiosity question from the rogueclassicist ... what version of starry night do you use? ages ago I tried to use the 'basic' one for this purpose and found it sorely wanting ...david meadowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05852217984190263144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6742475.post-53361120603224815572007-04-04T23:23:00.000-04:002007-04-04T23:23:00.000-04:00I've previously used Starry Night software to conf...I've previously used <A HREF="http://store.starrynightstore.com/newversion6.html" REL="nofollow">Starry Night</A> software to confirm (or, in a few cases, question) the dates of 6th century solar eclipses which appear in early medieval <A HREF="http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/168894.ctl" REL="nofollow">Irish chronicles</A>. By setting one's location to modern Glasgow (as the annals were probably being produced at Iona during this period) or alternately Istanbul (some entries were copied from <A HREF="http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/marcellinus.html" REL="nofollow">Marcellinus Comes</A>), we can simulate the celestial events described by ancient chroniclers.<BR/><BR/>If I set my location to Athens, then, I see the half-moon transiting Mars exactly as Aristotle describes in the passage you selected: Mars enters the shadow, and emerges from the lit side. The transit takes place on Friday, April 6, 357 BC. What's odd is that it appears to take place in the middle of the day. According to the software, the moon rose in Athens at about 12:45pm that afternoon, with Mars already behind it. Mars begins to emerge from the lit side at about 2:30pm, but, even though Mars was fairly close (1.14 AU) to Earth and shining at magnitude 0.43, nobody would have seen it in the middle of the afternoon.<BR/><BR/>The software <A HREF="http://www.starrynight.com/support/support_trio/index.php?action=kb&article=93" REL="nofollow">adjusts</A> for the difference between the Gregorian and Julian calendars, and I feel fairly confident that its margin for error is no more than a few minutes either way. Is it possible that Aristotle didn't view the actual transit, but rather inferred it from the Moon's position on the nights of April 5 and April 6?David Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02416064825544118818noreply@blogger.com