The divergence of the gravitational field reduces to a simple term containing only density. the corona). "The 'coincidence' is not so very great it is approximate and it varies depending on the timing of the eclipse and the lunar orbit.". Greek mythology, Blind luck that the moon formed to the size that it did, that our sun is the size that it is, and that they're spaced apart as far as they are. The diamond ring is a similar effect but on a much larger scale, occurring when light from the emerging sun flares out along one side of the moon's disk, Gallaway said. Which will collide first, the moon and Earth, or Sun and Earth? Total solar eclipses, when the moon nearly perfectly covers the sun, have fascinated humans since at least the time of the earliest civilizations. and almost as big current maximum mean lunar orbital radius This is a coincidence, both that its size is what it is, and that we're here to observe it. great coincidence. ephemerides. 2. Given all the variables, its almost surprising that we see eclipses at all. A monsoon is caused by a seasonal shift in the winds. It will still always be roughly the size of the Sun but total solar eclipses will become rarer and rarer (they will be more and more annular or partial). The warm, moist air then condenses and becomes rain. angular diameters At the height of totality, the fit of sun and moon is so perfect that beads of sunlight can only penetrate to us through the rugged valleys on the lunar surface, creating the stunning diamond ring effect. It is difficult to envision a planet starting with a rotation much faster than the Earth, and certainly not by an order of magnitude. and Moon Moon This photo shows a storm during monsoon season in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Do observers agree on forces in special relativity? It covers strange, mysterious, unexplained, and astonishing news. It happens only because of math and coincidence. = 60.32 Earth equatorial radii The force of gravity is a $1/r^2$ force, this tells us that the force of the sun on Earth is greater than the force of the moon on Earth. How big a coincidence is the Sun and Moon having almost equal apparent sizes? The designation " first contact" refers to the moment when the disk of the Moon, invisible against the bright sky background, first touches the disk of the Sun. See file devonian_speciation.html for Earth's center Earth's orbit The moons distance also affects the width of the moons shadow passing over Earths surface, what is referred to as the eclipse path of totality. This path typically averages 60 to 70 miles. In 2022, An Asteroid 15 Times Stronger Than Hiroshima Bomb Can Hit Earth, Moon Has A Quarter Of Billion People: CIA Officer Unlocked Moon Mysteries, Journalist Claims US Hides Huge UFO In Foreign Country Because They Could Not Move It, This Passenger Saw Mysterious Being Who Scared Lady In Dallas to Orlando Flight, David Grusch Has Authentic Italy UFO Crash Documents, Journalist Confirmed: Testimony Imminent, US Military Recovered UFO That Distorted Space-Time & Craft Able To Alter Our Reality As Mentioned In Bizarre Navy Docs, Ex-Pentagon Official & Jacques Valle Suggest Higher-Dimensional Beings Crossing Into Our World. This means that if the Moon crosses a node within the first few days of this period (called an eclipse season) and causes a solar eclipse, it can do so again a month later and create a second solar eclipse. When the moon is at perigee, and the earth at aphelion, the moon will seem larger than the sun than when the moon is at apogee and earth at perihelion. Earth's center. To keep the answer short, we'll call it even, if we take the cubed root it won't matter much. with small great coincidence How does one remove a curse and/or a magical spell that's been placed upon a person/land/lineage/etc? A monsoon is a shift in winds that often causes a very rainy season or a very dry season. Since the Moon is 1/3.67 the radius of Earth, it receives ~1/13.5 the total amount of sunlight. "The [diameter of the] moon is almost exactly 400 [times] smaller than the sun's diameter, and the sun is almost exact 400 times further away than the moon," said Mark Gallaway, an astronomer at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. It seems like this question has its roots in intelligent design (I've heard this argument made in favor of ID before). during eclipse seasons What does is the tilt of the Moons orbit, which is about 5 to the plane of Earths orbit around the Sun or, equivalently, the Suns apparent path around the sky as seen from Earth. The argument can be made looking at the divergence of the gravitational field compared to that of the false gravitational field from acceleration. Of course. One of the recurring numbers in this whole exploration of the underlying mathematics linking the Earth, Moon and Sun is 273, or 0.273. The Sun is also (on average) about 400 times farther away (93 million miles vs. 240,000 miles). Now we can start asking: Why not a larger (apparent) moon - The empirical arguments here clearly point to the fact that a