Re: Private Universe and the Seasons

[Larry Woolf <larry.woolf@GAT.COM>]

If you model the earth as a point (0.003 inches in diameter), then you can
make a reasonable scale drawing. This allows you to see that the only rays
that go from the sun to the earth are nearly parallel at the earth.

If you shine a laser pointer (simulating a ray) onto a tilted earth, you can
see how it spreads out differently depending on where you shine it and how
the earth is tilted.

Larry Woolf
General Atomics
3550 General Atomics Court
Mail Stop 78-110
San Diego CA 92121
Ph:858-526-8575
FAX:858-526-8568
http://www.ga.com
http://www.sci-ed-ga.org


> -----Original Message-----
> From:  Frohne, Vickie
> Sent: Friday, September 19, 2003 1:13 PM
> Subject: Re: Private Universe and the Seasons

What's missing from the standard explanations is perspective.