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All the United Kingdom England Cambridge Queens' College Moondial

Queens' College Moondial

A complicated contraption for telling time by the moon.

Cambridge, England

Added By
Joshua Foer
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  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Moondial   duncbfc / Atlas Obscura User
Old Court of Queens’s College   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
Moondial   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
Old Court of Queens’s College   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The celebrated Queens' College Moon Dial, often erroneously attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, was painted on an exterior wall at Cambridge University in 1733. In addition to the traditional solar hours, the timepiece has an accompanying table that can be used to read the shadow cast by the light of the moon.

Even with the table, however, a series of four mathematical calculations has to be carried out by anyone wishing to know the time. “The moon’s motion is so irregular that no moon-dial can possibly be accurate, and is to be regarded as providing an exercise in mental arithmetic rather than being an instrument of any practical value,” writes the author of a short booklet on the dial.

Related Tags

Astounding Timepieces Instruments Of Science

Know Before You Go

Check the Queens' College web site for visiting hours. A nominal entrance fee (3.50) is charged to enter the campus via The Visitor's Entrance on Queen Street. This allows you to see the sundial, cross the mathematical bridge, and wander around the campus.

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Added By

Josh

Edited By

SEANETTA, Jaszmina Szendrey, duncbfc

  • SEANETTA
  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • duncbfc

Published

February 26, 2010

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Queens' College Moondial
Silver St.
Cambridge, England, CB3 9EL
United Kingdom
52.20184, 0.11421
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