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October 2003
Does the Moon Spin?
$3.00
BONUS!!
Is Polaris the Brightest Star?
Faces on Mars – The Works of Martians?
Eggs can only be balanced during Equinox?
Complementary
Game show CD to be
given away with
every copy of Young
Astronomer’s Digest!
The past 10 months have been a wonderful
one for the team at Young Astronomer’s Digest – when
we first started out with this, we were in trepidations
because we were so new to this – both the magazine and
the audience. We certainly cut our teeth on being the
first true astronomy magazine in Singapore – sourcing
for information, experts to talk to us, writers with the
credentials… but at the end, the blood, sweat and tears
were really worth it! So for our first birthday in
December, we’re celebrating with a blast! There’s going
to be a big party and all of you are invited! Make sure
you check out the details in next month’s issue, alright?
Speaking of issues, last month’s special on Mars really
brought up some intriguing, yet rather unsettling ones –
it was quite surprising to find out that many of you
believed the email that was being circulated around that
on August 27th, we would be able to see 2 moons, and
wrote in to us demanding to know why this did not
happen. (Check it out on Page 25) Hence we were
inspired to find out what were the biggest
misconceptions about astronomy right here in
Singapore, and conducted a poll and interviews with
people on the streets in order to do so (results on Page
3).
Yes our dear readers, in case you didn’t already realise
(which is highly unlikely, being the precocious kids that
you are), this month’s issue is on the Myths and Urban
Legends of Astronomy. For the younger minds, we’ve
laid out myths like the phases and the spinning of the
moon (yes it does spin!) as well as why stars actually
don’t come in only the colour white and why Polaris may
not be as bright as you think… The budding astronomers
amongst us, however, can relish more advanced topics
like the (still hotly-debated) theories on why the moon
looks bigger than the horizon than directly overhead, as
well as the different contributing factors as to why our
Earth will not be ripped into two when the next
planetary alignments comes along (brace yourself
though, it’s a long read!). And one other thing before I
go – recently the people at Celeste’s Squares sought our
help with their program, and in return they are giving
away a copy of that episode with every magazine. It’s
really interesting to see our words turn being
demonstrated live, not to mention a good way to learn
too. Do play it to your friends!
Well, what are you waiting for? Turn the page already!
The Editor
Heidy Teo
Editorial
Heidy Teo
[email protected]
Editorial Assistants
Cai Mingfang
[email protected]
Guo Huizi Julia
[email protected]
Hee Mun Keong
[email protected]
Lee Cheok Kian
[email protected]
Contributors
Art Direction
Marcus Hee
Advertising
Joel Ng
Publisher
Patricia Bell
[email protected]
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2
Moon’s phases………………………………...10
Why does the Moon have phases?
The Moon Spins?!..............................................15
Moon Illusion……………………………….....20
There will be 2 Moons on 27th august 2003!......25
Faces of Mars………………………………….28
Planet X Sage…………………………………..33
Planet Alignment………………………………42
Colours of the Stars……………………………51
The Brightest Star-Polaris……………………..53
Egg-quinoctial Balance………………………..58
Coriolis Effect………………………………....64
Street Interviews………………………..3
Survey Results………………………….7
Letters………………………………….9
Astro FAQs…………………………….14
Astro Power……………………………18
Correspondence Constellations………...41
Just A Joke……………………………..50
Books Corner…………………………...55
WIN!........................................................63
Subscription…………………………….67
Last Page……………………………….68
3
NB: Though our questions were formulated deliberately to induce the person interviewed
to agree with us, this was not incompetence on our part! We were just trying to replicate
the effect these myths have on the unsuspecting. A lot of myths practice selective
provision of information, which tends to misguide those who are not in the know, since
they sound very scientific and altogether highly compelling.
Coriolis Force
“Earth spins counter-clockwise in the Northern hemisphere, and
clockwise in the Southern hemisphere. Does the water in our sinks
and toilets drain correspondingly? Does it drain in one direction if
you are living in the Northern hemisphere, and another if you are
living in the South?”
“Yah that sounds quite believable.
Actually I didn’t notice the way the
water in my sink drains, but if it
affects hurricanes then I’m quite
sure it will affect the water at home
as well. Hm, maybe I will go and
check when I go home…” - 21,
male, University undergraduate
“Yah, I think
so. (When
asked why: )
I don’t,
Nature lor.”
-14, female,
Bishan Park
Primary
“No. That is definitely a fallacy. I
once watched this science
programme for kids on Central, just
a couple of years ago, and they
showed that this is not true at all. I
can’t remember why though…
something to do with the sink?” – 20,
female University Graduate
“I only know if I put my finger in the
water as it is going down the sink and
swirl it around, the water will swirl in
the same direction too… my auntie
showed it to me one. Very fun, you
wanna see?”
-10, female, Townsville Primary
4
“When planets align, does this affect Earth in any way? For examples, flood
and earthquakes due to an increase in gravitational force?”
“Sure the planets affect us.
When Venus and Mars are in
alignment there's likely to be
a lot of lovemaking going
on.”- 28, male, banker
“Erm… what in tarnation kind of a question
is this?! I'm not into astrology… Do i need to
agree with the theory? I have heard of it
before… I guess it's theoretically possible…
some have used this theory to explain mass
extinctions in the earth's history, for example
of the dinosaurs. I mean the moon is
supposed to control the tides right... but of
course planets are further away... I cannot
tell how much of an effect their gravitational
force may have on Earth…”- 21, male,
confused University undergraduate
“Wow… so
technical… (pause)
I’m not really sure, I
think it will if the
Earth is in the axis as
well. (When asked
what this means) As
in, if the Earth is in
that alignment as well.
(When told of the right
answer) Oh yes… I
remember now… yes,
gravity is weakened
the further you are… ”
-21, male, University
“Can you balance eggs (on their ends) only during the equinox?”
“Think the answer is no.
Although it may be easier to
do it on the equinox. Has it
got something to do with the
moon?? Not very sure…”-18,
male, JC student
“Um… I think so. Can. Erm…
what did you say was the equinox
again?” - 16, male, secondary
student
“You can balance an egg anywhere on the
planet... gravity exerts the same sort of
downward force what as long as u attempt it on
a plane that is perpendicular to the
gravitational force? But don’t so stupid go and
balance on a slope lah.”-24, male, in the IT
“What’s the equinox? (When told: )
Oh ok i don’t think we can only
balance eggs on that day... I never
tried, but I don’t think we can
balance eggs at all...” - 21, female,
5
Myth : Moon is bigger when it is nearer to the horizon.
1. “Well, I do agree that the moon seems to look bigger when it is nearer to the
horizon. However, maybe it is due to some illusion or error? I am not sure
about this.”
– 18 Yrs Old College Student
2. “ No, I am sure this is just a myth. I have read it up in a book where they relate
this to the Ponzo Illusion of the railway track. Moon is actually the inverted
Ponzo Illusion.”
– 24 Yrs Old Undergraduate
3. “Actually I think that the moon really does look bigger when it is nearer to the
horizon. I think that most probably the zenith moon is smaller because of the
angle that it portrays?
– 20 Yrs Old Undergraduate
4. “Of course the moon looks bigger when it is nearer to the horizon. I live near
the beach and have been observing this fact for a few years already. Yes, I am
very sure that it is true!”
– 28 Yrs Old Businessman
6
Myth : Planet X
1. “Of course there is no such thing as Planet X. This is absolutely absurd. The
technology is still not that advance to travel to so far. Anything without
evidence cannot be true!”
– 23 Yrs Old Undergraduate
2. “I think it is true. Those artifacts are the best evidence of what the people from
ancient civilizations found out.
– 21 Yrs Old Undergraduate
3. “Although this has not been proved, I believed that it is true. I am sure that
our galaxy does have another “earth” that contains similar human beings?
– 19 Yrs Old Tertiary
Student
4. “I think it is true. That must have been the day of the well-known
“Armageddon” . Although nothing happened, I am sure that one day it will.
– 22 Yrs Old Passer-by
7
All stars are white in colour.
False
27%
True
False
True
73%
There will be 2 moons in the sky on 27th August 2003 when
Mars is closest to Earth.
Yes
39%
Yes
No
No
61%
Polaris is the brightest star.
False
7%
True
False
True
93%
8
The Moon spins on its own axis
Yes
25%
Yes
No
No
75%
The faces of Mars are the works of the aliens.
Yes
48%
No
52%
Yes
No
Moon's phases are caused by the Earth's shadows
falling on it.
No
42%
.
Yes
58%
Yes
No
9
Last
month
article
on
the
Aurora
was
great!
After
reading it, I was so enthralled by the phenomena. But
it is a regret that only those living closer to the
Earth’s poles can have the opportunity to savour such
a rare appearance. No wonder it is called the Northern
and Southern lights. I wondered if it has anything to
do
with
lovely
the
sheets
city
of
lights
that
atmospheric
always
glow,
overcome
just
like
the
in
Singapore, we are unable to observe stars in the sky.
If only I can ever get the chance to witness this
spectacle, I wouldn’t mind to travel far for it may
not come the second time round during my lifetime… Angel Ng, 20, student
Hi Young Astronomer digest, my friends and I have both agreed that this
magazine’s the best! It practically covers everything that we need to know
for astronomy. Interesting articles featured every month have awed me for
the whole month…Plus, I was euphoric reading your July issue. The tips of
buying a telescope you guys have provided gives me great ideas on where
to head when I purchased one last month. Young Astronomers digest is my
best buddy! I’ll give you two thumbs up for the hard work!
Vivien via Email
I’m avid reader of Young Astronomers digest and have
never failed to purchase it every month. I especially love
Your Questions as they help to broaden my knowledge.
Nd your Pals Column rock! I used to have problems
finding friends who appreciate astronomy as me and I
actually found many from Pals Column. The credit is all
yours! Keep up the incredible work!
Jez via Snail Mail
10
Some Facts
Illumination from the Sun
We all know that the Moon changes its shape-
The exact explanation is that the phases of the
sometimes it is thin like a crescent, some days
Moon are actually produced by the alignment of
half-lit and at times, the whole disk is evenly
the Moon, the Earth and the Sun. "Moonlight" is
illuminated. These phenomenons are commonly
really light from the Sun being reflected off of
referred as ‘Phases’. Generally, the Moon’s
the Moon's surface. The Moon is always
phase period lasts about 29.5 days. It is marked
illuminated by the Sun and as it orbits the Earth,
with the emergence of a new Moon. As more of
we see different amounts of the Moon in
the visible part of the Moon becomes lit, we say
sunlight and some parts in darkness. It is
it is waxing. The waxing crescent Moon grows
noteworthy to know that almost all of the
till it is about half full in the phase we call first
Moon's light comes from the Sun. A small
quarter. From there it grows to full Moon and
amount also comes from sunlight reflected off
then begins to shrink back to third quarter,
the Earth. When the Moon is a thin crescent, the
waning crescent and finally back to new Moon.
dark portion that faces Earth is faintly visible as
The Misconception
The reason behind the works of the changing
a result. This phenomenon is known as
Earthshine, or "the old Moon in the new Moon's
arms".
shapes of the Moon has often been assumed to
be a result of the Earth's shadow falling on the
Moon. The Moon is being covered by Earth's
shadow in some kind of partial eclipse. The
Moon is big and full, when it is fully out of the
Earth’s shadow and when almost all in the
Earth’s shadow, we can only see a crescent.
