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Dr.
William G. Vinal was an advocate for learning about science, by experience, while
out in nature. In 1922, he authored an
article titled “Making Friends with the Mountains”, and here are two of the
questions that he asked way back in 1922.
Do you know the answers? To help, here is some information.
Sky Clocks
Where
does the sun rise and set, and in the northern hemisphere what direction does a
shadow point at noon? What about in the
southern hemisphere? On what two days
during the year are the days and nights both equal? Do you know the answers?
Most
modern people, perhaps because of electricity, artificial lights and other
modern conveniences, no longer pay attention to the path of the Sun across the
sky. Our ancestors did, it was the only
clock and compass that they had!
Entire
books have been written about the movement of the Sun through the sky, but to
summarize, in the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun rises in the east, sets in the west
and traces an arc through the sky in the south.
At the equator, the Sun is always directly overhead and is neither north
nor south of you, while south of the equator, the Sun traces an arc through the
sky in the north.
At
the Summer Solstice, north of the equator, on June 21st, the Sun is
at its highest point in the sky and the day is the longest of the year. And at Winter Solstice, on December 21st,
the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky of the northern hemisphere and the
day is the shortest of the year. At the
Equinoxes, on March 21st and September 23rd, when the Sun
is directly above the equator, rather than north or south of it, the day and
night are both 12 hours long.
Shadow Tree
What
time of day would the shadow of a tree or a stake be the smallest? Above the equator, in the northern hemisphere,
what direction does it point? If you
mark the shadow-tip hour by hour, what direction does it trace? Do you know the answers?
Since
the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west, morning shadows point west, and
afternoon shadows point east. At solar
noon (1:00 pm during daylight saving time and 12:00 pm standard time), the
shadow will be at its shortest. At noon,
in the northern hemisphere, because the Sun is to the south, the shadow will
point north. And in the southern
hemisphere, at noon, the shadow points south, because the Sun is to the north.
Hopefully,
you know the answers to these questions, but in any case, you know the answers
now!
Dr.
Vindal’s entire article is included below for your convenience, and here is a
bonus question. Can you find the mistake
on the 1922 illustration from page 9, below?
Here is a tip, follow the Sun.
Good luck! Leave me a comment if
you find the mistake.
I hope that you enjoy
learning from this resource! To help me
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Thank you and Happy Trails!
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That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Sources
Berman,
Bob; “It's Spring! See How the Sun is Getting Higher Every Day”, Almanac, [©2024
Yankee Publishing, Inc.], https://www.almanac.com/its-spring-see-how-sun-getting-higher-every-day,
accessed November 2, 2024
Gibson, J., Soldiers’
Own Note Book and Diary For 1918, [London, Charles Letts & Co., 1918] http://heritage.christchurchcitylibraries.com/Archives/OSullivan/Clutterbuck/Diary/PDF/0050.pdf,
accessed 08/16/2018
Tahouri,
Ali; “Evaluation of Windows and Energy Performance Case-Study: Colored Building”,
2015, Faculty of Architecture (EMU), pages 3946 to 3444, https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Sun-Path-In-North-Hemisphere_fig1_292389622,
accessed November 2, 2024
Owendoff,
Robert S.; Better Ways Of Pathfinding, [The Stackpole Company,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1964], page 34
Vinal,
William G.; “Making Friends with the Mountains”,
Safety Magazine, April 1928, [The Education Division of the National Safety
Council, New York, New York], pages 8 to 9, https://books.google.com/books?id=1YOgvEOTDQsC&pg=RA7-PA9&dq=%22a+mountain+climber+should%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjWjuKevryJAxXHGFkFHR1-G2AQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=%22a%20mountain%20climber%20should%22&f=false,
accessed November 1, 2024
