Quote:
Originally Posted by
sweetpinkpixie 
Kurumi looked at the ground and gestured towards the flatter of the stones. "Well, you first stand on the appropriate month, and then stand as tall and straight as you can to see where your shadow falls," she explained. "If the shadow is to the left (west) of the noon marker, it is morning. If the shadow is to the right (east) of the noon marker, it is afternoon." Which meant that it really was 12:30 about and made perfect sense...by why was her handheld one so far off?
Kurumi was about to look down again when Beezus asked her another question. "Well, if we were in the Southern hemisphere we would need to point South," she winked. Sundials needed to be aligned with the axis of the Earth's rotation to tell the correct time, which isn't exactly magnetic North like you would find with a compass, but Point Me does the trick. Still, putting up a marker sort of did that for you, but Kurumi just felt more confident having another constant in her equation instead of a variable. Kurumi held out her sundial and then took a glance up at the sun. "The shadow cast will be the same no matter what direction really, I've just always felt things to be more accurate and consistent when I gave myself a limitation. Less chance for something to go astray, you know?"
Kurumi looked down at her sundial now and...oh...well...that would explain the reading being an hour off. She was holding it upside down.
The young eaglette listened as Kurumi gestured the 12 month plagues and told her how to use her so called alternative to the small sundial that was given to them by Professor Roslund. So that was how it worked. Could she possibly have a go?
"Can I try it then?" She paced into the plagues, looking down to see where the month of December was located and moved herself there. Once she was settled, Beezus stood straightly, doing what her mother always instructs,
"Shoulders even..breast out..chin up.." she mumbled, her body following after. Then, without moving her head, she searched for her shadow out on the corner of her eye.
"It's a bit on the right." She told Kurumi.
"That means its afternoon already right?" Right! For they already had lunch. Or was it still noon? Either way, it was not morning anymore, that meant the method was a safe one to use. Based on her shadow's distance though, she figured the time was around 12:45.
Getting off from the noon marker, Beezus picked up her own handheld sundial and walked to where the Prefect was.
So that was her explanation about the whole searching for direction thing. Frowning, she tried to figure out what she said. '
If we were in the Southern Hemisphere, we'd look for South?' she thought.
"So..since Scotland is in the Northern Hemisphere then we'd need to find North, correct?" But then, it was followed by her saying that the direction wasn't that necessary. OH.
"Yeap..you're right." Then she started squinting the sundial on her hand. Then an idea hit her. "
Kurumi..how about I try using the sundial without considering the direction and we can compare our results to see if there's any difference?" That was a good idea right?