APODs like today's are some of my favorites!
*opinion alert* Only because they combine two of my favorite things: astronomy and history! 8)
Great image!
Orion dawn over Mt. Nemrut (2008 Dec 16)
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Indigo_Sunrise
- Science Officer
- Posts: 440
- Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 1:40 pm
- Location: Md
Orion dawn over Mt. Nemrut (2008 Dec 16)
Forget the box, just get outside.
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neufer
- Vacationer at Tralfamadore
- Posts: 18805
- Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:57 pm
- Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Re: Orion dawn over Mt. Nemrut
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Nemrut
<<The western terrace contains a large slab with a lion, showing the arrangement of stars and the planets Jupiter, Mercury and Mars on 7 July 62 BC, the possible time when construction began on this monument. The eastern portion is well preserved, being composed of several layers of rock, and there is evidence of a walled passageway linking the eastern and western terraces, from a path below at the foot of Mount Nemrut. Possible uses for this site might have included religious ceremonies, due to the astronomical and religious nature of the monument.>>
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http://www.cromwell-intl.com/travel/turkey/nemrut-dagi/
http://www.adiyamanli.org/mt_nemrut.htm
<<The relief of the lion in the west court is of particular interest. The stone slab measures 1.75 meters in height and is 2.40 meters long. It shows a powerful lion walking to the right. Its body is decorated with nineteen stars and there is a crescent moon on the breast. From the three larger stars on the lion's back, sixteen rays emerge as opposed to the smaller stars, which have only eight rays each. These three larger stars are identified in writing as Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars. What we see here is a picture of the world's oldest horoscope. It was originally supposed that the horoscope referred to Antiochos’s birthdate but Professor Otto Neugebauer identifies it as the seventh of July in the year 62 or 61 B.C. This corresponds to the date on which Antiochos I was installed on the throne by the Roman general Pompey. According to Professor Dorner on the other hand, the event being represented is the establishment of the Nemrut Dag, monument.>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Nemrut
<<The western terrace contains a large slab with a lion, showing the arrangement of stars and the planets Jupiter, Mercury and Mars on 7 July 62 BC, the possible time when construction began on this monument. The eastern portion is well preserved, being composed of several layers of rock, and there is evidence of a walled passageway linking the eastern and western terraces, from a path below at the foot of Mount Nemrut. Possible uses for this site might have included religious ceremonies, due to the astronomical and religious nature of the monument.>>
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Solar System: Wed -61 Jul 7 15:00
http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Solar
Right Distance From 39°S 42°E:
Ascension Declination (AU) Altitude Azimuth
Sun 6h 48m 11s +23° 14.3' 1.015 -1.699 118.941 Set
Mercury 8h 42m 19s +17° 40.7' 0.921 20.167 135.537 Up
Moon 8h 50m 48s +22° 45.2' 57.0 ER 17.050 140.256 Up
Mars 8h 45m 30s +19° 25.9' 2.477 19.148 137.251 Up
Jupiter 7h 46m 17s +22° 10.8' 6.348 8.483 127.730 Uphttp://www.adiyamanli.org/mt_nemrut.htm
<<The relief of the lion in the west court is of particular interest. The stone slab measures 1.75 meters in height and is 2.40 meters long. It shows a powerful lion walking to the right. Its body is decorated with nineteen stars and there is a crescent moon on the breast. From the three larger stars on the lion's back, sixteen rays emerge as opposed to the smaller stars, which have only eight rays each. These three larger stars are identified in writing as Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars. What we see here is a picture of the world's oldest horoscope. It was originally supposed that the horoscope referred to Antiochos’s birthdate but Professor Otto Neugebauer identifies it as the seventh of July in the year 62 or 61 B.C. This corresponds to the date on which Antiochos I was installed on the throne by the Roman general Pompey. According to Professor Dorner on the other hand, the event being represented is the establishment of the Nemrut Dag, monument.>>
Art Neuendorffer