larger moon in terms of appearance would result in a longer day length, and this would not be as good for the evolution of life. Reviews of Geophysics, Volume 38, Issue 1, p. 37-60; Their seemingly similar size just happens to be a strange coincidence. In general, the North American Monsoon begins each year in Mexico in June. And given the prevalence of these objects in our sky, it has left many wondering if the sun and moon are the same size because it sure looks like they are. Checking 400 from this source: The Moon's distance from the Earth: 384,000 km and diameter: 3,480 km The Sun's distance from the Earth: 149,000,000 km and diameter of 1,392,000 km. This is about the same as arguing that paleontologists find dinosaur fossils not because dinosaurs once lived on Earth, but because someone deliberately buried dinosaur bones to confuse evolutionists. 4.8481368111*10**(-6) pc, Dynamical, biological, and anthropic consequences of equal lunar News The Moon Is 1/400th The Size Of The Sun And 400x Closer.A Coincidence? After core hydrogen exhaustion. We have had major changes on Earth due to continental drift and ocean currents (snowball earth, forests at the south pole, ice ages) and it just gives evolution something to work at. The nodes slowly shift (precess) westward, which means the months in which eclipses take place slowly change as the years pass. As it recedes, its average apparent diameter shrinks. I can't imagine any kind of anthropological proof more convincing than noting the coincidental timing as above, so I think the theory will always be nothing more than a speculative flight of fancy. 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They look striped during eclipses, which could be because the sun is no longer a point source and everything is effectively illuminated by a circle," Gallaway said. Helios and Though there are four different types of solar eclipses, none are more spectacular than a total solar eclipse. Distance: 149,000,000 / 384,000 = 388.02, OK almost 400 A hemisphere is $2\pi$ steradians, so the Earth occupies about 0.00015 hemispheres (about 0.015% of the Moon's sky). (This path is called the ecliptic, for reasons that will become obvious in a moment.) If this happens again about six months later at the other node, there could be four solar eclipses (all partial) in a single year. Plus the Moon was formed closer to the Earth and due to tidal interactions is slowly drifting away. as seen on the sky It depends how close the Sun is to the node when the Moon passes by. (mean 0.5332, range 0.5242--0.5422) Both the moon and the earth's orbits are eccentric, and so the ratio between the sun's and moon's apparent diameter varies with the time of year. One, our predicted spin of proto-Earth, and the speeds we would reasonably expect from an early planet, working back from the limits imposed by gravitational divergence. 5. In addition, the moon is very slowly moving farther away from Earth, an effect caused by the bulge of the Earth's ocean tides slowly dragging the moon into a slightly faster and higher orbit. Sun's angular diameter Credit: National Park Service/Stewart Holmes, When people think of a monsoon, they often think of heavy rains that pour down for weeks. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. This is also correct. So the Moon's size just happens to be random. The solar eclipse appears to be a cosmic coincidence but actually takes place approximately every 18 months. Moon on the Is there a known reason for this or is it just coincidence? Another fun coincidence is that the radius of the sun is about twice the distance to the moon. The tidal force, however, varies by $1/r^3$. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Of course this is absurd because that would imply negative gravity regions, which is impossible for large bodies. Cosmic Coincidence. mean 0.5286, range 0.4889--0.5683, Earth equatorial radius R_eq_ = 6378.1370 km, mean lunar orbital radius The minimum number of tides per day would result in greater distance and volume of exchange. Now we have that geometrically, a perfectly reflective Moon should illuminate the Earth at about $\frac{0.00015}{13.5} \approx \frac{1}{90,000}$ the intensity of the Sun. This is because the moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle, so there are already eclipses where the moon doesn't fully eclipse the sun, they're called annular eclipses., and there are some where it definitely fully covers the sun and then some. Also The sun is about 400 times as wide as the moon, but it is also 400 times further away. Now, we must also consult the numerical evidence. This new wind blows moist air from the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California into the region, resulting in thunderstorms and rainfall. rev2023.7.17.43537. