[Phys-L] Solstices and Equinoxes Down Under

["Edmiston, Mike" <edmiston@BLUFFTON.EDU>]

> From what I can tell without talking to someone who knows for sure, it
appears that the December Solstice is referred to as the Summer Solstice
by people living in the Southern Hemisphere.  Likewise, for the Southern
Hemisphere, the June Solstice is the Winter Solstice, the September
Equinox is the Spring Equinox, and the March Equinox is the Fall
Equinox.

Here are a few questions, and I am wondering if anyone on this list has
definitive answers.

(1) Do textbook publishers write a separate version of astronomy texts
for sale in the Southern Hemisphere, or do those folks just suffer with
textbooks that have things labeled backwards?

(2) Is there any movement to refer to the solstices and equinoxes by
months, and drop the summer/winter and spring/fall designations?

(3) The Vernal Equinox and Autumnal Equinox refer to specific places on
the Celestial Sphere, so Southern Hemisphere folks don't switch those
names, do they?


Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Bluffton University
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu
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