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View the Stars
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You have
probably been told that the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
However if you watch the sun rise and set you will quickly notice that
the Sun does not really set due west or rise due east. Again the
23.5 degrees tilt of the Earth is the reason the sun follows this path.
On the first day of spring (in the northern hemisphere), the sun rises directly in the East and sets directly in the west. However, during the rest of the yeat the sun does not set directly in the west. On the day of the winter solstice the sun ristes in the southeast and sets in the southwest. This is why you would want solar energy panels on the south side of your house. The path that the Sun (or any star) takes over a day is called a diurnal circle. Diurnal circles are parallel to the celestial equator, and (except for the celestial equator) are small circles. Note that on the day of an equinox is the path of the Sun is same as the celestial equator! Also notice that the height of the Sun changes during the course of a year. In the winter the Sun does not rise nearly has high in the sky as it does in the summer. Remember that if an object is below your horizon you can not see it. That is why we can't see the Sun at night. This is also why we in Bloomington we can not see the Magellanic clouds because they never rise above our horizon. When do you think is the longest night of the year for the southern and northern hemisphere? |
