September Equinox 2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precess...precession.svg

Although the image is titled as 'precession', the entire Earth has a single surface rotation to the Sun across an orbital period with the upcoming Equinox event perhaps the most notable way to appreciate and describe this surface rotation as a function of the orbital motion of the Earth.

Educational instruction is still moribund to the 'axial tilt causes the seasons' insofar as it ignores the necessity of the orbital surface rotation while loading axial orientation with so many properties that even the humble stargazers can't appreciate the simplicity inherent in using dual surface rotations to tie in with terrestrial experiences and terrestrial sciences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=612gSZsplpE


Observers are bound to notice a redress with the emergence of images,graphics and other tools to restore astronomy back to an observational exercise with narratives attached after centuries of colorful voodoo language where everything and anything could be said under the guise of physics.

In response to the question - 'What causes the seasons ?, the answer is no longer a pseudo-dynamic of 'axial tilt' but rather a more expansive reply which requires the instructor to recognize that a second surface rotation to the central Sun is generated by the orbital motion of the Earth,if not by analysis or analogy then through direct observations of that time lapse footage .

I had hoped that any difficulties there were with the surface rotation as a property of the orbital motion of a planet,including our own, would have disappeared and the dual surface rotations to the central Sun would now make it into wider circulation.

The previous tendency was to ignore that the planet does turn as it moves through space as opposed to some perspective difference between Earth and Uranus however a brief analogy proves the former view that the surface rotation is intrinsic to the planet itself rather than the latter view -

http://www.astronomy.com/news/2004/1...ther-odd-rings

I had always assumed that observers would simply pick up on the descriptive narrative and alter their views to suit dual rotations to the central Sun. With the North/South poles reaching their respective twilight and dawn orbital positions it is always good to remind stargazers that there are new avenues to research,discuss and simply enjoy.

The Equinox as an orbital event will happen within this week and perhaps it draws attention to the known observation that no two cycles as the Sun crosses the meridian are the same.

Unlike hemispherical variations in daylight/darkness lengths, the variations in the length of the natural day is a global affair as long as the Sun is above the horizon at noon, for instance, a location such near Buenas Aires at Lat 38 Deg South will register the same length of time the Sun crosses the meridian at noon from one day to the next at Washington DC at 38 Deg North.

The timekeeping system is an intricate affair created in two different ways,firstly there is the observation that to keep days fixed to their annual points it requires an additional day after 4 cycles of 365 days,of course this refers rotations to orbital dynamics in a proportional way.

The next step is incredibly intricate for the assumption is that within these 4 annual cycles that rotation is constant thereby segregating daily surface rotation from the orbital surface rotation which is behind the variations of the noon cycles. These variations are an affirmation of Kepler's conclusion that planets vary in speed in that the surface rotation as a function of its orbital motion responds to variation in the planet's speed as it moves through space. For all the world there is this electromagnetic feature contained in the details but with current researchers unable or unwilling to accept that indeed as the Earth moves through space it turns once as a component of its orbital motion it is near hopeless to discuss in any meaningful way.

This time of the year there is a fleeting glance that an astronomical events occurs which divides summer from winter with all the differences which separate those seasons however people still don't know what exactly the Equinox is in terms of the dual rotations of the Earth and the surface clues which introduce the surface rotation as a function of the orbital motion of the Earth. Most just conjure up a story about the Sun crossing through the star from North to South or this guy with an equally absurd description -

http://www.koco.com/weather/fall-equ...-city/28104114

I don't fault these people by virtue that there is no true astronomical community able to handle the orbital surface rotation even as the polar coordinates turn into and out of the circle of illumination in a few days.

Anyone care to admire what a planet actually does,including our own ? -

http://www.news.wisc.edu/story_image...us_comp-sm.jpg

"oriel36" wrote in message
...

This time of the year there is a fleeting glance that an astronomical events
occurs which divides summer from winter with all the differences which
separate those seasons however people still don't know what exactly the
Equinox is in terms of the dual rotations of the Earth and the surface clues
which introduce the surface rotation as a function of the orbital motion of
the Earth. Most just conjure up a story about the Sun crossing through the
star from North to South or this guy with an equally absurd description -

http://www.koco.com/weather/fall-equ...-city/28104114
=========================================

"The equinox happens when the plane of the Earth's Equator passes the center
of the Sun."
"Sunrises and sunsets are measured when the top of the sun hits the horizon,
not the center."
Absurd Kelleher whines about facts and definitions.

Of all the things that benefited from the emergence of computers perhaps the greatest of all benefit is astronomy and its links to terrestrial sciences. The surface rotation in addition to daily rotation was such a difficult thing to discern so that in the intervening years as those images of Uranus emerged it removes any difficulty whatsoever when allied with analogies and graphics. In short it is as much a triumph of 21st century technology as it is an individual achievement as the human input is not swamped by the tools which go into these insights.

