The encounter with the sun impressed the director to an extend so that she invited the Governor of Buriram Province to join the celestial show the following evening.

     In the late afternoon on the 7th the horizon was cloudy and it seemed like that the sun would not be visible. A few minutes before sunset the sun became visible and everybody were excited, as the picture to the right indicates.
     The first public show was a success.

Right and left:
The sunset 7 March 2003.

 

2004:      No pictures from the March and April events due to clouds at the horizon (right).      As something new - and based on the governor's experiences in 2003 - the period from the sunset in March to the sunrise in was declared 'The Sacred Month of Prasat Phanom Rung' starting with a Brahmin ritual at the sunset in March.      The sunrise in early September falls late in the rainy season and the sun was obscured by clouds.

 

Above: 4 October The sun was only visible through 11 gates	Above: 5 October Observed from behind Nandin	Above: 5 October Observed from behind the Nandin
In October the weather was better, but only on the 4th and 5th; the sunsets were calculated to be visible on the 5th, 6th and 7th. The 4th the sun was visible through 11 of the 15 doorways. From the 3rd - three days before the straight alignment - the chambers of the sanctuary are lit with sunshine giving opportunities of beautiful pictures. The 5rd the first pictures were taken from behind Nandin, the sacred bull and vehicle of Shiva (above, centre and right). As the sun got closer to the horizon the rays penetrated more and more door-ways for finally being caught through the corners of the first and last doorway (right). The photo to the right also confirms that the sun would have been visible straight through all doorways the the following day, the 6th, as calculated. A photo showing the setting or rising sun through all 15 doorways of Prasat Phanom Rung has not yet been taken (2008).
		Above: 5 October Sunset visible through all 15 gates

2005: The solar-lunar events were calculated and published here, but the author did not visit Prasat Phanom Rung.

2006:      The solar-lunar events were calculated to be on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of April and published here.      The Thai Authority of Tourism (TAT) officially announced the day of sunrise to be the 4th.      At the Light and Sound Festival the author was presenting the astronomical events to the public and had opportunity to take a single photo of the rising sun the 3rd of April (right)..      The photo was then in a CAD-CAM programme added perspective lines (in red) which connect the corners of the doorways and meet is called the perspective point. The yellow line marks the calculated path of the rising sun.      If the photo was taken from the centre of the western doorway the perspective point would be in the centre of the eastern doorway. On the photo the perspective point is located in the lower left corner of the eastern doorway because the photo was taken from the lower left corner of the western doorway.

On the day when the sun rises aligned with the structure of the doorways the sun will pass the perspective point following the yellow line. That the rising sun on the photo behind the calculated-constructed yellow line is another confirmation of that the sun rose straight 3th of April 2006.      The method described above the author calls Perspective Drawing as an Analytic Tool and it has proven out to be a most helpful tool in determining the orientation of a given temple. Knowing that the diameter of the sun's disk is app. 0.5 degree, the error-margin is less than 0.05 degree (See Appendix II below).      The photo above also corresponds perfectly with the calculated and drawn prediction of the path of the rising sun on the same day as shown on the drawing to the right. Left: Sunrise in September, 2006.

2007      During the calculation of astronomical events in 2007 the author became aware of that lunar eclipses also have cycles nearly corresponding to the lunar month at Prasat Phanom Rung: When an eclipse is occurring close to the date of a solar-lunar events there is a high possibility for that a second eclipse will occur at one of the next solar-lunar events.      This 'draconic aspect' - or Rahu-aspect - of Prasat Phanom Rung was described in a second article in the Bangkok POST: Celestial Romp! published  1 March, 2007 - before the two eclipses in 2007.      A more comprehensive bi-lingual article about the astronomical events at Prasat Phanom Rung was published in the April - June 2007 issue of the Muang Boran Journal: The Sun, the Moon, and Rahu at Prasat Phanom Rung and สุริยัน จันทรา และราหูที่ปราสาทพนมรุ้ง: ข้อสังเกตทางโบราณดาราศาสตร์

See text/pictures on the bilingual web-page: The Sun, the Moon and the annual festival at Phanom Rung in April 2007 and the related web-page Phanom Rung, Kuti Rishi, Muang Tam - and the total lunar eclipse the 4th of March 2007

In late October 2007 the author received an appointment to function as adviser on astronomy in relation to Prasat Phanom Rung and surveyor on Khmer sites for the Governor's Office in Buriram Province and returned calculations and drawings about the celestial events for the coming year. 2008:      For the first time in 10 years the author did not go to Phanom Rung to observe the sunsets in March and verify/calibrate his calculations. The winter seemed like having no end; in the beginning of March it was still too cold to go on motor bike in the mornings.      The sunsets were calculated to happen on 5th, 6th and 7th March.

