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To: djf
But I swear if you told me you could see Venus at 11:30, I’d flat out call you a liar!

You may want to call me a liar, but the U.S. Naval Observatory says that in Seattle Venus will set at 00:15 this evening, which is already Monday. She sets later in Seattle than in Boston because you further north and you are further to the west of the center of your time zone. On the day of the equinox, where latitude doesn't matter much, sunset set will be about 25 minutes later, local time, in Seattle than in Boston.

You have to be pretty astute to be surprised that Venus set so late. Asger Aaboe was teaching an introductory astronomy class at Yale in 1967 that was comprised entirely of elite undergraduate mathematicians. He posed the question to the class of whether or not one could see the moon in the daytime. A lively and vigorous discussion ensued, with a number of divergent opinions being hotly defended. To settle the issue Professor Aaboe suggested the students look out the window.

31 posted on 06/07/2015 4:15:18 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (This is known as "bad luck". - Robert A. Heinlein)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Years ago I heard a lecture by a scholar about the ancient Athenian calendar, which was a lunar calendar. It was obvious from what he said that the man did not realize that the moon is sometimes visible in the daytime. The man was a tenured full professor at one of the top universities in the US, in his 50s, a Rhodes Scholar with a Ph.D. from Harvard.


57 posted on 06/07/2015 5:14:47 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Years ago I heard a lecture by a scholar about the ancient Athenian calendar, which was a lunar calendar. It was obvious from what he said that the man did not realize that the moon is sometimes visible in the daytime. The man was a tenured full professor at one of the top universities in the US, in his 50s, a Rhodes Scholar with a Ph.D. from Harvard.


58 posted on 06/07/2015 5:14:47 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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