A unique monument to veterans, the beauty of which opens once a year — November 11 at 11:11 am

In the city of Antem in An unusual memorial was erected in Arizona in memory of the fallen American soldiers. However, 364 days a year the monument looks unfinished: to appreciate it, you need to be near on a certain day of the year, at the exact time, and at the same time the sun shines.

"On every Veterans Day, November 11, at exactly 11:11 a.m., the rays of the sun pass through the oval holes and illuminate the mosaic with the Great Seal of the United States," the municipal council of the city reports. — The five pillars mean the unity of the five branches of the US military, which together unwaveringly serve. These are the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Air Force, the Ground Forces and the US Coast Guard. The order of their location corresponds to the priority of each type of troops prescribed by the Ministry of Defense."

It took a lot of effort to build this monument. Jim Martin, the chief engineer of the memorial, explains: "Every year, the center of the sun shifts slightly by a few angular seconds horizontally or vertically relative to the assumed azimuth. We used statistical averages for 100 years: the azimuth and height of the sun above the horizon — and adjusted the calculations so that the error with 11 hours 11 minutes 11 seconds in international atomic time was no more than 12 seconds. We also checked the variance for 500 years ahead — if the design remains in place, it will work."