True, the Earth’s shadow occasionally does fall
on the Moon but the result is a lunar eclipse, not
phases. And eclipses occur at such rare events
that we do not often see it.
11
Moon’s Phases
The orientation of the Sun and the Moon determine the shape of the Moon. The
Sun always illuminates half of the Moon facing the Sun (except during lunar
eclipses, when the Moon passes thru the Earth's shadow).
A Moon’s phase starts with position 1 when the Moon is between the Earth
and the Sun. The face of the Moon that faces the Earth is not illuminated by the
Sun, thus we usually cannot see a new Moon. But, do know that the other side
of the Moon is fully lit by the Sun although we are not able to spot it.
When the Moon and the Sun achieve a 90 degrees angular separation,
position 3 is attained and this phase is first quarter. When the Sun and Moon
are on opposite sides of the Earth, the Moon appears "full" to us in a bright,
.
round disk as the side of the Moon facing us is fully illuminated by the Sun.
In between, the Moon's illuminated surface appears to grow (wax) to full, and
then decreases (wanes) to the next new Moon.
12
Try This to Understand Better!
First, stand in the middle of a dark room with
only one bright light source (a bulb) shining
from a corner. This will be the Sun.
Next, hold a small sphere (it could be a pingpong ball, white Styrofoam ball or anything
round within your grip). Push a pushpin into the
Styrofoam ball. This will represent the Moon.
You will be what you are standing on the Earth.
there is only a new Moon without an eclipse.
(Picture 1). View the change of shapes
illuminated as you rotate the Styrofoam ball
counterclockwise. Slowly move the ball
counterclockwise, just to the left side of the
line between you and the light source. You
will see an illuminated crescent Moon. This
is the waxing crescent (Picture 2).
When the Moon is opposite the Sun it comes
within the shadow of your head, this would
Hold the Styrofoam ball by its pushpin. Start
from the ball directly in between the light source
and you. You can see that the side of the ball
facing you is in darkness. When the Moon is
between the Earth and the Sun, the shadow of the
Moon falls over your face. That will be a lunar
eclipse. Then again, the shadow of the Moon will
be a total lunar eclipse. For most months
however, the Moon passes above or below
the shadow of the Earth and is seen fully
illuminated as a full Moon (Picture 3). Rotate
the ball 90 degrees counterclockwise again;
you can see the third quarter phase (Picture
4).
usually fall above or below of the Earth, thus
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4
13
Put on your thinking
caps
1. The full Moon always rises about the same
time as the Sun sets. Why?
2. Would the Moon phases change if the Moon
revolved around Earth in the opposite
direction? How?
3. What do you think it would be like to have
several Moons revolving around Earth? Would
it change your calendar? Poetry? Tides?
4. What views do you think astronauts have of
Earth and Moon as they orbit Earth?
References:
http://starryskies.com/The_sky/events/lunar-2003/phases.html
http://www.calculatorcat.com/moon_phases/moon_phases.phtml
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/Academy/UNIVERSE/MOON.HTML
Dennis Mammana,Start Exploring,The Night Sky (1989)
14
maximum altitude. You will notice that
without a direct gaze, that when your
What are Solar and Sidereal
shadow becomes the shortest, the sun
appears directly above the south point of
Time? – Glenna Ng, 17
horizon. So your shadow will point directly to
the north at ‘local noon’ where your watches
Sidereal Time: time relative to the stars
(astronomical time)
Solar time: time relative to the Sun
(ordinary time)
The basis of our ordinary measurement of
and clocks will register 12 noon. As the time
of your shortest shadow, the sun lies above
the horizon’s south point, somewhere along
the imaginary line that rises from the due
time is the time it takes the Earth to spin
south point, passes directly overhead, and
round once on its axis. This is the period of
then sinks to the north point on the horizon.
time we call the day, and we split it into 24
hours, divided into 60 minutes, which we
split into 60 seconds. But to be accurate, it is
really a solar day and refers to the time it
takes for the Earth to spin round once
relative to the Sun.
However, this period is not the same as
the time it takes for the Earth to spin round
relative to the stars. Because the Earth is
traveling around the Sun in space, by the
time it has revolved on its axis it has moved
on a bit on its orbit, and relative to the stars
has revolved slightly more than once.
Why do Stars Twinkle?– Trinni,12
This is due to light waves from distant stars
penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere. There,
the effects of refraction produce the most
familiar property- twinkling! This twinkling
results from the continuous changing
refraction of starlight all along the path that it
takes through the atmosphere above us. In
fact, the air roils and boils in complex
patterns, air currents that move the
atmosphere in different directions at different
altitudes, creating, in effect dozens and
How do I Estimate how High
dozens of air pockets that each bend
does the Sun Rise? – Ace Seah
starlight by a tiny amount. The cumulative
effect of these separate refractions makes
Well, firstly, whatever you do, never look
directly at the sun! Dun let your enthusiasm
overcome your caution, or your eyes will
soon regret what you did because the Sun
will damage your eyes, it will blind you!
The simplest way to keep track of the sun’s
angular height above the horizon which
astronomers call its altitude, is to watch the
length of your shadow. It decreases to its
minimum length as the sun reaches its
any star’s light appearing to arrive from
slightly different directions, which change
many times per second. Thus you now have
the ability to distinguish planets that do not
twinkle from stars!
Send your questions via email to
[email protected] ; or write to: Ask Astro,
22 Collyer Quay, The Arcade, #22-02,
Singapore 202 202
15
The Widely Believed
Misconception
Many blurt out the above when being
It is not surprising to
told that the Moon actually spins at its
know
own axis. Read the below message
people doubt that the
taken from our forum:
Moon actually spins..
How is it possible that the Moon
rotates?
I
would
like
to
ask
that
many
The Moon keeps the same side pointed
towards us on Earth all the time and so it
seems logical that it does not rotate.
anyone whether the Moon does or
does not rotate. I do not think the
Moon rotates because there is
The Moon Revolves Round the
Earth
concrete evidence that points that
BUT!
it does not. That is, the Moon can
around the earth, which produces the
be seen for about 12 hours of the
phases that we have discussed in the
day with the same face, that is
"the man on the Moon". Also, no
matter when you look at the Moon
from Earth, you see the man in the
Moon, even in China, half way
around the world. If you took a
picture of the Moon in Canada,
and one in China, you would see
the pictures are exactly the same.
Remember,
the
moon
orbits
previous article. To keep the same side
facing us on the earth at all time, the
moon would need to spin.
Not convinced?
Let's say we have a new Porsche, and
we take it out for a few spins around the
race track. We should all agree that as
the Porsche speeds around the track, the
driver's side is always to the inside. The
driver is on the "near side" of the
Porsche, and the passenger would be on
the "far side" of the Porsche.
16
Wouldn't you agree at this step that this is
identical to the case of the Moon keeping
one side always facing the Earth? The
central flag represents the Earth here. The
face that faces the Earth would be on the
"driver's side" of the Porsche.
BOOK
We always see the same side of the
Moon, but that does not mean that the
Moon does not rotate. If the Moon did not
rotate, we would be able to see the whole
Hence, we can see that if the driver were
surface of the Moon within one revolution.
to face the flag at all time, the Porsche will
In fact, it rotates once every 27.3 days.
need to rotate. This is just the case for the
This
Moon.
However, because the Earth is also
is
called
the
sidereal
period.
orbiting the Sun, the period between
An Experiment speaks everything
successive new Moons is not 27.3 days
If you still have a hard time getting this, try
but 29.5 days (synodic period). As the
the following:
Moon's rotation period (sidereal period)
corresponds almost exactly to its period of
Put any object ( say a book ) in front of
revolution around Earth, the same half of
you. That will be the Earth and you will
the Moon is always facing us.
assume the role of the Moon. Bear in mind
that you have face the object at all time.
There are 2 approaches in explaining the
Now, you move round the book, facing the
motion of the Moon- one on the surface of
object. Realize you are actually rotating at
the Earth looking out at the Moon and one
your own axis? And you would have to
outside
rotate one full time as you orbit around the
perform the experiment from the latter
book once.
approach and see the Moon rotating.
the
Earth-Moon
system.
We
However, from the first approach, we can
see that that the Moon does not rotate.
17
Thus, different arguments stem from the 2
This means that sometimes we can
different approaches.
"peek" around a bit onto the far side of
More Facts
Sometimes, we see slightly more than
half of the Moon in the long run. The
reason behind is that the Moon's orbit is
the Moon and see slightly more than
50%, which is 59% of the Moon, from
Earth. This is called "libration".
not a perfect circle but actually an ellipse.
There is 41% of the lunar surface that
Hence,
we will never see from Earth - the "Far
its spin and rotation do not
match up exactly. The Moon rotates at a
Side"(refer
constant rate. But, it's distance from
People sometimes mistake the far side
Earth, and speed in its orbit, varies quite
as the dark side, which is untrue. The
a bit.
This means that sometimes the
far
side
to
is
following
not
always
diagram).
dark
as
Moon spin lags behind its orbital speed,
sometimes it is illuminated by the Sun,
and sometimes it moves ahead. For
during the case of a new Moon when
instance, the Moon moves faster when
the side of the Moon facing us is in
nearer the Earth, which results in the
darkness but the far side is brightly lit
amount of axial spin and orbital position
up by the Sun.
becoming out of step.
References:
The Far Side
http://www.astro.washington.edu/larson/Astro150b/Lectures/EarthMoon/earthandmoon.h
tml
http://www.jimloy.com/astro/moon4.htm
http://www.mhhe.com/physsci/astronomy/fix/mesboard/messages/190.html
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/moon_spin.html
18
1. totality – A: partially
being covered. B: lunar
ellipse. C: solar ellipse.
2. precession – A: accurate
guess. B: Wobbling of
Earth axis. C: movement
of star.
3. aurora – A: name of
flower. B: name of a
star. C:
Northern/Southern
lights.
4. perihelion – A: closest to
the Sun. B: path of the
Moon. C: Winter period.
5. aphelion – A: name of a
star. B: above the Sun.
C: furthest away from
the Sun
6. declination – A: going
down. B: lines parallel to
the equator in the east-
west direction. C: lines
parallel to the sky in
east-west direction.
7. circumpolar – A:
surroundings. B: stars
that never sets. C: at
the poles.
8. azimuth –A: calendar. B:
position measured in
degrees. C: latitude
measured in degrees.
9. meridian – A: middle of
the solar system. B:
equation of time. C: arc
passes through the
horizon.
10. ecliptic – A: ellipse. B:
path of the Sun. C:
point overhead.
19
5.
1. totality – C. The period
of total solar eclipse,
during which the Sun is
completely covered up.
2. precession – B. A
phenomenon which
causes the Sun’s vernal
equinox point to slowly
shift westwards
overtime so that a star’s
RA and declination will
slowly change by about
1.4 degrees.
3. aurora – C. The Sun
gives off a constant
stream of electrified
particles, such as
electrons and protons.
They flow out into
interplanetary space,
forming the so-called
solar wind and creates
the most beautiful
shimmering curtains of
colours in the polar
skies – the phenomenon
known as an aurora
4. perihelion – A. The
Earth is at its closest
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
point to the Sun and is
moving the quickest.
aphelion – C. The Earth
is farthest away from
the Sun and it moves
the slowest.
declination – C. The lines
on a map of the Earth
that run east-west
parallel and is projected
into the sky.
circumpolar – B. The
stars which never set as
they seem to revolve
continually around the
pole.
azimuth – B. The
azimuth of the star is
how many degrees along
the horizon it is and
corresponds to the
compass direction.
meridian – C. It is the
arc that goes through
the north-zenith-south
points at the horizon.
ecliptic – B. The
apparent circular path
the Sun takes across
the sky in the course of
a year.
