A gnomon is the pin or triangular plate on a sundial which causes a shadow to be cast by the sun onto the graduated dial. Originally the term was applied to structures erected perpendicularly to the horizon, from whose shadow the altitudes, declinations, etc, of the sun and stars may be determined. The gnomon was usually a pillar or column or pyramid erected upon level ground. It was much used by the ancient astronomers, and gnomons of great height, with meridian lines attached to them, were still common in France and Italy at the end of the 19th century. Research Gnomon
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General Information
Research Gnomon
