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Dear UWM Planetarium friends,
Have you noticed that the Sun is rising a little further north of east every day? At our latitude the length of day changes dramatically over the course of the year from 9 (on the winter solstice) to 15.5 hours (on the summer solstice).
I am teaching what I think of as “Feet-on-the-Ground Astronomy” in my class where we talk about concepts that impact us daily, such as the apparent movement of the Sun on a daily and yearly basis and how it varies around the world. My students are having aha moments!
- One of my students now understands their father’s surprise given that he grew up in Veracruz, Mexico (in the tropics), where the length of the day varied between 11 and 13 hours only.
- Another student said that they went to Brazil during our summer and was surprised that their “winter” meant it was their rainy season.
- The students were surprised to hear that in the southern hemisphere the Sun moves counterclockwise across the sky.
I look forward to seeing you under the stars,
Jean