20
Have
you
ever
wondered why does the Moon seem
larger when it is nearer to the horizon
than it is up in the sky? This is known
as the Moon Illusion.
Take a look at the two pictures below.
Both are superimposed pictures of the
Moon when it has just risen and when
it is high up in the sky. But which is
the correct one? Are you able to
capture this powerful magic??
Figure 2
Most of you would choose picture 1 as
one experiencing the Moon illusion
would expect the Moons to look
different in size. However do you know
that in actual fact, the moon’s angular
distance is about 0.52 degrees measured
from
an
observable
point?
Thus
photographs of the horizon moon and the
zenith moon should yield the same size
as shown in picture 2. Since both moons
have the same diameter on the diagram,
the angle that the moon projects to the
eye is the same for both circles.
Over
widely
the centuries, scholars have
debated
about
the
Moon
illusion, proposing explanations and
theories to explain the psychological
Figure 1
illusion as claimed by some or visual
illusion as claimed by others. Here I
shall
illustrate
one
of
the
most
common theory and its applications to
21
illustrate the Moon Illusion.
which
results
in
yet
another
this
sky
illusion.
Hence
S
S
o
m
d
n
o
n
…
So
om
meee d
deeefffiiin
niiitttiiio
on
nsss…
…
paradox
is
Angular size measures the angle of
apparent distance theory convincingly.
unable
size-distance
to
support
the
the Moon’s diameter that subtends at
T
T
h
P
o
n
o
u
o
n
Th
heee P
Po
on
nzzzo
o IIIllllllu
usssiiio
on
n
the eye at about ½ degrees of arc.
Linear size measures the physical
(metric) diameter of the Moon itself
Distance
illusion
states
that
An
explanation
to
support
the
the
apparent-distance theory includes the
distance to the horizon moon is less
Ponzo illusion or rather the use of the
than the distance to the zenith moon
concept of the convergence of railway
and hence it looks larger and closer to
track to exemplify the linear illusion is
the observer.
shown in the diagram below.
T
o
n
T
h
o
T
h
A
p
p
n
T
h
o
n
n
on
naaalll T
Th
heeeo
orrryyy ––– T
Th
heee A
Ap
pp
paaarrreeen
nttt
Th
heee ccco
on
nvvveeen
ntttiiio
n
c
e
t
h
e
o
r
y
D
i
s
t
a
n
c
e
t
h
e
o
r
y
D
i
s
t
a
Distance theory
According
to the apparent distance
theory, the Moon should have the
same
angular
distance
regardless
where it is in the sky. Consequently,
people experiencing the Moon illusion
Figure 2
should perceive that the horizon moon
looks farther away than the zenith
moon
and
However,
population
hence
only
looks
larger.
about
5%
of
the
experience
the
illusion,
whereas the remaining 95% actually
says that the horizon moon looks
bigger and closer.
Such
the
‘parallel’
converge
at
diagram,
even
horizontal
the
bars
railway
top
part
though
are
of
the
lines
of
the
yellow
the
same
angular size, people tend to perceive
that
the
upper
bar
looks
linearly
‘larger’ and further away. Such linear
observation
contradiction
As
illustrates
between
a
the
conventional theory and what people
actually see. This judgment of near
and far is largely based on their
perception of the distance to the sky
illusion is based on the influence of
foreground objects that leads one have
such perception. When we view the
railway track receding in the horizon, it
seems that the track is stretching from
near to far. This is true because of our
daily experiences with the railway
22
track
and
roadways
that
has
Zenith moon
appears
smaller
conditioned us to reason the diagram
in such a way. This mental map thus
makes us identify that the upper bar is
larger
in
linear
size
in
order
to
compensate for the apparent further
Horizon moon
appears
distance associated. Concurrently, the
lower bar, which is perceived to be
nearer to us deem smaller in linear
size.
Just
like the blocks in the Ponzo
Illusion, our perception of the moon
appears
to
be
influenced
by
the
background. The "distance to the sky"
that we perceived is very much based
on
where we
direct
our
attention
towards it. For example, due to our
daily inference with familiar terrestrial
objects
in
the
foreground
(trees,
houses, roads), the sky nearer the
horizon appears much more distant
than the point directly overhead. In
addition,
experience
we
know
that
from
many
everyday
of
the
Figure 3
Thus
it is claimed that the Moon
illusion is actually the inverted railway
illusion as shown in figure 3.
The
moon has the same true angular
size whether seen near the horizon or
when it is much higher in the sky.
Thus when the diagram is reversed,
the upper bar will represent the moon
that is just above the horizon and the
lower bar will symbolize the moon that
is overhead. When we see the moon
"against" a more "distant" horizon it
appears larger than when we see it
'against" a much "closer" one.
Not
convinced? Let’s do a simple
recognizable things we see in the
experiment! When the Moon just rises
distance are quite far away. But when
above the horizon, hold a piece of
our gaze is upwards, we have no
paper with a hole embedded in the
reference cues for distance, and judge
center. Look through the hole and you
things near the zenith to be closer
will realize that the Moon will look
than those on the horizon.
smaller
as
the
horizon
effect
will
disappear. It follows the argument
that
the
familiar
paper
wall
reference
obscures
objects
in
the
the
surroundings and hence the conclusion
that Moon illusion is due to direct
23
comparison with reference objects of
known sizes.
However,
there are people who argue
that the Moon illusion is still present
even on a barren land as shown in the
applet
(http://www.sandlotscience.com/Moon
illusion/moonillusion1.htm), or even at
the ocean and also by airplane pilots in
the course of flying above the clouds.
Figure 4
According
to the sky-dome paradigm
Thus it is not true that reference
in the above diagram, most people
objects accounts for the Moon illusion.
perceive that the sky have limits and
Furthermore,
imagined it to be like a relatively
as suggested by Donald
Goldsmith, author of Connecting with
the Cosmos, as well as other authors,
he suggested yet another experiment.
The observer will bend over and look
at the Moon through the legs and the
Moon illusion will disappear. Why is
this so? This is because it is asserted
that ordinary reference objects now
become
unfamiliar
inverted
and
when
therefore
viewed
unable
to
account for comparison.
shallow inverted soup-bowl. Therefore,
an observer will perceive that the
compressed
dome
to
be
the
boundaries of the sky and think that
the Moon will have the same angular
distance regardless of where it is.
Thus, as the zenith sky is closer to the
observer than the horizon sky, the
horizon moon must have a larger as a
linear size at A as it is further away,
than the zenith moon at B’.
T
T
h
M
n
d
o
m
m
o
d
Th
heee M
Meeen
ntttaaalll---ssskkkyyy d
do
om
meee m
mo
od
deeelll
Another
explanation to sustain the
concept of apparent-distance theory is
the sky-dome model.
Figure 5
24
Although the reason for the Moon
Illusion is still not yet fully understood
and that scientists are still unable to find
the correct explanation for it, we should
not
Figure 6
blindly
follow
the
wrong
explanations as offered.
However, such sky-dome diagram is not
able to explain the moon illusion if it is
analyzed from the side and front views.
As shown in figure 5, the front view of
R
R
n
Reeefffeeerrreeen
nccceeesss
what the observer is seeing may be
The Moon Illusion Explained
actually illustrated in figure 6. Since he
http://facstaff.uww.edu/mccreadd/intro4.
is facing eastwards looking at the Moon
html
as it rises across the sky and that it is the
Moon
same moon no matter where he is, it
Planetarian
should
http://griffithobs.org/IPSMoonIllus.html
display
a
constancy
of
appearance such that it has the same
angular
distance
regardless
of
its
position in the sky. However from the
side view position, the front sphere
obscures the rear sphere so even though
they have different angular sizes, an
observer will still see only a single moon
that is the front moon. Thus it is not
possible to account for the differences in
The
Illusion,
Moon
Carl
Illusion,
Wenning,
An
IPS
Unsolved
Mystery
http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/3d/moo
nillu.htm
Space.com
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy
/sun_mysteries_020716-1.html
Moon Illusion Demonstration Applet
http://www.sandlotscience.com/Moonill
usion/moonillusion1.htm
sizes based on the different ways in
which the diagram is presented.
25
There will be
two moons in
the sky on
27th
August
2003!
It's going to be a rare sight, so remember - don't
The Opposition
miss the opportunity to view 2 Moons in the sky -
The term opposition in astronomy comes
> 27 AUGUST 2003. Never again in your
from the fact that as seen in the sky, Mars
lifetime will the Red Planet be so spectacular!
stands
This month and next month the Earth is catching
opposition, the Sun, Earth, and Mars form a
up with Mars, an encounter that will culminate
in the closest approach between the two planets
in recorded history. The next time Mars may come
this close is in 2287.
opposite
the
Sun.
During
an
straight line with Earth in the middle. This
takes place every 780 days and this is when
Mars, in its orbit around the Sun, come
closest to the Earth.
The Long Anticipated day
Wondering if any of you had received the
above email. If you did, then you might be one
of the many out there, with excitement peaked
to enjoy the superb chance to view this
magnificent phenomenon. Anticipating with
your best binoculars and camera, you are
prepared to take down this rare picture and
show it off to your friends, children and
grandchildren.
Ah, I can empathize the disappointment in you
on the long anticipated day.
On August 27, the opposition is the greatest
of them all in the last 5000 years. During a
distant opposition, Mars can be more than 60
million miles away. The encounter will
*Magnitude is the standard by which astronomers measure the apparent brightness of
objects that appear in the sky. The lower the number, the brighter the object. The brightest
stars in the sky are categorized as zero or first magnitude. Negative magnitudes are reserved
for the most brilliant objects: the brightest star is Sirius (-1.4); the full Moon is -12.7; the
Sun is -26.7. The faintest stars visible under dark skies are around +6.
26
culminate on August 27th when Mars comes
to within 34,649,589 miles and will be the
brightest object in the night sky. It will attain
a magnitude of -2.9* and will appear 25.11
arc seconds wide.
How big of a deal is this? Not that big,
actually. Mars will only be a little closer, a
little brighter, and will look just a little larger
than during other "close" oppositions. If you
look at Mars in the sky, it will still be just a
dot…but a very bright dot! If you get a chance to look at Mars through a telescope, it
will seem a tiny bit larger than at any other time during your life.
It is never possible to see 2 moons in the sky due to 2 reasons. Firstly, the Moon is, on
average, 238 855 miles (384 401 km) away from the Earth. The vast difference in both
distances reveals that the Mars can never be as big as the Moon. Secondly, there won’t
even be any Moon in the sky on 27th August 2003. It’s a new moon!
References:
http://www.eccseattle.org/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=607
http://lyyyl.blog-city.com/read/199082.htm
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/headline_universe/solar_system/stories_2003/m
ars_opposit_27aug2003.html
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/where_is_mars.html
27
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28
Bug-eyed
monsters with slimy, green
skin and long, sharp talons, tramping
muddy tracks through eerie marshes.
Emotionless
beings
with
raised
eyebrows and pointed ears. Silvercoated and androids running amok,
blasting
innocent
Earthlings
with
powerful laser beams. Sounds familiar
to you? Definitely! These are some of
the diverse images that we all have
extraterrestrials. They derive mainly
from popular sources such as novels,
television programs, movies etc. While
Hollywood-based science fiction film
formed by the Martians? Put on your
courage and imagination cap as we
begin our quest to confront the Faces
on Mars!
