VFK History of Calendars Quest

January 4, 2009<BR>
 January 5, 2009	
==Description==
Calendars have come about due to the need to know how long it would be before it was time for the harvest, or for a religious festival, or how many days it was until an important event happened. Early calendars were heavily influenced by the geographic location of the people creating the calendar. For people from cold regions the year was largely defined by the cycle of the seasons. In warmer areas where there was little indication of the seasons, the moon was more important in determining the time of year. For our quest, we will delve back into the origins of the tracking of the days and years and the history of our modern calendars.<BR><BR>
Your reward for completing this quest will be 1,000 credits, and a Snowy Bay Window!<BR><BR><BR>
===Prizes===
===Questions===
1. The oldest calendars are based on the orbit of the moon around the earth. Observed from the earth, the moon appears to move completely around the earth once every 27.3 days. This time period reflects the orbital period of 27.3 days. The moon's orbit is almost circular so that it maintains an equal distance around the earth. The 27.3 day orbit is called what?
* A lunar month
* A synodic month
* A sidereal month
* A celestial month<BR><BR>
2. Because of the motion of the Earth around the sun, the moon takes 29.5 days to come back to the same location on the earth as referenced to the sun. This period is called a synodic month. All the lunar phases are correlated with the synodic month. Because of the rotation of the earth, from our observations on the face of this planet, the moon looks like it goes through a complete cycle. The complete cycle of the phases of the moon in common terms include: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, waning crescent then back to new moon. Go to the first English countryside room through Stonehenge and say a quote from Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet: "O, swear not by the moon"<BR><BR>
3. The time period from one new moon to the next new moon is valuable knowledge to have, but even in warmer regions, there are a number of yearly events that disregard the phases of the moon. In some climates, it is the rainy season. In Egypt, the flooding of the Nile River occurs annually. A calendar had to accommodate these occurrences so that people could predict and prepare for them. The basic unit of reference, however, is still the cycle of the moon. The mean time between one new moon and the next is called a what?
* Lunation
* Lunar interval
* Calendar month
* Season<BR><BR>
4. In ancient times, the calendar based on the lunar cycles, which came closest to approximating a solar year was one with a nineteen year duration. Seven of the nineteen years had thirteen months, the rest had twelve months. The nineteen year period included 235 months based on a lunation of 29.5 days. Over the course of nineteen years, the difference between the lunar calendar and the solar calendar was a difference of just a single week in nineteen years, or 35 days every one hundred years. This nineteen year period still needed refining, however, it formed the foundation of most the ancient calendars such as the Chinese, Greek, and Babylonian calendars. Go to the underwater observation room down the steps in front of the Sydney Opera House and say a quote by Robert Burton: "Doth the moon care for the barking of a dog?"<BR><BR>
5. The complexities of creating a good calendar were well documented by the time the Romans came to power. Because the Romans were superstitious about even numbers and thought them unlucky, they only had 29 or 31 day months. The exception to this was February which they designated as having 28 days. Even with having four 31 day months, seven 29 day months and one month with 28 days, this was only 255 days. The Romans thus added an additional month every second year of 22 or 23 days. What was the name of this month?
* Calamitus
* Mercedonius
* Chronominus
* Solarius<BR><BR>
6. Despite the addition of Mercedonius every second year, the Roman calendar got so far off track that Julius Caesar, under the guidance of the astronomer Sosigenes, commanded that a reform of the calendar be made. As a result, Caesar decreed that 46 B.C. should be 445 days long. This brought the calendar back in line with the seasons. At that point, the solar year of 365 days and 6 hours was made the basis for the calendar with every fourth year being a 366 day year. In addition, Caesar made the year begin with the first day of January and not the vernal equinox. Named the Julian Calendar, after Julius Caesar, this calendar is still used today for calculations of religious holidays by Eastern Orthodox churches. Go to Ned Kelly's Hideout Shack in Australia and say a line from the popular Cat Stevens song "Moon Shadow", say: "I'm being followed by a moon shadow."<BR><BR>
7. Because the Julian calendar was not exactly in line with the actual solar year and was 11.5 minutes longer, after a few centuries, this time began to add up. By the 15th century, the Julian calendar had fallen off track so that the vernal equinox was falling on March 12th instead of around March 20th. This came to the notice of Pope Sixtus IV who sent for a German astronomer to advise him in making another reform. The astronomer came to Rome in 1475, however he died and the Pope's plans of reform faded as well. What was the name of the German astronomer? 
* Father Christopher Clavius
* Aloysius Giglio
* Regiomontanus
* Gregarious<BR><BR>
8. In 1545, Pope Paul III was authorized by the Council of Trent to update the calendar. The astronomical and mathematical calculations were performed by Father Christopher Clavius. The first update suggested by Father Clavius and implemented by Pope Gregory XIII was to make October 4, 1582, a Thursday, as the last day of the Julian calendar. The following day skipped a number of days and was decreed to be Friday, October 15th. To make the calendar be more accurate over the long term, the calculations made by the Vatican Librarian Aloysius Giglio was used. His formula makes the calendar accurate to within 26 seconds of the earth's rotational year. Go to the outside of the Marshall's office in the Wild West Age and say this quote from William Cullen Bryant: "The moon is at her full, and riding high."<BR><BR>
9. Use of the Gregorian calendar was not immediately adopted. The Catholic countries of Italy, Portugal, Spain, Holland, Poland and Belgium converted quickly in 1582; however, the countries ruled by Protestant princes did not adopt the calendar and continued to use the Julian calendar. The Protestant rulers of the Netherlands and Germany finally decided to change to the Gregorian calendar in what year?
* 1600
* 1700
* 1800
* 1900<BR><BR>
10. It was not until 1752 that Great Britain and its colonies including the US, converted to the Gregorian calendar. It took a revolution to convert Russia, and the Gregorian calendar did not go into use in Russia until 1918. Shortly after, Greece, then Turkey and finally China converted in 1949. Even though most countries use the Gregorian calendar, it still has a few problems. The year cannot be divided equally into halves or quarters. The number of days per month varies and the day of the week is disregarded in terms of when months and years begin. Other calendars have been proposed, however none have been adopted. Overall, our current calendar system keeps up reasonably accurately to the cycles of the sun and moon. Go to the waterfall room in Audubon's Wildlife Adventure game and say: "Time stands still for no man."<BR><BR>
11. Press continue to finish!<BR><BR>
===Answers===
1. A sidereal month
2. Go to the first English countryside room through Stonehenge and say a quote from Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet: "O, swear not by the moon"
3. Lunation
4. Go to the underwater observation room down the steps in front of the Sydney Opera House and say a quote by Robert Burton: "Doth the moon care for the barking of a dog?"
5. Mercedonius
6. Go to Ned Kelly's Hideout Shack in Australia and say a line from the popular Cat Stevens song "Moon Shadow", say: "I'm being followed by a moon shadow."
7. Regiomontanus
8. Go to the outside of the Marshall's office in the Wild West Age and say this quote from William Cullen Bryant: "The moon is at her full, and riding high."
9. 1700
10. Go to the waterfall room in Audubon's Wildlife Adventure game and say: "Time stands still for no man."
11. Press continue to finish!
Category:Quests