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Top Document: [sci.astro] Time (Astronomy Frequently Asked Questions) (3/9) Previous Document: Introduction Next Document: C.01 When is 02/01/04? or is there a standard way of writing dates? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
[Dates in brackets are last edit.]
C.01 When is 02/01/04? or is there a standard way of writing
dates? [2001-12-14]
C.02 What are all those different kinds of time? [2002-05-07]
C.03 How do I compute astronomical phenomena for my location?
[2002-05-04]
C.04 What's a Julian date? modified Julian date? [1998-05-06]
C.05 Was 2000 a leap year? [2000-03-17]
C.06 When will the new millennium start? [2001-01-01]
C.07 Easter:
07.1 When is Easter? [1996-05-01]
07.2 Can I calculate the date of Easter? [1996-12-11]
C.08 What is a "blue moon?" [2001-10-02]
C.09 What is the Green Flash (or Green Ray)? [1999-01-01]
C.10 Why isn't the earliest Sunrise (and latest Sunset) on the
longest day of the year? [2002-01-30]
C.11 How do I calculate the phase of the moon? [1996-10-08]
C.12 What is the time delivered by a GPS receiver? [2002-05-07]
C.13 Why are there two tides a day and not just one? [1999-12-15]
There is also a calendar FAQ maintained by Claus Tondering
<c-t@pip.dknet.dk>,
<URL:http://www.tondering.dk/claus/calendar.html>.
User Contributions:Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic:Top Document: [sci.astro] Time (Astronomy Frequently Asked Questions) (3/9) Previous Document: Introduction Next Document: C.01 When is 02/01/04? or is there a standard way of writing dates? Part0 - Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Part5 - Part6 - Part7 - Part8 - Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: jlazio@patriot.net
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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[sci.astro] Time (Astronomy Frequently Asked Questions) (3/9)
Section - C.00 Time, Calendars, and Terrestrial Phenomena
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[sci.astro] Time (Astronomy Frequently Asked Questions) (3/9)
Section - C.00 Time, Calendars, and Terrestrial Phenomena
( Part0 - Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Part5 - Part6 - Part7 - Part8 - Single Page
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with stars, then every direction you looked would eventually end on
the surface of a star, and the whole sky would be as bright as the
surface of the Sun.
Why would anyone assume this? Certainly, we have directions where we look that are dark because something that does not emit light (is not a star) is between us and the light. A close example is in our own solar system. When we look at the Sun (a star) during a solar eclipse the Moon blocks the light. When we look at the inner planets of our solar system (Mercury and Venus) as they pass between us and the Sun, do we not get the same effect, i.e. in the direction of the planet we see no light from the Sun? Those planets simply look like dark spots on the Sun.
Olbers' paradox seems to assume that only stars exist in the universe, but what about the planets? Aren't there more planets than stars, thus more obstructions to light than sources of light?
What may be more interesting is why can we see certain stars seemingly continuously. Are there no planets or other obstructions between them and us? Or is the twinkle in stars just caused by the movement of obstructions across the path of light between the stars and us? I was always told the twinkle defines a star while the steady light reflected by our planets defines a planet. Is that because the planets of our solar system don't have the obstructions between Earth and them to cause a twinkle effect?
9-14-2024 KP