"We believe in Martians, partially,
because
want
we
(author's
emphasis) to believe in Martians.
Subconsciously we have always
been
lonely:
ergo,
our
ready
acceptance of any evidence that
there
is
Universe.
life
elsewhere
And
Mars
in
this
is
so
handy......" Richard Hoagland
industry has generated the costumes,
props and special effects needed to
produce the illusion of life on other
planets,
writers
have
spent
their
careers churning out page after page,
describing imaginary beings from the
other worlds. Movies like E.T. the
Extraterrestrial and Star Trek are one
of the few successful films of all time.
Assuming
Figure 1
that Mars once contained
rivers and seas, should we consider
There
the possibility that there are indeed
extraterrestrial beings which inhabit in
intelligent life forms in Mars? If given
Mars
photographs of pictures that resembles
existence. So let us now look at at the
a face, would you think that they are
clash between NASA's space science
is
and
yet
another
photos
to
hunt
prove
of
its
29
and
the
world
of
aliens
and
Exploration, Vol. 5 No. 1, 1991) a
conspiracies.
detailed summary of the evidence that
T
T
h
e
S
o
y
Th
he
eS
Sttto
orrry
y
leads them to propose an artificial
On
origin for various Martian features.
July 25th, 1976, Nasa’s Viking 1
Orbiter
spacecraft
took
some
photographs of the Cydonia region
which is at the Northern latitude of
Mars. Among the photographs was one
that resembled a face as shown in the
above picture. And the effect was
heightened by ‘bits of errors’ during
the radio transmission from Mars to
Earth that freckled the picture with
black dots, with some forming part of
They believe that these features may
have been a product of a human-like
culture indigenously evolved on Mars
and since rendered extinct by changes
in climate. According to this hypothesis
these Martians constructed multiple
examples of large Faces, and possibly
also the pyramids and the Sphinx
F
F
a
e
o
Fa
accce
eo
offffff
an eye and a nostril.
However,
Many
photos are just a play of light and
people believed that it was
indeed a face and any dismissal by
NASA was (and still is) attributed to a
government cover-up – especially by
Richard C. Hoagland, the author of The
Nasa
claimed
that
the
shadow and that is a ‘normal geologic
feature with slopes and ridges carved
by eons of winds and down slope
motion due to gravity’.
Monuments of Mars: A City on the
In
Edge of Forever (1987) who discussed
Viking Press Release P-17384, Nasa
the Face and related topics in it, and
explained that the face is just “ a huge
many more later. Hence those who are
rock formation… resembles a head…
convinced
was
formed by shadows giving the illusion
constructed by intelligent beings and is
of eyes, nose and mouth…” So has the
the alien artifact believe that the faces
appearance of the face gone through
are bona fide of evidence of life on
computer enhancement and hence the
Mars.
resulting effect of the face? Well, not
In
that
addition
community,
the
to
Face
face-hunter
exactly. The late scientist Carl Sagan
Brandenburg,
pointed out that it is likely for people
the
John
particular, in their caption of JPL
Vincent
DiPietro,
and
Gregory
Molenaar
presented
the
Cydonian
to see faces in trees, clouds and even
landforms like the mountains.
Hypothesis, (Journal of Scientific
30
Take a look at the picture below of an
ancient
ruin.
What
can
you
see?
Nothing.
none actually exist, but that doesn’t
prove
that
this
isn’t
a
real
face.
Consequently, this led to (and are still
ongoing) efforts to pressure NASA to
take yet more pictures of Cydonia
Mesa.
Thus on April 5, 1998, the Mars Global
Surveyor re-photographed the Cydonia
Region
which
depicts
the
same
geological formation as seen in the
Figure 2
Now
take a look at the tilted picture
Face
photograph.
And
obviously
a
picture speaks more than a thousand
words. Any face? No!
in Figure 3 and what can you see? It’s
a face! Since it is such an evolutionary
trait, what’s the bid deal with the Face
on Mars ??
Figure 4
Furthermore,
when
scientists
took
hundreds of altitude measurements of
the mesa-like features around Cydonia
including the Face, the height of the
Face, its volume and aspect ratio -- all
Figure 3
of its dimensions, in fact -- are similar
Ok,
to the other mesas. Hence it is not
but others may argue that so
what I am trying to say is that we
exotic or spectacular in any way.
have the tendency to find faces where
31
So
the reality is that according to
some scientists, they reasoned that
what the picture actually shows is the
Martian equivalent of a butte or mesa
--
landforms
common
around
Face” Crater was seen by Viking in
1976 (left) and during Mars Global
Surveyor’s 1999 revisit (right)
(Release #MOC2-89)
the
American West. It is believed that
Mars is full of numerous such mesas,
but the rest are not popular as they
don’t look like human heads and thus
have received little attention. Sagan,
believed that the faces on Mars is that
of the result of erosion and winds and
other natural forces as a result of slow
geological processes over million of
years in Mars.
Yet
Figure 6
there are still numerous books
and websites claiming that the face
have
been
built
by
our
alien
neighbours. It is ridiculous to see that
authors
are
trading
on
public
ignorance and gullibility to create a
market for more books.
Another
Kermit
face on Mars which is……
the
frog
frolicking
on
the
Martian surface back in 1976 as seen
by Viking I !
And
for those who are still diligently
hunting
for
more
and
more
such
‘faces’ I guess the search for more
faces as shownabove will lead to more
revelation as to what the aliens are
trying to convey to us.
Figure 5
This
happy face, known as the Galle
Crater-134 miles wide, a.k.a. “Happy
32
R
R
n
Reeefffeeerrreeen
nccceeesss
Paul Halpern, The Quest for Alien
Planets: Exploring Worlds outside the
solar system, 1997, Dlenum Press, NY,
USA
More “Faces” on Mars
http://members.aol.com/tbskep/Mars_
morefaces.html
The View form Number 80
http://www.eighty.btinternet.co.uk/pa
ge15.htm
The McDaniel Report Newsletter
http://www.mcdanielreport.com/faces.
htm
Skepdic.com
http://skepdic.com/faceonmars.html
Malin Space Science System
http://www.msss.com/education/facep
age/pio.html
The Skeptical Mind
http://www.skepticalmind.com/hoagla
nd.html
NASA
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y20
01/ast24may_1.htm
SPACE.com
http://www.space.com/opinionscolum
ns/opinions/ford_000613.html
33
My Very Eagle – eyed Mother Just
attraction
Spotted Umpteen New Planets.
planets. Astronomers
Using
this tenth planet as the mysterious
this
mnemonic
sentence
on
the
outermost
ascribed
to
adapted from Stars and Planets, it is
Planet X.
easy to identify all the 9 planets
According to late astronomer, Robert
with regard to their order from the
Harrington,
Sun, namely, Mars, Venus, Earth,
differences between the observed
Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
and predicted positions of Uranus
Neptune and Pluto. But wait a
and Neptune and calculated what
minute! How about Planet X???
Planet X might be like and where it
After
might be hiding. His calculation
the
hunt
for
aliens
that
he
studied
Planet
X’s
the
inhabitation in Mars, we shall now
proposed
mean
embark in the expedition for the 10th
distance was about a hundred times
planet! Swoosh…………
the Earth’s and it travelled on a
highly elliptical orbit. The planet
T
Thhee ssaaggaa
also moved far above and below the
When Clyde Tombaugh discovered
plane of the solar system. Its mass
Pluto
presence
would be four times the Earth’s and
explained for the wobbles in the
its brightness would be somewhat
motion of Uranus and Neptune.
greater than Pluto at the time of its
Hence, during the 1980s and 1990s,
discovery.
in
1930,
its
when there were aberrations in the
orbital
motion
of
Neptune
and
T
Trruutthh::
Thhee T
Uranus, it convinced many of our
The missing mass
own scientists that there is a strong
The gravitational effect on in the
likelihood that some kind of large
orbit of Uranus was actually the
body exists in solar space beyond
missing mass of Neptune. When
Pluto and exerts strong gravitational
Voyager 2 went past Neptune in
1989, the planet’s gravity deflected
the spacecraft in such a way that
revealed the planet’s precise mass.
It was 05.% less than what was
34
originally thought. Now, with the
catastrophic
correct
occurred
mass
of
Neptune,
earth
during
changes
the
had
second
astronomers have the correct forces
millennium BC due to cometary
upon Uranus and thus compute a
showers and the close passage of
more accurate orbit.
Venus. According to him, Planet
Venus was then the large comet
Kuiper Belt Objects (KBO)
which flew past Earth some 3600
In 1992, astronomers discovered
years ago in 1628BC, and before,
objects beyond the orbit of Neptune
approximately 5200BC, 8800BC and
which was a lump of ices a couple of
so on with extensions 3600 years
hundred miles in diameter. These
previously.
objects belong to the Kuiper belt, a
account for this by suggesting that a
zone of cometary bodies and not
cometary Venus was hauling around
Planet X! This comet belt supplies
a tail of rocks. Later on, these rocks
short-period comets to the solar
were then identified as the present
system, those which revolve around
KBOs.
Velikovsky
tried
to
the Sun in less than two hundred
years. Some of these orbits are
remarkably similar to Pluto’s and
Pluto is simply the largest member
of the Kuiper belt as shown in the
In addition, a new age story writer,
following diagram.
Zecharia Sitchin, came up with the
theory of existence of Planet X based
on
his
study
of
the
Sumerian
civilization He anticipated that a
"10th Planet" caroms through the
inner solar system and that the
civilization – Annunaki / Nefilim
Figure 1
inhabits his 10th planet. He claims
that they are our creators and
SSuuppppoorrttiinngg C
Chhaarraacctteerrss
Back in 1950, based on his book,
Worlds
in
Collision,
Immanuel
masters. His ideas are fictitious with
the strong circumstantial evidence
Veilkovsky had proposed that great
35
about the alien presence on this
planet.
The Sumerian civilization was well
organized by 3000 B.C. and lived in
Mesopotamia They were very skilled in
T
Myytthh
Thhee M
the use of metals such as copper, gold,
Hence a combination of science fact-
and
talented
Kupier Belt Object (KBO) and the
artisans. They were also deemed to be
ancient writings on the Sumerain
very well-versed in astronomy as can be
texts warn of us of a large object
seen in the records of their knowledge in
such as Planet X, that could be
the carvings on metals.
headed
silver
and
were
our
way
again.
This
unknown tenth planet - Planet X
(also known as Niburu) is claimed to
be moving around the solar system
with a long elliptical orbit of 3600
years around the Sun. It is asserted
Figure 2
According to one of the ancient
artifacts
backing
this
Planet
X
information is a 4500 year old
Akkadian cylinder seal (Figure 2) in
the State Museum in East Berlin,
catalogued VA/243 or also more
commonly known as the Berlin Seal,
Sitchin believed that the Sumerians
had
carved
a
diagram
that
resembles that of the solar system,
with the Sun at the center. Counting
the Sun and Moon as planets, the
tenth planet was believed to be the
unknown Planet X inhabited by
aliens.
that in May 2003, it will pass close
to Earth and drive many disasters
or even hit Earth at full force and
end human civilization similar to
annihilation of the dinosaurs era. As
it approached the inner regions of
the solar system, it will cause the
Earth’s axis to flip over and hence a
pole shift. Due to this Planet X,
Earth
will
experience
more
earthquakes, solar flares, unusual
weather
patterns
like
tornados,
storms and droughts etc as well as
climatic changes such as global
warming.
