Posted on 02/22/2005 6:46:42 PM PST by The Other Harry
This is fairly stupid...
I live in central / west Virgina. We have a lovely full moon here tonight.
Does that mean that everyone, everywhere on earth, has a full moon?
If you're real good, you can also tell me which way the constalations appear to rotate. (I know it is really us that is rotating, but it seems that way.)
My TB is broven. But, I'm just back from Tiajunna, so, hey...
The Moon is said to be "full" when it is exactly opposite the apparent location of the Sun... in other words, when it is farthest away from the Sun, on the opposite side of the Earth.
In answer to your question, since everyone on Earth will be able to see the same Moon as you and I see when we look up today, it will LOOK exactly the same to them.
Are Freepers supposed to be so silly? This is the most fun I've had since the dogs ate my brother. Too bad Hunter Thompson didn't tune into you guys - he'd still be shooting at something besides himself. (Not meaning to be disrespectful.)
I haven't had so much fun since those dogs ate your brother either. Gawd, what an ass he was...
Oh wow. How is he now?
Nice GIF
Ahhhh the things we learned in college.
Hey, not sure if you got an answer on your second question, so here goes...
Imagine a globe in a dark room with a spotlight shining on one side. That side is daytime, the other side is nighttime. If you were standing on the line between day and night, it would be sunrise or sunset, depending on which side you're on. Imagine you turn the globe so that you (in Virginia) are right on the line. California is still lit up by the sun, while the Atlantic Ocean is dark. Now, as the earth rotates, the rest of the US will find itself in darkness as the sun sets in the west.
So, we'll set it back up so that Virginia is right on the "terminator" -- that line between light and dark. If you looked straight up in the night sky, that would be exactly the same as going straight out from the globe. If you look west, you see the spotlight, or our sun, while it's dark to the east.
Now, imagine as the globe turns and plunges the rest of the US into darkness.... Stop when Virginia is directly opposite the sun.... It's now midnight in Virginia. When you look "straight up," you're no longer looking at the same constellations as you were when you looked "straight up" at sunset.... those constellations would now be on the western horizon.
If you go on to sunrise, looking "straight up" points in another, completely different, direction. Now, those stars that were up at midnight are now on the western horizon, and the sun is on the eastern horizon. Continue turning and you'll see the sun move across the sky in the same way.
Hope that helps some.
Since -- unlike me -- you spelled Hendrie's name correctly, I assume you realize that he *is* his guests.
[Oh wow. How is he now?]
Feeling a little down in the mouth.
You guys are great! This is the funniest thread I've ever read on Free Republic.
Never mind...
I misread your second question as "why" do the constellations rotate, not "which way" do they.... Oh well...
Now that is one funny title.
That is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. Thanks for posting it!
Thanks for making worthwhile this otherwise sorry-*ss*d thread. ;O)
Ooooh, nice graphic. In answer to the original question, the phase of the Moon will be just a tad earlier or later relative to another point of longitude.
sort of related, from Jack Horkheimer...
RealPlayer file:
http://www.miamisci.org:8080/ramgen/stargazer/SG0503M.rm?usehostname
"Horkheimer: Next Tuesday the 25th we'll see the smallest full Moon of the year. And if you've got a camera you can conduct your own fun experiment. The Moon will be officially full at 5:32 a.m. Tuesday morning at which time it will be the farthest and smallest full moon of the year, almost 252,000 miles away. Just for fun take a picture of it with a zoom lens. Then next July 21st when we'll have the closest full Moon of the year, almost 30,000 miles closer, take another picture. Cut them in half, lay them side by side and you'll see a huge difference because July's full Moon will be 13% larger than next week's full Moon. Vive la difference! And Keep Looking Up!"
d'ja ever have a IIgs?
http://www.umich.edu/~archive/apple2/gs/gsos/nda/
http://www.umich.edu/~archive/apple2/gs/gsos/nda/moonphase.bsq
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