MessageToEagle.com -
Scientists have now reason to think that an ancient 4000-year-old stone monolith in England was likely an astronomical calendar, according to new archaeological evidence.
The 2.2 metre high monument, located in the Peak District National Park, has a striking, right-angled triangular shape that slants up towards geographic south.
The orientation and inclination of the slope is aligned to the altitude of the Sun at mid-summer.
The researchers from the Nottingham Trent University believe that the monolith was set in place to give symbolic meaning to the location through the
changing seasonal illuminations.
The rare example of a monolith is located at Gardom’s Edge, a striking millstone grit ridge less than an hour’s drive from Manchester.
The researchers have carried out a microtopography survey of the surface surrounding the monolith.
Their findings indicate the presence of packing stones around the base of the monolith, evidence that it was placed carefully in position.
They have also carried out 3-D modelling of illumination of the stone through the seasons, adapting for changes in the Earth’s tilt to the
ecliptic plane over four millennia.
The landscape surrounding the stone harbours many ancient monuments such as Bronze Age roundhouses, a late Neolithic enclosure, and other traces of a
long lasting human occupation.
The researchers believe that the stone is also late Neolithic, set in place around 2000 BC.
"Given the sensitivity of the site, we can't probe under the surface of the soil.
However, through our survey, we have found a higher density of packing stones on one side, supporting the case that the stone has been orientated
intentionally," said Dr. Brown.
This ancient monolith's triangular shape and flat, north-facing side are just some of the reasons scientists think it was positioned
on purpose to mark the changing seasons.
Credit: Dr. Brown,Nottingham Trent University
The 3-D modelling shows that during the winter half-year, the slanted side of the stone would remain in permanent shadow; during most
of the summer half-year it would only be illuminated during the morning and afternoon; close to midsummer it would be illuminated all day.
The researchers are currently backing up the modelling work by gathering contemporary photographic evidence of the stone.
"The stone would have been an ideal marker for a social arena for seasonal gatherings," said Dr. Brown.
"It's not a sundial in the
sense that people would have used it to determine an exact time. We think that it was set in position to give a symbolic meaning to its location,
a bit like the way that some religious buildings are aligned in a specific direction for symbolic reasons."
The researchers hope that the new evidence will support the case for a wider archaeological survey of the site.
"The use of shadow casting in monuments of this period is quite rare in the British Isles," said Dr. Brown.
New Grange, Ireland
"But there are some examples including New Grange, Ireland, and some Clava cairns in the north-east of Scotland that have been proposed to include the
intentional use of shadows.
Both are associated to burial sites using the symbolism of a cyclic light and shadow display to represent eternity. Given the proximity of the
Neolithic enclosure and possible ritual importance of this site, the Gardom's Edge monolith could be another such example."
Living Earth Simulator - Supercomputer Predicting The Future
In Douglas Adams book the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy we encounter a machine called Deep Thought. It is the most powerful computer ever built. Deep Thought is capable of answering questions
concerning life, the Universe, and simply everything. Now scientists are planning to create a similar machine. It is called the Living Earth Simulator (LES).
Unknown Powers In One Of The Most Studied Objects In The Milky Way
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Apparently, the famous Crab Nebula is a veritable bundle of energy.
Two MAGIC (Major Atmospheric Gamma-Ray Imaging Cherenkov) Telescopes on the Canary island of La Palma,
confirm that the pulsar at the centre of this famous object is a great bundle of energy.
Hidden Misshapen Celestial "Wonder"
It is one of the brightest and strangest objects in the Milky Way - the corpse of a star that exploded around 1000 years ago.
Only a handful of such young supernova remnants are known.
The object named G350.1-0.3 is also incredibly small (only eight light years across) and young in astronomical terms.
Alien Species Living In The Inner Milky Way Could Be In Danger
Few people doubt there is intelligent alien life in the Milky Way galaxy, but where can we expect to find it?
Astronomers think that while the inner sector of the MIlky Way Galaxy may be the most likely to support habitable worlds.
Unfortunately some of these places are also most dangerous to all life-forms.
Black Holes With No 'Table Manners' Eat Two Courses At Once!
