Can a rock tell time? In the vast desert of central Australia, southwest of Alice Springs, stands a remarkable monolith that reaches a height of 348 meters and reports the time through its daily color changes. In the morning, it appears brown; at noon, it shifts to a gray-blue; and in the evening, it transforms into red. Local residents use its three daily color changes to organize their farming activities and daily lives. Additionally, the monolith can take on various shapes depending on the angle of sunlight, resembling a shark's dorsal fin, a submarine, or even a giant.
To uncover the secret behind the monolith's ability to 'tell time,' archaeologists and geologists conducted detailed examinations of its environment. They discovered that the monolith's smooth surface strongly reflects sunlight, allowing the changing colors of the sky to be mirrored on its surface. Furthermore, the reflections and refractions of sunlight under different weather conditions also contribute to the monolith's varying appearances.
