Tepi-a Sopdet

Tepi-a Sopdet in hieroglyphics
	Constellation "Sopdet" ( Big Dog )

Tepi-a Sopdet is the name of an ancient Egyptian dean that comprised only one dean star .

background

It is Mirzam as the forerunner of Sirius . The traditional Arabic name is "Harbinger" and probably refers to its position, as it rises before Sirius and heralds him, the brightest star in the night sky. However, this role does not apply to heliacal risings, since Mirzam is much weaker than Sirius and has a visual arc of at least 13 ° or has to rise about 55 minutes before the sun to be visible heliacally. In addition, Mirzam requires a minimum horizon height of 1.7 °, because due to the refraction no sighting can take place beforehand. The same conditions apply to acronyms .

With regard to the position of the dean, the information in the Nutbuch can therefore only relate to the acronymic culmination , as only in this case Mirzam can rank before Sirius in the dean lists. Mirzam reached a height of about 36.6 ° in ancient Egypt at the time of the diagonal star clocks. Sirius himself belonged to the ancient Egyptian constellation Sopdet .

Alexandra von Lieven refers to the dean's star "Tepi-a Sopdet" mentioned in the Nutbuch , who was in the seventh year of Sesostris III's reign . as the 34th dean with the heliacal ascent for the 6th Peret IV (around June 15/21 ); the culmination for the 26th Achet II and the acronymic downfall for the 26th Peret I. The duration of the noted invisibility was the 70 days, which have already become canonical .

Dating from Tepi-a Sopdet (System of the Nutbuch)

year	Acronic culmination	Acronymic doom	Heliac rise	Remarks
Dating from Tepi-a Sopdet in Memphis
1873 BC Chr.	26. Achet II January 11th to 12th, altitude 30.3 °	26. Peret I April 11-12, arc of vision 10.4 °	6. Peret IV June 20-21, 2.3 ° arc of vision	Sesostris III.
1541 BC Chr.	19. Peret I January 14th to 15th	19. Peret IV April 14th to 15th	29. Schemu II June 23-24	Ebers calendar
1463 BC Chr.	8. Peret II January 15-16	8. Schemu I April 15-16	18. Schemu III June 24-25	Ramesside star clocks

literature

Christian Leitz : Ancient Egyptian star clocks . Peeters, Leuven 1995, ISBN 90-6831-669-9 , p. 95.
Alexandra von Lieven : Floor plan of the course of the stars - the so-called groove book . The Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Eastern Studies (inter alia), Copenhagen 2007, ISBN 978-87-635-0406-5 , p. 62 and p. 398.

Individual evidence

↑ Alexandra von Lieven: Plan of the course of the stars . P. 66.
↑ ^a ^b ^c The altitude information refers to the end of the respective night hour. Heliac rising before sunrise, aconychic setting and acronychic culmination after sunset.
↑ Actual culmination 36.5 ° about 2.75 hours after sunset.
↑ It was only possible to observe the sinking towards the end of the decade.
↑ On the 10th day of the decade, the visual arc was 9.3 °. A heliacal observation of the ascent was therefore not possible during the decade.

[1] Alexandra von Lieven: Plan of the course of the stars . P. 66.

[Z-2] The altitude information refers to the end of the respective night hour. Heliac rising before sunrise, aconychic setting and acronychic culmination after sunset.

[3] Actual culmination 36.5 ° about 2.75 hours after sunset.

[4] It was only possible to observe the sinking towards the end of the decade.

[5] On the 10th day of the decade, the visual arc was 9.3 °. A heliacal observation of the ascent was therefore not possible during the decade.