MILESTONES IN THE SKY
When we drive along the high way, how do we know where we are ? We observe the mile stone indicating distance .In the same way ,we observe the stars to locate the position of the earth in its revolution around the sun .
When the earth revolves around the sun , it, the sun, seems to be located in a group of stars on any given day.The very next day it seems to shift its position ever so slightly, and after about a month ,it enters a new group of stars.From thousands of years ,astronomers in India and Egypt have been studying this phenominon very closely.They would spend the whole night watching the sky. After some time (perhaps years ) they found that the sun has come back to its original position.( A pparently the seasons , too ,underwent a cyclic change.) This period was called an year.
For a proper study , they divided the whole sky into 27 groups of stars (27 miles ) known as constellations.Each group,was given a name instead of a number .In Malayalam, the names are Aswati ,Bharani, Karthika etc.The names in Samskrutham and Arabic have been given in Alberun’s India. Two and a quarter groups were merged into a larger group (chingam ,kanni ,thulam etc in Malayalam and leo ,scorpio in the west).The sun remains in the larger group (2.25 miles ) for a month whereas , the moon changes position every day from one small group (1 mile )to another .The movement of the sun and moon was studied for making calendar.Lunar month is easy to calculate as we can observe the moon, and is used all over India .In Kerala, we use the movement of the sun .It is very difficult (As we cannot see the stars when the sun shines ) .Only a few nambudiri families are doing this and ( based on formulae laid down by ancestors , based on accurate observation for hundreds of years ,),according to some , they have been using calculus long before Newton invented it.They do not use paper and pencil ;instead ,pebbles or cowries are used !This system came into existence 1184 years ago.
There is a story that they used to lie down in the sandy river bed of Bharatapuzha in summer nights , to observe the stars.
How did they decide the age of a person when there was no numbering of years , before the christian era began ?
Each year was given a name ,just like the names of the week and month.In all sixty years were given names ,thereafter ,the names are repeated .So ,if you remember the name of the year of birth ,you can count your age .That is why we celebrate Shashtipoorthy or sixtyeth year
Apparently the positin of the moon in the moon mile has no significance . However, in Kerala , the birth day is celebrated according to the Malayalam month and the moonstation.Remember that the English calendar came into existence only two hundred years agoin India .In the North India ,the month is from Amavas to Amavas which is the time when the sun, the moon and the earth come in one plane.(If in one line it means solar eclipse) This month is almost 30 days. To be more exact multiply 419 by 30 and divide by420.This is the time taken by the moon to make one full circle round the earth.So I was surprised to see in the website this period (revolution of the moon around the earth )mentioned as 27 days (approx)
As explained above,there is no significance for the movement of the moon along the 27 moon stations except for casting the horoscope.The movement around the earth is important as calendar is based on this.The time taken from the moment the moon crosses the meridian on Amavas day until this event happens the next time, is the period of revolution of the moon around the earth.This is how time of revolution of an artificial satellite is calculated .I think a suitable change in website is called for.
When we drive along the high way, how do we know where we are ? We observe the mile stone indicating distance .In the same way ,we observe the stars to locate the position of the earth in its revolution around the sun .
When the earth revolves around the sun , it, the sun, seems to be located in a group of stars on any given day.The very next day it seems to shift its position ever so slightly, and after about a month ,it enters a new group of stars.From thousands of years ,astronomers in India and Egypt have been studying this phenominon very closely.They would spend the whole night watching the sky. After some time (perhaps years ) they found that the sun has come back to its original position.( A pparently the seasons , too ,underwent a cyclic change.) This period was called an year.
For a proper study , they divided the whole sky into 27 groups of stars (27 miles ) known as constellations.Each group,was given a name instead of a number .In Malayalam, the names are Aswati ,Bharani, Karthika etc.The names in Samskrutham and Arabic have been given in Alberun’s India. Two and a quarter groups were merged into a larger group (chingam ,kanni ,thulam etc in Malayalam and leo ,scorpio in the west).The sun remains in the larger group (2.25 miles ) for a month whereas , the moon changes position every day from one small group (1 mile )to another .The movement of the sun and moon was studied for making calendar.Lunar month is easy to calculate as we can observe the moon, and is used all over India .In Kerala, we use the movement of the sun .It is very difficult (As we cannot see the stars when the sun shines ) .Only a few nambudiri families are doing this and ( based on formulae laid down by ancestors , based on accurate observation for hundreds of years ,),according to some , they have been using calculus long before Newton invented it.They do not use paper and pencil ;instead ,pebbles or cowries are used !This system came into existence 1184 years ago.
There is a story that they used to lie down in the sandy river bed of Bharatapuzha in summer nights , to observe the stars.
How did they decide the age of a person when there was no numbering of years , before the christian era began ?
Each year was given a name ,just like the names of the week and month.In all sixty years were given names ,thereafter ,the names are repeated .So ,if you remember the name of the year of birth ,you can count your age .That is why we celebrate Shashtipoorthy or sixtyeth year
Apparently the positin of the moon in the moon mile has no significance . However, in Kerala , the birth day is celebrated according to the Malayalam month and the moonstation.Remember that the English calendar came into existence only two hundred years agoin India .In the North India ,the month is from Amavas to Amavas which is the time when the sun, the moon and the earth come in one plane.(If in one line it means solar eclipse) This month is almost 30 days. To be more exact multiply 419 by 30 and divide by420.This is the time taken by the moon to make one full circle round the earth.So I was surprised to see in the website this period (revolution of the moon around the earth )mentioned as 27 days (approx)
As explained above,there is no significance for the movement of the moon along the 27 moon stations except for casting the horoscope.The movement around the earth is important as calendar is based on this.The time taken from the moment the moon crosses the meridian on Amavas day until this event happens the next time, is the period of revolution of the moon around the earth.This is how time of revolution of an artificial satellite is calculated .I think a suitable change in website is called for.
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