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Beautiful photo montage of two Chinese equatorial sundials from Beijing, China. They both date from the Ming Dynasty (over 500 years ago.) Did you know that Sundial in Mandarin is rìguǐ 日晷 ? Link to Photos on Chinese Astronomy website (photo courtesy M. Shea)

This stunning sundial was designed and crafted by artist, Robert Perless for installation at Utah Valley State College in Heber City, UT. The gnomon stands an impressive 13' 9" high and has a unique prism incorporated into the design that casts a shadow with a rainbow prism. more information on Robert's page. Sun Dagger (photo courtesy Robert Perless)

It's friday and here at GardenSundials.com we're taking a walk on the shadowline with the fabulous Fleshtones.

We had someone recently ask about human sundials on our Facebook page so I thought I'd shed a little light on the concept (bad pun I know). Of course we're all sundial gnomons (aka sundial pointer) when the sun's rays hit us and a shadow is cast on the ground. The key to turning us into a working sundial is just similar to constructing a sundial out of any material. The hours need to be laid out in a pattern and directed towards true north. You could use anything from sticks coming out of the ground to more elaborate ways...

With a gnomon reaching a height of 90 feet, the Samrat Yantra is an amazing stone sundial. Located in Jaipur, Rajasthan India, it was built by the Mughal King Jai Singh in the 18th century. Today it's a UNESCO World Heritage site.  http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1338