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Re: Astronomical Unit (AU)



Doesn't this all depend upon the precision required?
I think 8 minutes is good enough for younger children.
As they get older then we can get more precise.

Perhaps that's because students are not taught from a young
age that 8 minutes is somewhere between 7.5 to 8.4 min.???

bc



Leigh Palmer wrote:

Regarding Leigh's confirmation of my 1 AU distance quote
from JPL:


cut ------


David Bowman
David_Bowman@georgetowncollege.edu

Ah!!! I was hoping someone would grab that bait. I set
that that trap


cut ---------


Unit. That "eight minute" number we learned in elementary
school just annoys me with its imprecision and needless
inaccuracy. Remember also that there is a +/- nine second
variation due to the eccentricity of Earth's orbit in the
actual transit time.

Leigh


Tim O'Donnell
Instructor of Physics and Chemistry
Celina High School
715 East Wayne Street
Celina, Ohio 45822
(419) 586-8300 Ext 1200 or 1201
odonnt@celina.k12.oh.us

"Chance only favors the prepared mind." - Louis Pasteur