* Astronomy

Title: Astronomical Observations From the Temple of the Sun
Authors: Alonso Mendez

During the solstices, equinox, zenith and nadir passages over the past four years, the authors observed distinctive patterns of sunlight inside the Temple of the Sun at Palenque. This article describes the recorded phenomena in detail and presents new evidence on the astronomical orientation of the temple. The second section puts forth a possible methodology for the architectural layout and design of the Temple of the Sun. The geometric proportions and angles of the temple appear to correspond with the astronomical alignments of the temple. The final section discusses astronomical references in the text and in the iconography of the Tablet of the Sun.
Neil S. Anderson, Alfonso Morales, and Moises Morales (1981) documented a series of solar events that occurred in the Tower of the Palace. Standing inside the Tower, the three investigators noticed that at sunset on 30 April, the suns rays passed directly through the T-shaped window on the western façade and struck an interior wall of the viewing chamber. With the approach of summer, the image of the T-shaped window moved progressively to the east. On 22 June, the investigators saw the complete image of the T glowing on the wall. After the summer solstice, as the northerly position of the sun decreased, the projected image shifted until only a fraction appeared on the wall.

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