Events on Site - The Stones and the Stars: Building Scotland's Newest Megalith - page 237

F IG . 8.7 Author with midsummer sunset shadow, 2010 (Photo by Graham
Gardner)
December 1982, however, at last allowed a check on the
elusive midwinter sunset alignment, which was predicted to be
where St. Andrew House on West Nile Street cut the horizon of
Gleniffer Braes, beyond Paisley (Fig. 8.8 ). There were clouds on
the skyline in the southwest, but they weren't a problem because
the descending Sun's track proved to be half a degree higher than
predicted (Fig. 8.9 ). From the glow in the clouds, indeed, it might
have reappeared briefly to the right of the tower which cuts the
skyline (Fig. 8.9d ), in which case the precise alignment would (for-
tuitously) be given by the right-hand edges rather than the centers
of the marker and central stone. However the shadow pattern was
as predicted, with the shadow of the marker falling on the central
stone (Fig. 8.10 ), and the shadow of the central stone falling on the
midsummer sunrise stone almost opposite (Fig. 8.11 ).
Despite the good weather in June 1983 it again proved impos-
sible to have an observer present on the morning of the solstice.
Robert Law of the Coats Observatory in Paisley (and now of the