The Fontvieille Dial Maker is made for those curious about astronomy and the measurement of time.
History of science, astronomical navigation techniques, scientific objects… Our steps will lead us to various related subjects, with the common thread of the pleasure of discovering and understanding!
School teachers, astronomy enthusiasts, or simply curious: you are welcome!
Blog
Illustrated articles to uncover the mysteries of time measurement and related topics.
Activities
Fun activities for the curious of all ages. To be done alone, in a group or in class: discovering together is understanding!
Latest articles
Make your own Papophoplon!
The customisable Papophoplon You can now make your own Papophoplon. Enter your longitude and time zone offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to find out
I am entering the 2026 Lépine Competition!
Since 1901, the Lépine Competition has been showcasing passionate inventors, both amateur and professional, who devise ingenious solutions to improve our daily lives. It does
How to use the back of the Papophoplon?
The back of the Papophoplon is only needed if you’re using the instrument somewhere other than the location for which it was designed. It features
A scientific method for finding noon at 2 pm!
Stop looking for noon at 2 pm — just find it! Note for non-French speakers: there is an expression in French about : “Looking for
When does solar time fall on a round number?
We know that solar time differs from legal time and that this difference varies throughout the year. Are there any days when the difference is
World Sundial Day: it was on March 20th, 2026!
World Sundial Day was on 20 March 2026, the day of the equinox. For the second year running, it provided the occasion for amajor online
A new sundial in La Farlède !
Going from this: a marble slab at the stonemason’s… To this : As you can see in the GIF above, the virtual Papophoplon (see here)
The impact of obliquity on the equation of time
Here is a Geogebra animation that allows you to visualise the equation of time due to obliquity (the tilt of the Earth on its axis
Virtual Papophoplon
If you do not have a physical papophoplon, you can still find out the difference between legal time (the time on your watch) and solar
Papophoplon: Why does it work? (The theory)
In this article, we explain the three adjustments made by the Papophoplon. 1. Summer time or winter time? The first difference between solar time and
Papophoplon: How does it work? (in practice)
How to convert solar time to clock time? Frustrated by looking at a sundial and finding that it doesn’t show the same time as your
A sundial in a glass!
Place the glass flat, with the eyepiece facing the Sun. On the side oppposte to the Sun the shadow of the eyepiece should fall on