Astronomy and dates WAS Re: Clay Shirky on social software

[bluesqueak]

Shaun wrote:
> And I wonder how many people even saw my post on the astronomical 
> errors in Order of the Phoenix, which took me three solid hours to 
write (-8 

I saw it. I just don't have enough astronomy to reply to it. I can 
tell the difference between a star, a planet and a moon, but that's 
about it [grin].

Though I suspect that the errors in the position of the planets in 
the night sky may be deliberate. You can, after all, tell *exactly* 
what the date is from accurate planetary/stellar positions - and I 
think JKR is making her dates vague on purpose.

Look at the way the school term always starts on September 1st, and 
yet it's always a Monday the day after they arrive on the train...

Pip