The problem when telescopes and clocks (as we now know them) emerged at the same time a number of centuries ago is that they did, as tools, swamp observations and give us the unfortunate clockwork solar system implanted in a calendar framework thereby directing observations towards the tools themselves rather than expanding insights into the relationship between the motions of our planet and terrestrial sciences on one side and the relationship with other celestial objects on the other including the Sun and the other planets.

The mediocre are always content with status quo for that is what it means to be unproductive and lacking creativity however existence doesn't work to serve those content with outward appearances but rather the spirit serves those driven by inspiration, a genuine love of life and especially the greater Life that encompasses it. The greatest event, often quite dramatic, which distinguishes our journey from childhood to adulthood is that feeling where the greater Life that encompasses our own, whether we look backwards or forwards, surfaces from behind all the concerns and wishes we had up until then and it lights up everything else.

It is this and this alone which discerns the Equinox as an event made up of orbital and daily rotational traits and especially with an eye to the North/South poles as they turn as a function of the the orbital motion of the Earth into and out of the circle of illumination in a few days. This rotation and this view is here to stay and not to leave whether people choose to see it or not.

On Thursday, September 18, 2014 11:58:06 PM UTC-6, oriel36 wrote:

The problem when telescopes and clocks (as we now know them) emerged at the
same time a number of centuries ago is that they did, as tools, swamp
observations and give us the unfortunate clockwork solar system implanted in a
calendar framework thereby directing observations towards the tools themselves
rather than expanding insights into the relationship between the motions of our
planet and terrestrial sciences on one side and the relationship with other
celestial objects on the other including the Sun and the other planets.

This certainly gives additional insight into your perspective on these matters.

But the idea of basing astronomy on sundial time instead of Ephemeris time
(from which today's atomic time scale is derived) which you seem to think would
give us greater fidelity to observation, is profoundly absurd. A time scale
derived from a compound motion of the Earth - its rotation enmeshed in its
orbital motion - is simply irrelevant to the motions of the other planets.

Your idea is basically wrong for the same reason as Ptolemaic astronomy - it is
Earth-centered. You think that relating the Earth's motion to the fixed stars
instead of the Sun denies Copernicus - but in doing so, you are assigning too
much weight to parallax.

John Savard

Rightly understood, the Equinox is defined by the location of the North/South polar coordinates where they are turned to a position where they exist orthogonal to the Sun/Earth line. The recent classifications tend towards a celestial sphere description,if can truly be called that, where the Sun is said to not only move in daily circumpolar motion but North and South within this celestial sphere framework.

We have satellites,we have computers able to demonstrate visually and graphically the dual motions of a planet that go into the Equinox event but what is missing are people with heart to enjoy the spectacle for what it is.

It is one of the most useful images there are out there at the moment concerning the dual surface rotations of the Earth even though it doesn't show the planet's orbital position close to the Equinoxes -

http://www.tctimes.com/living/featur...=image&photo=0

Without doubt the analogy using a broomstick to substitute for constant axial orientation and walking around a central object (Sun) would give any teacher the feel for the surface rotation as a function of the orbital motion of the Earth as all parts of their body will at some time or other ,as they walk/orbit the central object will face that center. That is what we see of Uranus and most certainly our home planet .

The proliferation of celestial sphere descriptions in recent years is disappointing as it shows the willingness of the community to completely disregard the significance of the Equinox event as a separation between daily and annual components which generate the seasons and variations in the natural noon cycles.

The Earth does not 'tilt' towards or away from the Sun or any other awkward variation on that theme, the planet actually turns as it moves through space aside from and in addition to daily rotation. It means sacrificing 'axial precession' as a concept insofar as the Earth has an orbital longitude much like daily rotational longitude where the orbital function is swamped by the more immediate daily rotation.

It is one of the most useful images there are out there at the moment concerning the dual surface rotations of the Earth even though it doesn't show the planet's orbital position close to the Equinoxes -

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/...mericas250.jpg

Without doubt the analogy using a broomstick to substitute for constant axial orientation and walking around a central object (Sun) would give any teacher the feel for the surface rotation as a function of the orbital motion of the Earth as all parts of their body will at some time or other ,as they walk/orbit the central object will face that center. That is what we see of Uranus and most certainly our home planet .

The proliferation of celestial sphere descriptions in recent years is disappointing as it shows the willingness of the community to completely disregard the significance of the Equinox event as a separation between daily and annual components which generate the seasons and variations in the natural noon cycles.

The Earth does not 'tilt' towards or away from the Sun or any other awkward variation on that theme, the planet actually turns as it moves through space aside from and in addition to daily rotation. It means sacrificing 'axial precession' as a concept insofar as the Earth has an orbital longitude much like daily rotational longitude where the orbital function is swamped by the more immediate daily rotation.