The 3 days in March the author spent confirming the 'Phanom Rung Line' on his sundial at Phu Phan, Mukdahan. The 3 pictures below show how accurate a sundial tells when the sun sets straight at Prasat Phanom Rung.

6 March      The shadow follows the black line, the ‘Phanom-Rung-line’, which was drawn a previous year on the day when the sun set visible through all 15 doors of the temple.      If a similar simple sundial was erected at Phanom Rung the visitors would be able to check if the sun sets/rises straight on the day of visit.	6 March      The photo above was received by e-mail. The tourists are taking pictures through only 4 of the 15 door ways some 10 minutes before the sun was visible through all door ways on the 6th of March 2008.      This anarchistic situation was shown on Thai TV as well - and will hopefully not happen again.	7 March      The sundial is of the simple vertical gnomon type as described in the ancient Indian text-book on astronomy, the Surya Siddhanta. Shadow readings can tell time of day, dates and true east.      True east is on the photo above illustrated by the line separating the white and yellow areas.
No photos of the sunrises/sunsets in April, September and October due to clouds at the horizon.
2009: For the Celestial events at Prasat Phanom Rung in UNESCO's International Year of Astronomy 2009: NEXT

Photos, drawings and text © Asger Mollerup, 2008.

I: EQUINOX 2006-2010
II: PERSPECTIVE DRAWING AS AN ANALYTIC TOOL
III: POPULISTIC ARCHAEOASTRONOMY
IV: PHANOM RUNG IN THAI ENCYCLOPAEDIA
 

     Based on own observations of sunsets and sunrises through the door-ways of Prasat Phanom Rung the orientation has been determined to be  84.5°. The difference from 90.0° east (the equinoctial point) is 5.5° - or in days: approximately 14 days from the equinox days.
     The calculation of the solar events at Prasat Phanom Rung is therefore rather simple: Determine the equinox days and add/subtract 14 days.

     It must be emphasised that this simple calculation is 'a rule of thumb' and must be followed by more exact calculations for the year in question (see figs 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, and 20).
     As demonstrated above then the officially announced dates for the solar events at Prasat Phanom Rung have had minor errors every year. Probably due to calculations based on the 'rule of thumb'. More exact results have continuously been published here and delivered in person to the director of Phanom Rung Historical Park and the Office for Tourism and Sport in Buriram.

The digital News Room of the Tourism Authorithy of Thailand informs:
I: ''Astro-archaeological Phenomenon at Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung
Astrologers have also predicted that an extraordinary astro-archaeological phenomenon will occur at sunrise during the April 3-5 period this year. The doors of the temple sanctuary are so perfectly aligned that during this period, at sunrise on a cloudless day with clear blue skies, the sun’s rays will shine through all fifteen doorways of the sanctuary in a single shaft of light. (Plan to arrive between sunrise and no later than 06.00 a.m.)''

Comments: The time is correct. The date is one day off (see figs 22 and 23).
     ''Astrologers have predicted...'' (?) Recalling the passage in the Holy Bible and the prediction of the birth of Jesus Christ: The wise men from the east , who had seen ''his star in the east, and are come to worship him."
     ''The doors of the temple sanctuary are so perfectly aligned...'' Towards what? The sun will rise aligned with any human structure oriented between 66° and 112° minimum once a year. Nearly all Khmer temples are orientated so that the sun will rise aligned with its structure.

Quote II: ''According to ancient folk belief, one should make a pilgrimage to the summit of Khao Phanom Rung to pay homage to the gods, deities and celestial beings that reside on the mountain at least once in a lifetime. The tradition has been carefully preserved by the residents of I-san over the centuries'.

Comments: The traditional date of the local old ceremony of ascending the mountain was ''the 15th ascending day in the lunar calendar in the fifth month'' = full moon in April. This practice is still an authentic event among the locals and mostly NOT coinciding with the solar event and the modern Light and Show Festival.
     Another ascending the mounting at full moon in April is preformed among the locals at another mountain temple only 11.4 km to the south east. And at other locations as well.
     Phanom Rung was apparently not a regional pilgrimage sanctuary. We do not know how old 'the full moon in April ceremony' is (old or ancient?). Neither do we know whether it has Khmer Hindu roots or not.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand also announces the annual solar event(s) at Phanom Rung on another web-site:
The text is identical to the text in the News Room above, except for the dating: In the News Room we are informed that the event is 3rd to 5th April, the second reference gives 1st and 2nd of April and ''no later than 07:30''...
Amazing!

