Lessons Learned at Nature School...Sky Clocks and a Shadow Tree©

 

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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 21^st, 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 21^st, 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 21^st and September 23^rd, 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.

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Ten Essentials of Winter Camping ©”, where we will talk about how to camp in the winter wilderness and stay warm and safe.

 

I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource!  To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE.  Thank you and Happy Trails!

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

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