Tag: Forensic Astronomy

Unrelated to practical zmanim calculations, it is fascinating to see that with enough work, astronomers were able to pinpoint the exact date and time that Claude Monet painted the Cliff at Etretat, Sunset painting based on the position of the sun at sunset. Researchers from Texas State University published information showing that the masterpiece was painted (or more accurately, visualized in Claude Monet’s mind) at 4:53PM on February 5^th, 1883.
The picture of the Kosel below was taken by my grandfather Sidney (Nesanel) Siegfried. While I can’t pinpoint the exact time the picture was taken, I do know that it was taken in the early afternoon on Aug 1^st, 1932 כ״ח תמוז תרצ״ב. I leave it to the readers of this post to try and calculate the exact time the picture was taken based on the shadows.