Quote III: ''Although often overlooked on account of the famed Angkor city complex in Cambodia, the Khmer monuments of I-san represent key architectural milestones in the development of Angkorean design and ritual. In fact virtually every Angkor-period monument played a role in an elaborate cosmology that linked the entire network, a part of which lay in what is today Thailand.''

Comment: If the orientation of Prasat Phanom Rung has intended astronomical significance then this concept predates Angkor Wat 200 - 400 years.
''... an elaborate cosmology that linked the entire network''. Reference? The author is not aware of any academic research or scholarly publications on the subject ancient Khmer temples and eventual relation to archaeoastronomy.

Thai Text:

     ได้เรียนรู้ว่าในวันเดือน 5 ขึ้น 15 ค่ำนั้น เป็นวันที่พระอาทิตย์และพระจันทร์จะส่องแสงตอนเที่ยงวันทำมุมตั้งฉากกับพื้นโลกในบริเวณประเทศไทย ฉะนั้นจะพบเห็นพระอาทิตย์ขึ้นส่องแสงผ่านประตูทุกช่องทั้ง 15 ช่อง ตามแนวทิศตะวันออก-ตะวันตก ของปราสาทหินพนมรุ้ง และในเย็นวันขึ้น 15 ค่ำ เดือน 5 พระจันทร์จะขึ้นตรงกับช่องประตูทุกช่องเช่นเดียวกัน
     ในกรณีดังกล่าวอธิบายได้ว่า สถาปนิกหรือช่างก่อสร้างชาวขอมโบราณมีความรอบรู้เรื่องดาราศาสตร์มากและได้วางผังปราสาทโดยวางให้ตรงตามทิศตะวันออก-ตะวันตก โดยกำหนดเอาวันที่พระอาทิตย์ส่องแสงตั้งฉากกับพื้นโลกในบริเวณประเทศไทย นั่นคือพระอาทิตย์จะส่องแสงตั้งฉากกับพื้นโลกเวลาเที่ยงตรง (คนยืนกลางแจ้งจะไม่มีเงา) วันที่พระอาทิตย์ส่องแสงตั้งฉากกับพื้นโลกคือวันขึ้น 15 ค่ำ เดือน 5 ในพุทธศตวรรษที่ 15-16 (แต่ปัจจุบันพระอาทิตย์ได้ทำมุมเอียงไปบ้างแล้วตามวงโคจรของโลก พระอาทิตย์พระจันทร์ ได้ทำมุมเปลี่ยนไปตามระบบสุริยจักรวาล)
     ฉะนั้นจึงพบว่าชาวบ้านจะนิยมขึ้นเขาพนมรุ้งในวันเดือน 5 ขึ้น 15 ค่ำ หรือในวันใกล้เคียง เพื่อจะได้เห็นสิ่งมหัศจรรย์ดังกล่าวด้วย ครั้นมีผู้คนไปนมัสการสิ่งศักดิ์สิทธิ์ในวันดังกล่าวจำนวนมาก จึงมีผู้ริเริ่มทำบุญกุศลจัดงานนมัสการพระพุทธบาทจำลอง ปิดทองพระพุทธรูปแต่กระนั้นก็ตามยังไม่ได้จัดงานบุญกันสม่ำเสมอทุกปี

Partial translation:

     ''At noon on the 15th day in the 5th month (full moon in April) it will be the day when the sun and the moon will cast its rays making a right angle with the surface of the earth … therefore one will see the raising sun throwing its rays passing all 15 doors following east-western direction of Prasat Hin Phanom Rung. And at dusk on the 15th day in the 5th month the moon will raise straight in the same line of the doors''
   ''The ancient Khmer architects or the building-constructors had a very deep knowledge about astronomy and made the plan of the prasat in a straight east-west orientation, scheduling the day when the sun will cast its rays making a right angle with the surface of the earth in the Thai area, meaning that the sun will cast its rays making a right angle with the surface of the earth exactly at noon (a standing person will have no shadow) .. on the 15th day in the 5th month in the 15th-16th century B.E. (10th-11th A.D.) – (but nowadays the sun has been tilting a little bit following the encircling orbit of the world - the sun and the moon have been changing angle following the solar system'' (sic.))
     ''Therefore the rural people like to ascend Khao Phanom Rung on the 15th day of the 5th month or on a nearby day, because they will see miraculous things – so to say. When having people go and ’wai’ sacred objects'' … etc

     The text is difficult to translate as several astronomical concepts are mistakenly mixed up. Some of the errors are commented on below:
 

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