36
Here is an illustration of the orbit of
eye, it will be easily detected with
Planet
modern equipment, just like how
X
taken
form
(http://www.detailshere.com/planet
Pluto was discovered!
xorbit.htm)
Conclusion:
It
is
ridiculous
to
attribute a Planet X to the little
wriggles of planets. This is not good
science!
N
Naassaa hhaass pphhoottooggrraapphheedd PPllaanneett X
X
iinn 11998833
No, they didn’t! In 1983, the IRAS
satellite spotted an irregularity in
the
Figure 3
infrared
spectrum
that
was
unexplainable. These were actually
Ultra-luminous
Infrared
Galaxies
So let us now go through the
(ULIRGs), galaxies in which there is
evidence and arguments one by
a burst of stars being born. But lack
one…
of anything better to report, the
media concluded that NASA had
A
miiccaall
Assttrroonnoom
E
Evviiddeennccee
ooff
discovered a tenth planet which was
E
Exxiisstteennccee ooff PPllaanneett X
X
eventually proven to be a distant
As rejected by Brian Marsden, head
galaxy.
of the International Astronomical
Conclusion: Ethics of media leads to
Union’s
the
Central
Astronomical
Bureau
Telegrams
for
issue
of
credibility
and
in
Earthlings ignorance to jump into
Cambridge, Massachusetts, it was
the bandwagon in the search of
impossible for an unseen planet that
Planet X.
is sufficiently massive enough to
make Uranus and Neptune wobble
A
Anncciieenntt aarrttiiffaaccttss ddoo nnoott sshhoow
w tthhee
from their proper paths. Although it
eexxiisstteennccee ooff aa tteenntthh ppllaanneett
lies far away in the solar system,
The interpretation of the Berlin seal
given its brightness, even it is too
by
faint to be observed with a naked
interpreted the Sumerian mythology
Sitchin
is
wrong!
He
had
37
in the wrong way. The analysis of
Southwest Volcano Research Centre
the ambiguous symbol which is a
in Apache Junction, Arizona, it is
circle with four triangles around it
clearly
like rays, and squiggly lines between
eruptions never increased. Though
the
it has been fluctuating since 1989,
triangles
as
the
Sun
is
balderdash. The symbol used is that
shown
that
volcanoes
it actually decreased in 2003!
of a bright star, but not the Sun. if
the
aliens
had
actually
communicated with the Sumerains,
then what about the moons of
Jupiter and Saturn or even Saturn’s
ring? The seal doesn't show any of
these features. And the Sumerians
thought the Moon and Sun were
planets, when they aren't. Surely
aliens would know that the Sun and
Moon are not planets! Basing a
cosmological theory on a seal is kind
of like describing planet earth by
Prudential's Rock of Gibralter logo.
Let’s
imagine
some
future
Figure 4
Conclusion:
The
fact
that
the
number of volcanic eruptions has
been fluctuating and does not show
any sharp increase, it does not
provide evidence for the existence of
Planet X.
archaeologist defining our beliefs by
examining the MP3 Player or the
flying windows of Bill Gates?
Planet X researchers are convinced
Conclusion: Since the interpretation
is wrong in the first place, it is pure
nonsense that Planet X actually
existed!
due to the electromagnetic field of
Planet
X
interacting
with
the
Planet X comes closer, it is expected
that solar flares on the Sun will
Bogus! When was there ever an
According
that the increase in solar activity is
electromagnetic field of the Sun. As
IInnccrreeaassee iinn V
Voollccaannooeess????
increase
T
Thhee SSuunn bbeehhaavviinngg ssttrraannggeellyy??????
in
to
volcanic
data
activities?
from
continue to increase in frequency
and intensity.
the
38
Conclusion: Since the Sun is behaving as
usual, it does not support the presence of
Planet X.
EEaarrtthhqquuaakkeess????
According to the data provided by the
US
Geological
Earthquake
Figure 5
Survey
Information
National
Center,
the
number of Earthquakes Worldwide for
According to the data from the
Southwest
Volcano
Research
Center, the graph shows that the
1990-2003 has shown that there has not
been any increase in major earthquakes
over the past few years.
Sun goes through an 11-year solar
cycle. The peak year of solar activity
The table (Figure 6) shown in the
is
following
called
the
solar
max.
Nevertheless, the Sun stays active
for 3 to 4 years each cycle and its
activity
rises
and
declines
page
illustrates
the
magnitude of the earthquakes as
well
as
the
total
number
of
earthquakes starting from the year
continuously. In particular, the last
1990 to 2003. Though it seems that
3 solar cycles have actually had a
no. of earthquakes have increased
double peak of activity where they
apparently over the years. This is
due to better devices in detecting
seem to peak in 2 different years.
them accruing to rapidly increase in
As
we
are
now
completing
the
the number of seismograph stations
second peak, we would be expecting
in
substantial amount of solar activity.
improvements
And according to Dr Phil Plait, the
communications and not because
flares in the second peak tend to be
there is a real increase in the
more violent than in the first, so we
number of earthquakes. Hence, if
actually
expect
Planet X was expected to arrive in
activity
in
the
more
energetic
second
peak
the
world
and
in
the
many
global
May 2003, the no.of earthquakes
currently.
39
should
have
increased
as
hypothesized, but it didn’t! (Figure
6)
Conclusion:
Since
there
are
no
addition to earthquakes, it should
R
Reeffeerreenncceess
not be use as an indicator of Planet
Ken Crosswell, Planet Quest, The
X.
Epic
As predicted, Planet X would have
System, Oxford University Press,
already passed by us and bring
1999.
about
Joachim Ekrutt, Stars and Planets,
the
above
catastrophe
Discovery
of
Alien
Solar
mentioned. However, it is already
Barron’s 2nd Edition.
October now and May has way
Planet X and the Pole Shift
passed us. So we are overdue for the
http://www.planet-x.150m.com/sun.html
close
YOWUSA
encounter,
explanation for that?
any
further
http://www.yowusa.com/Archive/Februa
ry2002/Nibiru1/nibiru1.htm
Cassiopaea
http://www.cassiopaea.org/cass/sitchin2.
htm
http://www.cassiopaea.org/cass/sitchin.htm
Bad Astronomy
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc
/planetx/science.html
USGS Earthquake Hazard Program
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.h
tml
http://www.dxlc.com/
40
Magnitude 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
2002
2003
8.0 to 9.9
0
0
0
1
2
3
1
0
2
0
1
1
0
1
7.0 to 7.9
12
11
23
15
13
22
21
20
14
23
14
15
13
11
6.0 to 6.9
115
105
104
141
161
185
160
125
113
123
158
126
132
96
979 1106 1345 1243
1171
712
4.0 to 4.9 4493 4372 5196 5034 4544 8140 8794 7938 7303 7042 8045 8084
8630
5456
3.0 to 3.9 2457 2952 4643 4263 5000 5002 4869 4467 5945 5521 4784 6151
7003
5169
2.0 to 2.9 2364 2927 3068 5390 5369 3838 2388 2397 4091 4201 3758 4162
6421
4944
1.0 to 1.9
474
801
944
1137
1389
0.1 to 0.9
0
1
1
10
51
No
5062 3878 4084 3997 1944 1826 2186 3415 2426 2096 3120 2807
Magnitude
2939
2097
Total 16612 16516 19548 21476 19371 21007 19938 19872 21688 20832 22256 23534 *27456
*1992
6
5.0 to 5.9 1635 1469 1541 1449 1542 1327 1223 1118
887 1177
2
9
779
645
295
388
805
17
19
1
4
10
Estimated
51916 2326 3814 10036 1038 7949
Deaths
715 1028
5
419 2907 9430 22662
5
231 21357
1712
41
2786
Correspondence Constellation!
Hi my name is Desiree Lim and I’m 9 this
year. I’m looking for people who live near
Yoz! I’m Edmund Kwok, 13 and in
Sec One this year. I am in Basil
View Secondary School. I want to
meet other boys my age who are
interested in the planet Pluto (if
you know that Pluto is not
considered to be a planet by some,
and you know why, then you are
the person I am looking for!) and
comets. Contact me at 99199239
now!
my house so that we can star-gaze
together. My favourite constellation is Leo
because I’m a Leo. My favourite planet is
Mars because it is very beautiful. I stay in
This is for anyone out there who’s interested:
My friends and I are organising a star-gazing
slumber party and we want to invite as many
people as possible along! Problem is, we are
new to astronomy, so we don’t quite know
when’s a good night to pick to lie out in the
grass with our (borrowed) telescopes. So we
would really be grateful if interested parties
come along and help us out with the technical
bits! We promise to take care of the
refreshments. ☺ By the way, we stay in the
Pasir Ris area, so it would be good if you did
too, for convenience’s sake.
Call us at 99527843. Marie, Cindy, Erica and
Lucy (we’re all 16 years old).
A shout out to everyone who is in
Want to make new friends? Write in!
Your message can be about anything at all, as long as it is
related to astronomy and not exceeding 120 words. Make
sure you include your name and a medium for contact.
Once you’re done, send it to:
Young Astronomers Digest
Correspondence Constellation!
56 Forster’s Hill Drive
#03-7824
P.O. Box 74
Singapore 823193
love with ancient astronomical
instruments! Hi my name is Marcus
Ching, and I love sundials. They
aren’t perfect, but that’s what
makes them so endearing. Do drop
li
if
ith
!B
42
Earthquakes. Floods. Both of which
to first check out the validity of the
would cause untold millions in property
information they were peddling – but
to be lost and many people to lose their
we’re not about to endorse such
homes and loved ones. Utter chaos
reprehensible behaviour. Without further
unleashed onto Eath. Or, worse, some
ado, let’s take a look at the Top 10
say that there is a possibility the Earth
Reasons Why The Next Planetary
might split in two, spelling the end of not
Alignment Will Not Evoke Mayhem On
only humankind but life as we know it. All
Earth. (Okay, 5.)
this because the heavenly bodies in our
beloved solar system are lining up in a
1)We’re on pretty good stead that the
rare and terrifying event that as a result
Earth is still around and going about its
would bring about great cosmic
business as before.
energies which we are powerless to
prevent.
Despite the last outcry being just over 3
Hold on a second. This doesn’t sound
years ago, regarding the Great
like typical fare we at Young
Alignment of 5 May 2000, where it was
Astronomer’s Digest would dish out to
espoused that due to a series of
our readers. And the truth is, it isn’t.
planetary alignments taking place over
Although not quite an issue in these
the course of the year, the Earth would
parts of the world, in the West (well,
tilt, tidal waves would cause
America largely) such fear-mongering
earthquakes and polar ice-caps would
has been spread not only by people
melt and flood the major cities of the
who meant well but who have quite
world, that day went down in history as
honestly been mistaken, but also by
The Day Where Disaster Struck – Not.
charlatans who have tried to make a
quick buck out of those who’ve had the
Yes, you’ve heard it here first – the
wool pulled over their eyes, without
Earth is still spinning! We’re still alive! This
being bothered
is not some parallel dimension we’ve
been living in these 3 years! Seriously
though, folks, the Earth has been around
for millennia – 5 billion years is a rough e
43
estimate - and though planetary
of planets3, or confluence of planets4.
alignments involving 5 planets (which
The supposed Great Alignment of May
the one in 2000 was) are rare, they
2000 really looked something like this:
aren’t 5-billion-years-rare. In fact, the all
of the planets come to be gathered
within 90° on the same side of the Sun
about once every 200 years or so. While
that is a rare event for us humans, that
timeframe is but an eye-blink in the
lifetime of the solar system.
