The astronomical aspects can be observed at Prasat Phanom Rung nowadays as well as when the temple was constructed. The aspects are embedded in the orientation of the 15 doorways penetrating the sanctuary. But we do not know whether the lay-out was intended to have astronomical significance or whether the orientation is a coincidence.
The astronomical knowledge was available in the last part of the 1st millennium; but the ancient Khmer master-builders did not leave us any written evidence of their intensions. Nearly all Khmer temples are orientated so that the sun rises twice a' year aligned with the centre-line of the sanctuary. If the lay-out of Prasat Phanom Rung was intended to have astronomical significance then we have to look for more than just sunrises and sunsets. The genius of Prasat Phanom Rung could be that the period from the sunset to the sunrise is equal to one lunar month. The solar events in March and April cannot therefore not be separated; they are coupled.
At the first visit to Phanom Rung in 1991 the author was puzzled by the question: Why is the temple not orientated straight east-west allowing the rays of the sun to penetrate the sanctuary at sunrise and sunset on the equinox days? A travel-compass indicated that the days must be close to equinox. Nobody knew the exact days and information about the sun-rise to happen on 'the 15 ascending lunar day in April' was obviously in-correct, because the date of full moon is different from year to year. The sun rises nearly on the same spot on the same date in consecutive years.
The first time the writer observed the sun setting visible through all 15 door-ways of Prasat Phanom Rung was 7 March 2000 (top). The resulting calculation of the dates of the 4 annual solar events and the calculation of the orientation of the structure was published in the Bangkok Post, 23 March 2000: New Light On An Ancient Site: Phanom Rung Has spectacular sunrises and sunsets if you know the right dates. Officially only one of the four solar event was taken into consideration: The sunrise in April, which was announced to coincide with the annual Light and Sound Festival the 1st and 2nd of April - a few days before the visibility of the sunrise.
In 2001 and 2002 the April sunrises were announced with a similar minor errors and the three other annual solar events were still ignored. In 2003 this situation improved: On March 6 the writer invited the director of Prasat Phanom Rung Hin Historical Park, Miss Nongkhran Suksom, to join the observation of the expected sunset through the doorways of the temple.
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.
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.
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