Page 3 of Judaculla Rock.




Andromeda, Perseus, and The Pleiades.
The watercolor is 9 x 12 inches. The photo of Judaculla Rock is by David Joy
for The Crossroads Chronicle, Cashiers, NC.




Hubble image of Algol (HST and Space Telescope Science Institute).

Watercolors by Craig Welch.
Copyright © 2010. All rights reserved.






The 'wishbone' segment printed on a late 20th century Perseus star map is an exact match for the same 'wishbone' depicted on the Judaculla Rock. That the location of Algol, as it is seen on the 20th century star map, is exactly represented on Judaculla Rock along with the correct location of both the companion star and the double star is nothing short of an astonishing accomplishment. Also, on Judaculla, the double star is shown as a double star. This exactness of depiction virtually eliminates the coincidence factor; and it assures us that the purpose of the engraved lines in this instance is to serve the same function as our traditional depictions of constellations by linking stars with lines!

That the existence of this carving was described by Cherokee Elders in the 1880s to James Mooney (Cf. 19th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1897-98) rules out the possibility of it being a modern creation.


     QED.



Judaculla Rock and its environment, looking in the direction of southeast,
also the direction of the Winter Solstice Sunrise, a sacred time for Celts.

Photo courtesy of The Crossroads Chronicle, Cashiers, NC.




Winter Sunrise December 23, 2010 in Long Creek, SC.
The angle resolves to 120 degrees from true North, that is -
30 degrees south of due East, as is also the grooved line
on Judaculla Rock seen to the right in the Crossroads Chronicle photo.
Photos by Charlee Tisdale.




Judaculla Rock: the fundamental star chart - the bowl of the Dipper, the Diamond of Pleiades, and Perseus.
Also shown at lower right is the grooved line that runs at 29.5 degrees south of due East.





The 'necklace' stars in Pleiades: comparison of Judaculla and NASA image.


There is a little string of stars in Pleiades that I think of as 'the necklace stars' - small in binoculars but crisp and good to use for focusing accurately. They look like small diamonds in the shape of a necklace when Pleiades is in the western sky.

In the image above, look at the NASA photo which shows part of the necklace stars. Now think of 'the Rock' star map not as symbolic, but pictorial - a rock carved picture imitating what is seen.




The 'necklace' stars in Pleiades: A Hubble Space Telescope Archive footprint from STScI.


Using Space Telescope Science Institute's HST archives, I brought up a footprint of 0.5 degree for Pleiades, M45, at the coordinates RA = 56.740000 Dec = 24.000000 r = 0.5 [03:46:57.600 +24:00:00.00]. The above image shows the line of small stars that resembles a necklace - appearing as bright jewels in small 10x25 binoculars. The Pleiades is oriented as it would appear, setting in the western sky. The blue swirls surrounding the stars are remnants of a gas nebula. Pleiades has long been a marker for both Autumn and Spring in several cultures.


      The Mathematical Determination of Winter Solstice Sunrise at Judaculla Rock

The angle of declination of the Earth's axis is 23.44 degrees (NOAA). The Sun strikes the Earth as it orbits around the Sun, the axis declination shifting the seasons from summer to winter when the axis points toward or away from the Sun. The midpoint of this axial shift is parallel to the Sun at the Equinoxes.

A mathematical formula describes the orientation of the Earth axis and the Sun with regard to Latitude:

    cos (A) = sin (declination angle)/cos (latitude)
Where 'A' represents the complete spread of rise or set points North and South of the Equinox. 'A/2' then will equal the angle either North or South of the 0 degrees at Equinox. The latitude for Judaculla Rock is 35.5 degrees (USGS).

Using a scientific calculator:

    sin (declination) = sin (23.44) = 0.3977885

    cos (latitude) = cos (35.5) = 0.8141155

    cos (A) = sin (declination)/cos (latitude) = 0.3977885/0.8141155 = 0.4886143

'A' then = 60.75 degrees for the complete North to South rise or set points.

'A/2' = degrees South for the Winter Solstice sunrise = 30.375 degrees south of due East.

Translating this into degrees from true North, 30.375 + 90 = 120.375 degrees from true North. To find the corresponding Summer Solstice sunset, 120.375 + 180 = 300.375 degrees from true North. Magnetic North is 4.5 degrees east of true North, so to see what a magnetic compass must read, 300.375 + 4.5 = 304.875 degrees from Magnetic North. In 2009 Ray Urbaniak of Utah, while in Asheville, NC, measured the bearing of the prominent grooved line on the right side of Judaculla Rock and photographed the compass face, which read 304 degrees. He used a Sylva compass with 2 degree gradations. The mathematical calculation is less than a degree off of his compass reading.






The Mystery of Judaculla Rock: behold the Night Sky and the Winter Sunrise
an epiphany from the past.





Track Rock: the Bear Clan of Oraibi?
an epiphany from the past.





Judaculla: Celtic or Hopi?




Drawing of The Pleiades from a telescope image
and the descriptions of Pleiades in Gaelic.





Rendering of what appear to be the stars of The Pleiades on Judaculla Rock.


Gaelic language, along with Julius Caesar, is a primary source window into the Celtic world. The only constellations listed in dictionaries that I have seen, including modern, are The Plough (that would be The Dipper) and The Pleiades. The Pleiades is most interesting because unlike Greek-Roman, Cherokee-Iroquois, Hopi, Gaelic does not assign a number to the stars. Rather, the two phrases I found (Drithleanna, an griglean meanmnach) are visual descriptions of appearance: 'twinkling' as in an eye, and 'little suns that are spirited and lively').



   Copyright © graphics
by Craig Welch, 2010.
   All rights reserved.


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This page was last edited on January 26, 2011.