2)The term “alignment of planets” is a
gross exaggeration of the truth.
When we speak of planets aligning, the
image conjured up is that of planets
lined up in a straight line. The angular
separation of the planets would be zero
if viewed from the head of the line – in
other words, they would be stacked one
behind another, so that we can only see
the planet that is first in line. One other
condition ought to be satisfied if we
were to consider an alignment a true
one – that the Sun should be in
alignment with the other planets as well,
the Moon included.1 In reality, however,
Figure 1
Though it isn’t an alignment in the
strictest sense of the word, by solar
system standards it’s really not too bad.
This is because each planet’s orbit is
tilted slightly with respect the Earth’s
orbit, and the chance of there being a
perfect alignment is thus pretty slim. The
calculations have been made5, in fact,
and the possibility of this happening is
once in 86 billion-trillion-trillion-trillion
years!
this would be incredibly rare. A more
accurate description of the phenomena
mankind has witnessed so far would be
planetary configuration2, or conjunction
3
1
Dr. Donald Luttermoser,
http://www.etsu.edu/physics/etsuobs/starprty/220
99dgl/planalign.htm
2
As used in ibid.
Dr. Brian Monson,
http://drumright.ossm.edu/astronomy/conjunctio
ns.html
4
Philip Plait,
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planets.
html
5
Dr. Donald Luttermoser,
http://www.etsu.edu/physics/etsuobs/starprty/220
99dgl/planalign.htm
44
3)Alignments more perfect than that of
If this isn’t enough to convince naysayers
our May 2000 examples have come and
otherwise, there is still more compelling
gone, none accompanied by any
at hand. Dr. Monson at his website
destructive results.
“Planetary Conjunctions”6 has made use
Okay, so maybe the alignment –
of a computer planetarium program to
confluence of planets did not bring
search for alignments similar to the May
about the destruction of the world, but it
2000 one, and came up with the
what about afore-predicted floods?
following results:
Earthquakes?
One way of looking at it would be to
think about the number of times our
Date
Minimum Separation
solar system has experienced these
planetary alignments. If a “good”
12/28/1047 3.36°
planetary alignment comes by every
4/24/1146 3.21°
200 years, that works out to 5 every
millennia, and since humankind has
9/20/1186 6.98°
been around for about a million years,
1/3/1285
that puts the number to be about 5000
6/21/1385 3.79°
such planetary alignments we have
11/9/1425 8.41°
been witnesses to so far. A few dozen of
9.58°
2/18/1524 6.94°
these must have occurred since Man
7/9/1622
has been keeping written records so it
7.36°
makes sense to say that if anything
8/22/1624 9.01°
terribly bad had happened during one
9/2/1861
3.56°
of the alignments, it would have been
written down and we would be privy to
(Note, however, that these calculations
this knowledge had anyone who
are only for planetary alignments of
wanted to strengthen his/her arguments
three planets within 10° of each other –
on the destructiveness of planetary
namely Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – and
alignments had gone to look for past
not forgetting being in line with the Sun,
records. We have not heard of any,
whereas the one in May involves 5
reason being there probably was no
such correlation, and in all likelihood
there will never be.
6
Dr. Brian Monson,
http://drumright.ossm.edu/astronomy/conjunctio
ns.html
45
planets.) Clearly, the results show that
4) The net effect planets have on the
there have been better-aligned planets
Earth during an alignment (and pretty
than that of May 2000 – to no
much everywhere else) are negligible.
detrimental effect. Human civilisation
did not cease to exist in 1861. By
Duh. If it could we would not have taken
extension, it will probably also not be
such pains to set up the argument so far.
wiped out during planetary confluences
But in any case, what de-bunking
in time to come.
something takes is proof, otherwise it
would put us in the same league as
Some people would point out that
those who wanted to make money out
Venus and Mercury have not been
of cheating unsuspecting people.
included in the calculations. Surely
Let’s start with gravity, and move on to
planets so close to us should have some
tides, which are the real earthquake-
kind of effect on the Earth when they
causing forces outside of the Earth itself.
actually line up?
Gravitational pull depends on two
factors: the mass of the object that is
At first glance, this argument is a very
pulling on the Earth, and its distance
valid one because yes, there is an effect
from the Earth, with distance being the
being exerted; two to be exact, and
more important factor of the two. The
they are gravitational pull and tidal
strength of this pull is inversely
forces. These are the two ways a planets
proportionate to these two factors. To
(or any large body for that matter) can
be exact, the strength is equal to the
act on the Earth. As defined by Philip
square of the distance of the object.
Plait on his “Bad Astronomy” website7,
Something twice as far away as the
gravity in our context is how hard a
Moon is to the Earth will thus have a
particular planet can pull on the Earth,
quarter of its effect on us. Clearly, the
and tidal force is one that stretches us
gravitational force you exert on
rather than pulls. Gravity, if strong
something drops quite significantly the
enough, can pull the Earth from its orbit,
further away you are from it.
while tidal force can rip it into two. The
question is: can planets have such an
Tidal force is similar to gravity, only this
effect on us?
time distance is of even greater
importance. Tidal force actually drops
with the cube of its distance from an
7
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planets.
html
46
For any soothsayer who says that a 1.6 %
object! If the Moon were twice as far
increase in gravitational pull is enough to
away from the Earth, then the tidal force
create a significant impact on the Earth
we experience from it would
(nevermind that it is really tidal forces
correspondingly drop 2*2*2 = 8 times. If it
that should bring about earthquakes)
were 10 times farther away it would
this next bit of information should quiet
exert 1000 times less tidal force than it
him/her down a bit. The moon’s orbit
originally did! Already, this tells us that
around the earth is elliptical. At perigee,
the force exerted by the planets on us
its closest approach, it is about 363,000
would be much less than that exerted
kilometers away, and at apogee, its
by our humble Moon, knowing how far
farthest point, it is about 405,000
away Venus, our closest neighbour, is
kilometers away. That works out to 25 %
from us even at closest approach – but
difference in gravitational pull, far
for the record it is 150 times further. A
outstripping the net effect of 1.6 % the
more graphic demonstration of this can
May 2000 one had. Even if we used the
be seen by plotting the forces of gravity
statistics of the 1861 alignment, which if
and tides of each of the planets on a
you remember was more “in line” than
table:
this latest one, the difference would not
be earth-shatteringly large (in fact it
Planet
Mass
Distance Gravity
(10^22
(Moon=1)
Tides
would still be rather small).
(Moon=1)
Now if the soothsayer were right, then
kg)
every month we would experience
Mercury 33
92
0.00008
0.0000003
Venus
490
42
0.006
0.00005
of the Moon – there would be no need
Mars
64
80
0.0002
0.000001
for a Great Planetary Alignment to send
Jupiter
200,000 630
0.01
0.000006
Saturn
57,000
1280
0.0007
0.0000002
so such an argument can be easily
Uranus
8,700
2720
0.00002
0.000000003
discarded.
Neptune 10,000
4354
0.00001
0.000000001
Pluto
~1
5764
The masses are in units of 10^22
0.0000000006 0.00000000000004
kilograms (the Earth masses 6x10^24
Moon
7.4
0.384
1.0
1.0
Figure 2
great floods and earthquakes courtesy
humankind onto the “Extinction” list at
all. Obviously, this did not happen, and
kilograms, or 600 on this scale), and the
distances in millions of kilometers
47
(distances of closest approach to the
For any soothsayer who says that a 1.6 %
Earth to maximize the effect. In reality,
increase in gravitational pull is enough to
the force will be smaller than what is
create a significant impact on the Earth
given)8.
(nevermind that it is really tidal forces
that should bring about earthquakes)
The total effect of gravity of all the
this next bit of information should quiet
planets on Earth is only about 1.6 % that
him/her down a bit. The moon’s orbit
of the moon's.9 For tides, Venus stretches
around the earth is elliptical. At perigee,
the Earth most, even though it’s much
its closest approach, it is about 363,000
smaller than the mighty Jupiter, because
kilometers away, and at apogee, its
(on average) it is the closest to us next to
farthest point, it is about 405,000
the Moon. Yet, it only stretches us 5
kilometers away. That works out to 25 %
hundred thousandths as much as the
difference in gravitational pull, far
Moon does. In other words, its tidal force
outstripping the net effect of 1.6 % the
on us is amounts to nothing much. Less
May 2000 one had. Even if we used the
can be said of the other planets, which
statistics of the 1861 alignment, which if
are much further away, as evidenced in
you remember was more “in line” than
the table above.
this latest one, the difference would not
be earth-shatteringly large (in fact it
5) But is this enough to destroy the Earth?
would still be rather small).
Two words: the Moon
Now if the soothsayer were right, then
every month we would experience
great floods and earthquakes courtesy
of the Moon – there would be no need
for a Great Planetary Alignment to send
8
Philip Plait,
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planets.
html . See also John Mosley,
http://www.griffithobs.org/SkyAlignments.html
(tidal forces), and in Skeptic vol. 4, no. 4, 1996,
pp. 46-54, http://www.skeptic.com/04.4.mosleymillennium.html , Truman Collins,
http://www.tkcscollins.com/truman/conjunct/conjunct.shtml
(tidal forces), Brian Monson,
http://www.griffithobs.org/SkyAlignments.html ,
Frank E. Reed, http://www.clockwk.com/tides/
(tides), and Dr. Donald Luttermoser,
http://www.etsu.edu/physics/etsuobs/starprty/220
99dgl/planalign.htm (largely bsed on Plait’s
website).
9
Brian Monson,
http://drumright.ossm.edu/astronomy/forces.html
humankind onto the “Extinction” list at
all. Obviously, this did not happen, and
so such an argument can be easily
discarded.
6) A last word (Probably) The only study
to have found a weak correlation
between tidal stresses and earthquakes
has been largely forgotten – most likely
because it wasn’t very significant.
48
If proponents of the doomsday protest
The another, of the 125 earthquakes that
that all that has been offered so far has
registered greater than 6 on the Richter
been too abstract or too “scientific” and
scale and the 15 or 16 heliocentric
thus may win the argument purely due
alignments since 780 B.C, all but one did
to its brute numbers and figures, well,
not coincide at all. Statistically speaking,
there have been simple, direct
this did not mean very much at all.
observations made too. A study
We’re Saved!
published in Nature 13 years ago (Kilston
and Knopoff) claimed to find a weak
While predictions of doom due to the
correlation between large earthquakes
configuration of 5 planets have been
on strike-slip faults in California and daily
around since 300 B.C., we are still
and semi-daily tidal stresses, reports John
steeped in a world of superstitions
Mosley10. There has also been no
despite coming such a long way in
attempt at repeating the study
terms of technology. Then again, man
however, as far as is known. It isn’t hard
has long had a need to find an order for
to see why, since a “weak correlation”
things, or to give significance to the rare
could mean that this was purely a
occurrences of the world, for example
spurious relationship, and even if it
that the planets massing would signify
wasn’t, there is very little for us to be
something of greater importance – in
worried about.
this case, danger. Such tendencies of
our species on its own usually lead to no
On the same website, there has been
harm, but once people start exploiting
mentioned two attempt to correlate
this of others, then something should be
Chinese earthquakes with heliocentric
done. And while the new and the media
planetary alignments. Results were less
at-large would go on sensationalising
than astonishing, unless for the lack of
such non-events (from a purely
any proof that the two were connected
geological point of view, of course) as
at all. In one, out of the 11 earthquakes
long as there people out there
“with an intensity greater than 8 since
uneducated about the truth, we at
1000 A.D.”, none were found to coincide
Young Astronomer Digest will continue
with a heliocentric planetary alignment.
to fight the good fight.