It is still unknown how the supermassive black holes (SMBH) in galaxy centres accrete gas and grow.
Researchers from the University of Leicester (UK) and Monash University in Australia have investigated how some black holes got so big so fast that they are billions of times heavier than the sun.
Human Noise Has A Negative Effect On Plants
A growing body of research shows that birds and other animals change their behavior in response to human noise, such as the din of traffic or the hum of machinery.
But human clamor doesn't just affect animals.
Because many animals also pollinate plants or eat or disperse their seeds, human noise can have ripple effects on plants, too...
Though the universe is filled with billions upon billions of stars, the discovery of a single variable star in 1923 altered the
course of modern astronomy. And, at least one famous astronomer of the time lamented that the discovery had shattered his world view.
Bright Star In The Constellation Lyra Is Cooler Than The Human Body
The coldest class of stars have temperatures as cool as the human body.
Astronomers hunted these dark orbs, termed Y dwarfs, for more than a decade without success.
When viewed with a visible-light telescope, they are nearly impossible to see.
Astronomical Mystery - Tremendous Explosion And Appearance Of Odd Rings
Twenty five years ago, on 1987 February 23, the brightest supernova of modern times was observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The collision occurred at speeds near 60 million kilometers per hour and shock-heats the ring material causing it to glow.
Over time, astronomers have watched and waited for the expanding debris from this tremendous stellar explosion to crash into previously expelled material...
Solar Tornadoes As Wide As Five Earths Discovered
Solar tornadoes several times as wide as the Earth can be generated in the solar atmosphere, say researchers in the UK.
"This is perhaps the first time that such a huge solar tornado is filmed by an imager. Previously much smaller solar
tornadoes were found my SOHO satellite. But they were not filmed," says Dr. Xing Li, of Aberystwyth University.
MessageToEagle.com -
Scientists have now reason to think that an ancient 4000-year-old stone monolith in England was likely an astronomical calendar, according to new archaeological evidence.
In Douglas Adams book the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy we encounter a machine called Deep Thought. It is the most powerful computer ever built. Deep Thought is capable of answering questions
concerning life, the Universe, and simply everything. Now scientists are planning to create a similar machine. It is called the Living Earth Simulator (LES).
There are complex processes taking place in the Milky Way, which are difficult for astrophysicists to explain.
Apparently, the famous 
It is one of the brightest and strangest objects in the Milky Way - the corpse of a star that exploded around 1000 years ago.
Only a handful of such young supernova remnants are known.
The object named G350.1-0.3 is also incredibly small (only eight light years across) and young in astronomical terms.
Few people doubt there is intelligent alien life in the Milky Way galaxy, but where can we expect to find it?
Astronomers think that while the inner sector of the MIlky Way Galaxy may be the most likely to support habitable worlds.
Unfortunately some of these places are also most dangerous to all life-forms.
It is still unknown how the supermassive black holes (SMBH) in galaxy centres accrete gas and grow.
Researchers from the University of Leicester (UK) and Monash University in Australia have investigated how some black holes got so big so fast that they are billions of times heavier than the sun.
A growing body of research shows that birds and other animals change their behavior in response to human noise, such as the din of traffic or the hum of machinery.
But human clamor doesn't just affect animals.
Because many animals also pollinate plants or eat or disperse their seeds, human noise can have ripple effects on plants, too...
Though the universe is filled with billions upon billions of stars, the discovery of a single variable star in 1923 altered the
course of modern astronomy. And, at least one famous astronomer of the time lamented that the discovery had shattered his world view.
The coldest class of stars have temperatures as cool as the human body.
Astronomers hunted these dark orbs, termed Y dwarfs, for more than a decade without success.
When viewed with a visible-light telescope, they are nearly impossible to see.
Twenty five years ago, on 1987 February 23, the brightest supernova of modern times was observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Solar tornadoes several times as wide as the Earth can be generated in the solar atmosphere, say researchers in the UK.
"This is perhaps the first time that such a huge solar tornado is filmed by an imager. Previously much smaller solar
tornadoes were found my SOHO satellite. But they were not filmed," says Dr. Xing Li, of Aberystwyth University.