Déjà vu
all over again
"Déjà vu all over again" is a quote (a.k.a, "Yogi-ism") from the great philosopher and
baseball player Yogi Berra.
When was the last time you used a sextant?
The Perch Base Life Member & Webmaster, Dan Marks, was frustrated that he never gets to see the Anthem Veterans Memorial
when it is lined up with the Great Seal every November 11 at 11:11:11 AM because we are always participating
in the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade when the solar alignment occurs.
But have you ever considered that the same solar alignment repeats for any solar position twice a year,
except the summer and winter solstices? So the Webmaster put on his Quartermaster hat (he happens to be
a nuke ET) and determined the sun’s azimuth and elevation at 11:11:11 AM on Veterans Day, then went to
the
astronomical tables and determined the other date to achieve the same solar position is January 30th at
approximately 11:40 AM (sometimes January 31 in a leap year).
According to Jim Martin, the Anthem Veterans Memorial chief engineer, the Anthem Veterans Memorial was
designed to align correctly within plus or minus 12 seconds to compensate for pole wandering and seasonal
slowing of the earth’s rotation. Learn more about Jim's engineering of the Memorial on the
Anthem Community Council
website.
I then took a ride to the Anthem Veterans Memorial and took this picture. Perch Base Storekeeper Marcus Hensley
was also present for the solar alignment.
Click on the thumbnail for a larger picture.
Some additional photos at the Anthem Veterans Memorial.
Click on any thumbnail for a larger picture.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THE WEBMASTER? EMAIL [email protected]