10
John
Mosley,
http://www.griffithobs.org/SkyAlignments.html
and Skeptic vol. 4, no. 4, 1996, pp. 46-54,
http://www.skeptic.com/04.4.mosleymillennium.html
49
http://drumright.ossm.edu/astronomy/c
onjunctions.html
http://drumright.ossm.edu/astronomy/fo
Resources:
Bad Astronomy
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/mi
sc/planets.html
Griffith Observatory (at the end, talks
about earthquakes and tides)
http://www.griffithobs.org/SkyAlignments
.html
rces.html
Frank Reed
http://www.clockwk.com/tides/
Donald Luthermosser
http://www.etsu.edu/physics/etsuobs/st
arprty/22099dgl/planalign.htm
Skeptic (on whh Griffith is based)
http://www.skeptic.com/04.4.mosleymillennium.html
Truman Collin
http://www.tkcscollins.com/truman/conjunct/conjunct.s
html
Brian Monson
50
Ju st A Jok e!
Living on Earth may be expensive, but it
includes an annual free trip around the
Sun
Susie Ong
Delhi Hill Girls Sec. 3
How do you know that Saturn
is married more than once?
Because he has lots of rings.
Kwan Pern Hwa
Broadrick Sec. 2
An astronomer is on an expedition to Darkest Africa to observe a total
eclipse of the sun, which will only be observable there, when he's captured by
cannibals. The eclipse is due the next day around noon. To gain his freedom
he plans to pose as a god and threaten to extinguish the sun if he's not
released, but the timing has to be just right. So, in the few words of the
cannibals' primitive tongue that he knows, he asks his guard what time they
plan to kill him.
The guard answers, "Tradition has it that captives are to be killed when the
sun reaches the highest point in the sky on the day after their capture so
that they may be cooked and ready to be served for the evening meal".
"Great", the astronomer replies.
The guard continues, "But because everyone's so excited about it, in your
case we're going to wait until after the eclipse."
Rubern Chiang
Victoria High Yr 1
What kind of star wears sunglasses?
A movie star.
How did the astronaut serve
drinks?
In sun glasses.
Linda
Janet Reid was driving her daughter westward after the
Malibu fires when the smoke in the sky made everything
look surreal.
"Oh, Wendy, look at the sun," she told her daughter. "It
looks like a big ball of fire."
The three-year-old preschooler replied: "It is a big ball of
Why didn’t the Dog Star laugh at the
joke?
It was too SIRUS.
Kate Lopez
Mullein Girls Sec 4
fire."
Halim Bin Muhammed
Bukit Purmei Sec. 2
51
“What are the colours of
In actual fact, not all stars
the stars?” All typical students will
are white in colour. One will notice
have a unanimous answer. In fact,
that in the summer, a bright star,
there are tons of people out there
Vega, at the Northern hemisphere
who think that all the stars are
will appear to be blue. Also, another
white in colour. They claimed that
star, Antares, will appear to be red
this is true because every time
or orange. In the winter, one will
when they see the star using their
notice that another star, Betelgeuse
naked eyes, it is always white.
in the constellation of Orion, will
An 18 years old student
appear to be red. All these are not
once exclaimed that if the colour
the stars’ fault but ours. Why is this
is not white, what can it be? Well,
so? To explain this, we must relate
what about you? Do you think that
to the theory of light. Light’s
it is really white? Or are you one
behaviour is like a wave and the
of the special one who thinks that
colour of light depends on the
it is not?
wavelength.
52
An
object
at
a
given
Thus, when a light is too dim, this
temperature will emit most of its
sensor will not be activated and we
light at a certain wavelength. Less
will see it as white colour. This is
light will be emitted at other
why a dim red star looks white and
wavelengths. Thus, base on this
only brighter stars will portray
theory, this explains why different
other colours.
stars will have different colour
because all of them have different
To have a better view of stars, do try
temperatures.
to use the binoculars to view those
Vega
glows
blue
because it is a very hot star with
bright stars that still look white.
higher temperature. On the other
With the binoculars, more light will
hand, Betelgeuse looks red because
be focus on our eyes and hence
it is much cooler.
activating the “cones”. This will
Well, you must be thinking
that I am joking and that why the
then lead to us to viewing the star’s
actual colour. Have fun in it.
stars still look white to us when they
are suppose to be of different
References cited:
colour. To disappoint you, this is
•
actually because we are using our
naked eyes to view them. Our eyes
/bad/misc/starcolors.html
•
contain two different kind of light
sensors. One is called "rods" that
http://www.badastronomy.com
http://hubblesite.org/newscente
r/archive/1995/06/
•
http://webphysics.davidson.edu
detects brightness and the other is
/alumni/MiLee/java/bb_mjl.ht
called "cones" that detects color.
m
The “cones” are not very sensitive.
•
http://www.sr.bham.ac.uk/~da/
eic/colours.html
•
http://www.star.le.ac.uk/edu/st
ars/index.html
53
My friend once told me that if I
Well, what is the truth?
lose my way, just look for the
Actually, Polaris is not the brightest
brightest star in the sky, Polaris. With
star in the sky. In fact, Polaris is
it, I will be able to find back my
only the brightest star in Little
direction. I was very skeptical after
Dipper and not the whole sky. To
listening to my friend’s advice. I
add on, Polaris is not even in the
decided to ask around my friends to
top 10 rankings for brightest Stars
reaffirm his advice and a shocking
in the sky. The disappointment is
new perturbed my mind after that.
that its ranking is only 48th. What
Many people actually widely believe
exactly is the reason why everyone
that Polaris is the brightest star in the
thinks that way?
sky. In fact, all of them sounded so
confident that I almost believed them.
Upon regaining my sense, I really had
a hard time convincing them of the
truth.
54
I came up with two deductions.
When it is no longer the North Star,
One is due to the position of the
will people still think that it is the
Polaris Star viewed from earth. Due
brightest star? I am sure the same
to the rotation of the earth, the sky
answer is all in our mind.
seems to be moving above us. If we
To add on, Polaris is actually very
view it from another planet where the
far away in terms of light-years.
axis is pointing differently, we will see
Also, the South star, Sigma Octans,
a different spot in the sky as the
which is now nearest to the South
North Celestial Pole. Then, the North
Celestial Pole, is hardly visible at all.
Star viewed there which is supposedly
to be the brightest star will then
Reference Cited:
contradict with thinking of Polaris
Star being the brightest.
•
The other reason that causes
this misunderstanding is due to the
/bad/misc/badpole.html
•
importance of Polaris Star. As it is
now the closest star to the North
•
Vega will then assume the role of the
http://hometown.aol.com/nlpjp
/polaris.htm
•
In 14 000 years or so, the star Vega
will be near the North Celestial Pole.
http://www.cosmobrain.com/co
smobrain/res/brightstar.html
Celestial Pole, it is the North Star
currently which does not rise or set.
http://www.badastronomy.com
http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kal
er/sow/polaris.html
•
http://www.glyphweb.com/esky
/ stars/polaris.html
North Star then. Thus, if one say that
Polaris is the brightest star because it
is an important North Star, then what
will happen 14 000 years later?
55
The Backyard Astronomer's Guide (Hardcover)
By Terence Dickinson, Alan Dyer
Revised edition (October 2002)
Original Price: $49.95
Now Selling At: $34.97
Savings: $14.98
Details on the book
When one embarks on the route to take up recreational astronomy, there are
bounds to be millions of questions. What type of camera do I need? Are those
new computerized telescope mounts good? What are some of the references I
need other than charts, books and software?
Information that are accurate and updated are very complex to find. Since the
first edition of The Backyard Astronomer's Guide, it has become a mandatory
book for all recreational astronomers. With the updated edition coming out, one
can expect more information in this edition.
56
Star Ware: The Amateur Astronomer's Ultimate
Guide to Choosing, Buying, & Using Telescopes
and Accessories (Paperback)
by Philip S. Harrington
3rd edition (May 15, 2002)
Details on the book
Want to know what to choose and how
to care for astronomy equipments? This
book is just for you. There will be
references to difficult terms and
concepts and some practical tips on
how to maintain your equipments.
There
is
also
a
“Homemade
Astronomer” chapter to teach some
projects
such
as
parallelogram
binocular mount made out of crutches.
This book is highly recommended for
all amateur astronomers who are
interested in learning about and
purchasing the best equipment.
Now Selling At: $19.95
57
The Planets in Full Score (Paperback)
by Gustav Holst
January 1997 Edition
Details on the book
Original Price: $14.95
Now Selling At: $10.47
Savings: $4.48
“The Planets is Holst's masterpiece. It
was an epic undertaking, both in size
and orchestration, and is hugely
influencial on many classical pieces
today. Perhaps it was his unique and
detailed orchestration that made this
work stand out the most. It only takes
one look at Dover's wonderful release
of the full score to fully realize how
monumental it was and to better
appreciate it. Holst used every
instrument in the orchestra effectively
and masterfully integrated them into the
piece. Even Rimsky-Korsakov, the
master of orchestration, lacks the
ingenuity and creativity Holst used with
the orchestra in this one. This piece was
way beyond of its time and, therefore, I
strongly recommend it as a staple to
any classical music listener's collection.
By looking at it, you'll appreciate the
piece much more than you did before
and for orchestration fanatics like
myself, you won't find any better score
in terms of orchestral complexity. It's
fun just following along with the
piece.”
Reference Cited: www.amazon.com
58
Thirty raw eggs, 10 science classes and the first day of
fall are ingredients for the great equinoctal (sic) egg
experiment at Vivian Middle School.
"On the first day of spring and the first day of fall, you
can make an egg stand up on end," says Janet Stevens,
who teaches eighth-grade science. "We have a
competition at our school to see which grade can make
the most eggs stand up."
She said the eggs can be stood on end only when the
sun is absolutely dead overhead, so that the force of its
gravity pulls the eggs up rather than to one side… A lot
of students test the idea at home in hopes of proving
that eggs can be stood up before or after that date, she
said.
"Kids are so skeptical. They don't believe it. But it
doesn't work except on those two days," she said. "A lot
of kids are disappointed because they can't get their
egg to stand up on the day, and they know it's their
only chance."
That excerpt from an article in The
article, dated 21 September 1987, is a
Baton Rouge State Times, “Will test
little old, and – thankfully – locally such
equinox?”11,
a misconception isn’t given much
couldn’t be further from the truth. The
attention in the news unlike in the West,
equinoxes, while being a special time of
but judging from the results gleaned
the year – especially for you aspiring
from this issue’s poll (Page 7), we
astronomers – does not bring about any
humans are rather gullible creatures. As
special quality to the gravitational pull of
the old adage goes, prevention is better
the Sun on the Earth. Granted, the
than
eggs
11
cooperate
with
cure,
and
we
at
Young
Astronomer’s Digest intend to set
From a search made on www.factiva.com
59
things straight before any real damage
to the diagram above). That is when we
can be done.
get summer. So, if the axis on the side of
the North Pole is pointing towards the
Sun, it is summer in the Northern
hemisphere.
