The Earth
The beautiful design of the universe, the solar system and our earth.
The seasons - from southern hemisphere perspective. Also note date and time. An event in the early hours of the morning in Australia will be on the previous day for instance in the UK and the USA. EAST = Eastern Australia Standard Time. 10 hours ahead of UT. UT = Universal Time.
Equinox - The sun is over the Equator on or about 21 March and 22-23 September.
2010 - Autumn Equinox The sun will cross the Equator on Saturday 20th March at 1732 UT. Sunday 21 March at 0332 EAST.
Spring Equinox is on 23 September at 0309 hrs UT or 1309 hrs EAST.
During an Equinox, the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west (give or take about one degree).
Try this. Early in the morning of the Equinox, drive a stake into the ground. Where the shadow from the tip of the stake meets the ground, place a marker. Continue to place a marker on the ground every hour. At the end of the day, join all of the markers. You should have a fairly straight line in a direct east - west direction.
Summer - The sun is over the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees south) on or about 21-22 December. All of the area inside of the Arctic Circle is in darkness while all of the area inside the Antartic Circle is in sunlight.
2010 Sun will be over the Tropic of Capricorn on 21 December at 2338 hrs UT or 0938 hrs EAST on 23 December.
Can you see why north Queensland is opposed to daylight saving from the above photo of the globe?
Winter - The sun is over the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north) on or about 21 June.
2010 Sun over the Tropic of Cancer on 21 June at 1128 UT. (2128 EAST).
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
In the southern hemisphere, 21 June (give or take one day) is the shortest day of the year. So why is the following month the coldest?
Answer - As the sun begins to move south, the southern region of the earth continues to loose heat into the atmosphere from the ground and the oceans. It is not until August that the heat gain from the sun is greater than the heat loss, consequently, August is warmer than July. The same situation applies to summer. January is hotter than December because the southern hemisphere continues to gain heat in the first few weeks that the sun moves north.
God gave the earth its 23 1/2 degree tilt (23 degrees and 28 minutes to be exact) so that different regions of the earth would receive the warmth of the sun. Otherwise the Equator region of the earth would become much hoter and the polar regions much colder.
Daylight Hours
When the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, the amount of sunlight hours increases the further south you move. For instance, on 15 December at 10 deg. south latitude, sunlight = 12 hours 42 minutes. At 40 deg. south, sunlight = 15 hours. Consequently, Tasmanians love daylight saving, whereas it is resisted in north Queensland. Daylight hours at the Equator = 12 hours 7 minutes all year round (Daylight hours data from Seasons, Encarta Encyclopedia).
When the sun is over the Tropic of Capricorn, daylight hours south of 66.5 degrees (Antarctic circle) are 24 hours. A problem for those wanting daylight saving in Queensland Australia is that on 01 January for example, the sun will rise at 4:56 am in Brisbane, but will not rise in Cairns (in the far north and slightly to the west) until 5:47. That means that in effect, Cairns, and towns in the far west are already practicing daylight saving. (Sunrise times from The Courier Mail, 02 October 2007, p. 2).
The Moon
The moon does more than give us some light at night. It also acts to stabalise the earth on its correct tilt.
The Earth
The earth has a hot molten iron core whose movement generates a magnetic field around the earth. The magnetic field holds the atmosphere onto the earth. Without the magnetic field, the atmosphere would be stripped away from the earth by the solar wind. The moon by contrast does not have an iron core.
Design
The beautiful design of the solar system points to a wise and powerful creator. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1).
Abbreviations
UT = Universal Time
GMT = Greenwich Mean Time, same as Universal Time (UT)
EAST = Eastern Australian Standard Time (ten hours ahead of UT)
To find GMT (same as UT), Click on link (will connect to external web site).
GMT
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