Great story Frank!! I'm fond of celebrations and I've introduced in the Museum where I work all the equinox and solstices as special days to get together and have a symposium ( a good Greek invention ) Lets see if someone living in the tropics comes out with a Noon on Top feast Keep telling stories Roser
2011/7/27 Frank King <[email protected]>: > Dear Brent, > > You note: > >> The people who live in the tropics have >> another special event, when the sun is >> directly over their latitude. > > This is not quite true unless you go to > an enormous amount of trouble. If you > live in the tropics, what normally happens > is that the sun crosses to the south of > where you live one day and crosses to the > north the next. Or, of course, the other > way round. > > To experience the sun directly overhead > requires careful planning. You have to > match your latitude to the declination > of the sun AND be at the right spot at > the moment of solar transit. > > I have tried this a number of times and > the best I have managed is a solar altitude > of 89 deg. 59' 59.8". > > Since the diameter of the sun is about > half a degree you don't have to be as > close as that to have at least part of > the sun directly overhead. > > David Patte comments: > >> they sure don't get much of a shadow at >> noon on that day :) > > NO, NO, NO!!! Just go and try it. The > shadows are much more interesting than you > would expect... > > Normally, your shadow extends outwards > from your feet and if you turn round > your shadow doesn't turn with you. > > When the sun is directly overhead, > your shadow DOES turn with you. If > you hold your arms out and do a gentle > pirouette then the shadow does a nice > pirouette too. > > If you lean your head forward and > squint down your nose, you can see > the shadow of your nose on the ground > and this turns round with you too. > > The shadow isn't like you are used to > though. When you are walking along you > see this strange two-dimensional creature > round your feet and you can't stop treading > on it. You feel kind of cruel :-) > > I have walked along a crowed street in > Kuala Lumpur with the sun at 89 deg 35' > studying the feet of other pedestrians. > Everyone had this curious two-dimensional > companion and I was the only person who > realised just what fun this was! > > There are two down-sides to all this fun: > > First, it will probably be very hot! > [Readers may ponder why :-)] > > Secondly, if you should look up, you see > this fiery object directly overhead and > this has a strange psychological effect. > You wonder what stops it falling on your > head. > > Have fun in the sun! > > Frank H. King > Cambridge, UK > > --------------------------------------------------- > https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial > > --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
