Random Thought Thread

tinfoil hat timmy said:
well. based on the description that you just gave it SHOULD be more east west in alignment than it is because you know, the sun and moon are on the same ''rise in the east set in the west'' path.

just explaining my question I'm ready to drop it
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If the moon were fixed in space that would be true wouldn't it. But the moon is orbiting the Earth. The sun and the moon rise in the east because the earth is spinning counterclockwise (when seen from the North Pole). However the moon is also orbiting the Earth counterclockwise. It is much slower than the rotation of the Earth. It takes about 4 weeks for the moon to get around the Earth in one rotation of its orbit. But the path of that shadow is a combination of the rotation of the Earth and the relative change in the moon's position above the Earth as it orbits the earth counterclockwise (from West to East)
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
If you take a few minutes to just visualize all of this it starts to make sense. Particularly when you can view other planets that have the exact same phenomenon which is visible from our planet through a cheap telescope.
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Or better yet; one of those motorized models with the bulb (simulating the sun) that many High Schools once had.

Basically, the Esrth rotates on a tilted axis, in an elliptical orbit around the sun, with the moon circling the Earth. When you think about how light falls on a globe that's rotating on a tilted axis, it makes sense.

A lot easier to see and understand with those old models, though.
 
Lorien said:
ferrule me- can't get ferruled again
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Will-Ferrell-in-Elf-2003-directed-by-Jon-Favreau.jpg
 
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