Figure 1
To understand why there isn’t any
magical balance in our solar system
when the equinox takes place, we have
to start with the matter in which the earth
rotates. The Earth spins on its axis tilted
23.5° with respect to the ecliptic, its
orbital plane, as can be seen in the
diagram above.
Figure 2
Summer
However,
at
that
time
the
Southern hemisphere would be pointing
away from the Sun, however, the for
those in the Southern hemisphere it
would be winter-time. Similarly, while
those living in the Northern hemisphere
are experiencing winter, people in the
Southern hemisphere would be enjoying
summer.
It is this tilt of the Earth that
Winter
On top of that, somewhere along
the Earth's path on the ecliptic the axis
causes the seasons (and not the distance
will also be 90° away from the Sun. In
of the Earth from the Sun, as some
fact, this happens twice yearly, at the
people mistakenly believe – but that’s
Spring (vernal) and Fall (auntumnal)
another story altogether). As the Earth
equinoxes. Because of the angle the
makes its way around the Sun on its
Earth is facing the Sun, this means that
orbit, some way along the line the axis
on such a day (approximately 21st March
will come to point towards the Sun (refer
and 21st September), everyone on Earth
60
will experience more or less equal hours
are able to be balanced, we would not
of day and night – 12 hours thereabouts
get reports of some eggs being able to
of each. This is already special in its
balance, some not, some having not
own right; but somehow people started
balanced on the first try do so after
to attach more significance to it than
subsequent tries and vice versa, or that
there is in reality. The fact that there are
the eggs once balanced could go on
two equinoxes that take place every year
assuming the position for days, even
but most of the time the media only pays
weeks, without toppling over.
attention to the one in March already
The eighth grade teacher Janet
serves as a beacon of warning to us
Steven’s reasoning behind why an egg is
(though surprisingly this is not the case
supposed to only be able to stand up at
for the excerpt used).
the equinox, that it has got to do with the
force of the gravity, is the most common
one given. Some say that gravity is
“balanced” when the Sun is over the
Spring
Earth’s equator; others say that the Sun
exacts a stronger attraction on the Earth
on these two days
12
, and yet others say
the Sun’s gravity “lines up with the
Autumn
Earth’s”13 during this period. With
Another piece of information to
regard to the last explanation, if you
note is that while the equinox is a certain
draw a line from the centre of the Sun to
day, the Sun is actually on the equinox at
the centre of the Earth (where both’s
a certain moment in time – if the whole
centre of gravity reside) this happens at
deal about the equinox is true, then
any time, not just at the equinoxes,
shouldn’t eggs be balanced only at the
someplace on the Earth is on that line!14
particular instant in time? The fact is, if
We certainly wouldn’t need the equinox
they can balance at all, they can balance
to balance eggs on if this were true.
at any time of the day, during any time
of the year. And if it really were due to
12
http://sciastro.astronomy.net/sci.astro.2.FAQ
13
the occurance of the equinox that eggs
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/egg_spi
n.html
14
ibid.
61
To refute the second assertion we
some places are nearer to its centre of
need only to refer again to the second
gravity than are others. In short, there
diagram. Though exaggerated, we can
really is no way that just because the Sun
see that the Earth orbits the Sun in an
is directly above the equator during the
elliptical plane. This means the Earth is
equinoxes, this would result in a magical
closer to the Sun at different times of the
balance of gravity as there are simply
year than it is at others. The Earth is at
too many other factors to consider.
perihelion, or its closest approach to the
While all of the above are true,
Sun, in January, while it is at aphelion,
this does not mean that gravity has
15
or at its furthest from the Sun, in July .
nothing to do with the balancing of eggs.
The difference in distance would cause a
It does, and that is of the Earth acting on
corresponding change in gravitational
the egg. The yolk of an egg is suspended
pull from the Sun, and specifically it is
in the centre of it by bands called
at the perihelion as opposed to the
chalazae, keeping the centre of gravity
equinox that this pull is at its strongest.
of the egg relatively high and making it
And what about the claim that
rather hard to balance. But it can be
gravity is “balanced” when the Sun is
done, and it has been done – just take a
directly over the Earth’s equator? We
look
have to keep in mind that the Sun is not
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc
the only heavenly body that exerts a
/egg_spin.html and see pictures that
gravitational pull from us: of note
people have sent in after successfully
especially is our humble Moon, which
balancing eggs on their ends. (Or, you
though small still has a significant
could look at this picture below of yours
impact on the Earth by virtue of its
truly, euphoric at having just balanced
relative proximity to us. Other than the
an egg. And in the throes of October
Moon, the pull of gravity comes also
too.)
at
Philip
Plait’s
page
at
from other planets and even distant stars.
One additional point to ponder is that
because the Earth is not spherical, and so
15
From Strobel’s Astronomy Notes,
http://www.astronomynotes.com/nakedeye/s9.ht
m . See also
http://www.clarkfoundation.org/astroutah/vondel/equinoxver.html
62
Current Sky
http://currentsky.com/articles/eggquinox
/index.html
Straight Dope
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2
_089.html
In fact, why look when you can
do it yourself? Go ahead – give
yourself some hard, empirical
proof that eggs can be balanced,
and not just only on the equinox
– just like the schoolchildren of
Ms. Steven’s may add. It is
important to keep an open,
inquiring and sceptical mind no
matter what issue it is that we
are approaching. Otherwise, you
may just find out that the yolk’s
on you.
Clark Foundation
http://www.clarkfoundation.org/astroutah/vondel/equinoxver.html
Strobel’s Astronomy Notes
http://www.astronomynotes.com/
Resources:
Bad Astronomy
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc
/egg_spin.html
(and
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc
/eggy.html
Sci.astro.FAQ (B.14)
http://sciastro.astronomy.net/sci.astro.2.
FAQ
63
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15X70 BINOCULARS
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to be WON!
Just answer the following question. The first 3
readers who answer correctly will get to win the
pair of Celestron 15x70 binoculars!
What’s Wrong with This
M
?
There are 3 binoculars to be given away, so be the FIRST 3
to send your answer to:
The Young Astronomers Digest 2003 Promotion, 22 Collyer
Quay, The Arcade, #22-02, Singapore 202202.
Closing Date: 15th Nov
64
2003
Without getting too much into
Lasting vortices at that. We do not
the physics of the matter, the Earth
see such a phenomenon taking place as
spinning causes the air of the Earth
water drains from our bathtubs and
to rotate in a cyclonic fashion around
sinks at home, not unless this is done
a low-pressure centre16. This rotation
under extremely controlled conditions
is in the same direction as the Earth
not likely to be produced at home.
lying underneath, which is counter-
More
clockwise when viewed from above the
conditions are will be touched on
North Pole. Viewed from below the
later; for now it is necessary to
South Pole, though, the Earth is
provide an explanation as to why we
rotating clockwise. Hence bodies of
cannot see the Coriolis Force taking
air or water rotate counter-clockwise
effect in our homes.
on
what
exactly
these
in the Northern hemisphere, and
Simply put, the magnitude of
clockwise in the Southern hemisphere.
the Coriolis force has got to do with
This only affects such bodies
on a large scale, however, and long-
the rate of rotation of the Earth. The
Earth rotates very slowly, completing
one rotation every 24-hours. Since it
is this rotation that causes the
Coriolis Force, it is really not hard to
see that one rotation each day does
16
That’s quite a mouthful, but for the purposes
of our write-up we shall focus on the link this
has with astronomy. A more detailed, physicsbased explanation of the Coriolis Force can be
found however at http://www.physics.ohiostate.edu/~dvandom/Edu/newcor.html (David J.
Van Domelen). See also On Hurricanes and
Bathtubs,
http://www.maztravel.com/maz/explain/coriolis.
html , and Which Way Will My Bathtub Drain,
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/b
athtub.html
not brig forth a very strong effect.
Fast
things
moving
over
great
distances, by virtue of how long they
last are, however, affected. A good
65
example
of
this
would
be
leftover spin from filling up the sink
hurricanes, which do rotate one way in
(the water is still spinning, for a long
the Northern hemisphere and another
time in fact, even though to us it looks
in the South.
like the spinning has stopped), any
Compared to the rotation of
irregularities in the construction of
the Earth, the rotation of the water
the sink, even to convection currents
in your bathtub or sink is going at a
if there is a difference between the
rate much higher. Now the Earth
temperature of the water and of the
spins on its axis at the rate of one
sink. All these factors are much
rotation every 24 hours so that makes
greater than that of the Coriolis
it 1 / 24*60 = 1 / 1440 rpm (rotations
force, overpowering it and thus under
per minute). Water going down your
normal conditions, it would have a
sink would be rotating every few
negligible effect on the water spinning
seconds or so. If we put that number
down the drain at home.
to, say, 5 per second, that would work
out to 12 per minute. That’s 12 * 1440
= 17280 times faster than the Earth’s
rotation
rate!
Obviously,
the
magnitude of the Coriolis force, which
depends on the Earth’s rotation rate,
is very much smaller than that in a
sink. While there is a real effect, this
is greatly overwhelmed by the other
factors going on in your sink that is
causing the water to rotate down the
drain this way rather than the other,
ranging from the direction in which
water flows down from the tap, to
Under
controlled
extremely
conditions
though,
wellthe
Coriolis effect can be seen in a
draining sink/bathtub, and has been
carried out in laboratories before.
However
conventional
bathtubs
cannot
be
sinks
used.
or
For
experimental purposes, a smooth pan
with a diameter of about one metre
should be used, and a small hole from
which the water would drain should be
drilled in the centre. The stopper
used should be removed from the
outside-bottom of the sink instead of
the inside as we are all used to, to
66
prevent
the
water
from
being
understood
by
knowledge
of
adversely disturbed when it is being
meteorology or astronomy. It is, plain
unplugged. But before the stopper can
and simple, a fraudster(s), at work in
be removed, it is necessary to let the
a bid to earn a few tourist dollars out
water sit on its own for perhaps
of you.
weeks on end to make sure that the
leftover spin introduced when filling
up the pan has without doubt died out.
Because of the small hole, the water
would take hours to drain out of the
pan, which is a good thing, because of
dear friend the Coriolis Force is
rather tiny, and it would need the
hours before sufficient deviation in
the water is developed to produce the
appropriate rotation as it drains out
of the pan - counterclockwise in the
Northern hemisphere, and clockwise
in the Southern hemisphere.
So
the next time you take a
Resources:
Alistair B. Fraser, Bad Coriolis
http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad
/BadCoriolis.html
Explanations that are centred on the
physics of the issue:
Physics FAQ, “Which Way Will My
Bathtub Drain?”
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physi
cs/General/bathtub.html
David
J.
Van
Domelen,
“Getting
Around the Coriolis Force”
(perhaps not-so-) exotic holiday to
http://www.physics.ohio-
that locale on the Equator and you are
state.edu/~dvandom/Edu/newcor.html
told that, due to the exclusivity of
On Hurricanes and Bathtub Drains
your location you are able to see
(Henry Laxan)
water draining in one direction on one
http://www.maztravel.com/maz/explai
side of the line of the Equator, and
n/coriolis.html
then the other on the other side of
the line – you will know this is not
caused
by
the
laws
of
physics,
67
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subscription to 56 Forster’s Hill Drive #03-7824 P.O. Box 74
Singapore 823193.
Yes! I’d love to receive 3 pairs of Omi-theatre tickets.
Please sign me up for:
1 year’s subscription (12 issues) @ $36 (incl 3% GST)
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Ms/Miss/Mrs/Mr
NRIC
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or charge my
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