Mystery-Solving and Astronomy

Last semester I took a class on Celestial Navigation (Astronomy 2) and loved it. I really liked learning about astronomy in a tangible context. I liked going outside every night with my compass and quadrant and tracking stars and getting to see for myself that they moved and, better yet, I could figure out where I was based on those movements.

Some of my class supplies.

People around me started to notice my enjoyment of this untraditional subject. My roommate thought it was funny enough to upload the below picture of me doing my pset to facebook.

Even my parents noticed, which led them to buy me Celestial Sleuth for Hanukkah this year, which, finally, leads me to the point of this blog post. 

The book is a great combination for me because I often straddle the line between wanting to major in astrophysics or art. But beyond that, I found an unexpected love for the Sleuth part of Celestial Sleuth.  "Forensic astronomy" - as the book calls it - is like an even nerdier Sherlock Holmes. It explores mysteries that I would have never thought of in relation to astronomy. The amazon description names a few examples: 

"Weather facts, volcano studies, topography, tides, historical letters and diaries, famous paintings, military records, and the friendly assistance of experts in related fields add variety, depth, and interest to the work. The chosen topics are selected for their wide public recognition and intrigue, involving artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Edvard Munch, and Ansel Adams; historical events such as the Battle of Marathon, the death of Julius Caesar, the American Revolution, and World War II; and literary authors such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Joyce, and Mary Shelley. This book sets out to answer these mysteries indicated with the means and expertise of astronomy, opening the door to a richer experience of human culture and its relationship with nature. "

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To give more specific examples, Olson and some of his students went to France to figure out exactly where and when Monet's 1883 The Cliff, Etretat, Sunset was painted.

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Using the altitude, relative size of the sun, and angle of the sun in relation to the rocks, they could determine when the painting took place, within a few minutes. All using simple techniques and tools I used in my navigation class.

Alternatively, the book spends an entire chapter on the civil war and finds that a critical turning point in the battle at Chancellorsville in 1863. The book uses first hand accounts and calculations about phases of the moon to find that the time of moonrise might have influenced the wounding of Stonewall Jackson. 

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Overall, its a great book and I would recommend looking into forensic astronomy if you are interested in practical applications of astronomy.