At 11:34 AM 1/25/03 -0600, Robert Seeberger wrote:
<<http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/top5_myths_020903-1.html>>Not exactly a test, but interesting enough.
Whenever the topic of the shape of the Earth's orbit and the seasons comes up in class (like this past Wednesday night in the section which meets on Mondays and Wednesdays), I ask the students when they think Earth is closest to the Sun. Few guess anywhere near the correct answer (sometime between Jan 1 & 4 on the calendar: it happens at essentially the same point in Earth's orbit every year, but the date and time vary from one calendar year to the next because of leap years and time zones). Similarly, we are fartherest from the Sun in early July: a surprise to most of those US inhabitants who celebrate the Fourth of July holiday with a trip to the beach . . .
-- Ronn! :)
Ronn Blankenship
Instructor of Astronomy/Planetary Science
University of Montevallo
Montevallo, AL
Disclaimer: Unless specifically stated otherwise, any opinions contained herein are the personal opinions of the author and do not represent the official position of the University of Montevallo.
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