India - Nepal - Pakistan

Apr. 18 An Astronomer Who Built His Instruments of Stone To Study The Heavens. Delhi's Jantar Mantar Is Still Wondered At Today A fantastic observatory in stone near Delhi still excites curiosity and admiration of knowledgeable and the merely interacted. Built 234 years ago, on the orders of Emperor Mohammed Shah, who was a student of the mysteries of the universe and heavenly bodies. by Maharajah Jai Singh II of Amber, the founder of the city of Jaipur, it was intended not only to further the emperor's astronomical knowledge but to enable him to look into the future and so void trouble in his reign. The site chosen was an open level one which today is not far from where Congress meets. The buildings consist of six structures of stone designed for observing the sun's azimuth, and lunar and stellar attitudes. The largest structure is similar to the Colosseum in Rome. It is completely circular, with 72 windows let into the wall in three tiers. The sun's rays coming through those fall on a stone column set in the centre of the building which is calibrated so that the maharajah and the emperor could measure the speed of the sun, or rather, the earth. At the base of the column is a stone wheel the spokes of which allowed them to calculate the angle of the sun each hour. The Maharajah believed the earth to be onion shaped. Another building was built solely for observing the moon. A huge stairway of 72 steps led to a table for his other crude instruments. The stairway is a right angled triangle, acting as an instrument to plot the sun and moon's zeniths. Present-day knowledge shown that the designer was a master mathematician. He derived lunar calendars, as accurate as those made today. His interest in tides led him to construct a pool to study the moon;s effects on its water. All experts today agree the emperor was on the right track scientifically although his methods and instruments crude. But his Janter Manter stands yet as a monument to the skill of this ancient astronomer who watched the skies so his emperor could forecast his destiny. An Observatory With Instruments of Stone A section of an arc designed by the astronomer which was an opposite curve to the sky. It led down a pool of water where the Maharajah tried to fathom why the moon has a magnetic pull on water, and to estimate the amount of heat water absorbed from the sun

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