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Whats more, a total solar eclipse is a rare event, cosmically speaking. During a summer monsoon, the region experiences winds from the south, which carry moisture from the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. The complications dont end there. What does is the tilt of the Moon's orbit . Notice the difference in size? Because the distance between the moon and the Earth is slowly changing, solar eclipses looked very different millions of years ago and they will again, tens of millions of years in the future. total eclipses would have The moon and the sun have approximately the same angular size in the sky. }); Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly! What I'm getting to is that you extrapolate from two different directions. Annular eclipses will continue to occur, though the percentage of the solar surface hidden by the Moon will gradually decrease. During much of the year, the strongest winds over northwestern Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico are dry air blowing from the west. (An explanation can involve something like tide-lock effects or the anthropic principle.). Moon is centered on the Managing team members performance as Scrum Master. 15 Jul 2023 08:11:38 Of course, owing to the geometry, most of the light bouncing off of the Moon doesn't land on Earth; it goes off into space in directions that miss the Earth completely. We know how they work, and to be honest, we're just going out there because we like to see eclipses," Gallaway said. @HughAllen True on both accounts. To be precise, as seen from the But astrometrists have Coincidence that sun and moon seem same size? Our sister site Space.com has a complete guide forhow to view an eclipse safely. small that its size can be treated as negligible in all but highly precise measurments. This is a typical monsoon pattern for this region. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Edit: I did the math for the percieved size of the sun and moon, which is based on the angle that the celestial shape takes in our field of vision. It is one of the most glorious pieces of natural theatre. Does air in the atmosphere get friction due to the planet's rotation? My lengthy wording here is to answer "why not faster?" No planet is formed from the proto-planetary disk with a rotation anywhere close to 2 hours. During typical conditions in the spring, the U.S. Southwest experiences strong, dry winds blowing from the west. You never know, though. Actually, the argument is only for a near Does the closeness in the tidal forces from the sun and the moon result in a simpler tidal pattern? For example, at the beginning of summer, the land warms up faster than bodies of water. REMEMBER:Looking directly at the sun, even when it is partially covered by the moon, can cause serious eye damage or blindness. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); window._taboola = window._taboola || []; red giant star The Moon is ever so slowly moving away from our planet at rate of about 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) per year. A total solar eclipse is both chance and certainty. been much more common than now In fact, monsoons can also cause dry weather. Assuming you spend your life on the same part of the Earths surface, you might witness it once if you are particularly lucky or very long-lived, perhaps twice. In fact, even the word monsoon comes from the Arabic word mausim, which means season.. Answer: The Sun's diameter is 400 times the Moon's diameter . 4.8481368111*10**(-6) pc) target_type: 'mix' been long vaporized by then in the Stack Exchange network consists of 182 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Why can you not divide both sides of the equation, when working with exponential functions? great coincidence. I do not know if this is a coincidence or not. Although some solar eclipses have played an important role in science, such as the 1919 eclipse that helped verify Einstein's theory of general relativity, these celestial events don't always hold much scientific interest today, he said. As a result, the changing distance between the Earth and the moon can make a big difference in the appearance of each eclipse seen from the Earth's surface, he said. This distance affects the moons perceived diameter. 5 Gyr from now Reviews of Geophysics, Volume 38, Issue 1, p. 37-60, Wikipedia: Should I include high school teaching activities in an academic CV? The North American Monsoon is a seasonal change in wind that occurs as the summer sun heats the land of North America. are as close as they are still seems to be just a 16 Jul 2023 13:15:00 Sun's The apparent size is probably due to distance and can simply be explained as the earth is 8 minutes or 9 distance from the sun, in light speed whereas the moon is much closer so hence the size that you see from earth. mean 0.5332, range 0.5242--0.5422, Moon angular diameter: This tells us that the tidal force from the moon on the Earth is about the same as the force of the sun on the Earth. This eclipse was photographed from Bolivia on 3 November 1994, A partial solar eclipse seen from Stonehenge, UK on 31 May 2003, A total solar eclipse, as seen from Towan Beach, Newquay, Cornwall, UK on 11 August 1999, The different stages of a solar eclipse, as seen in 2001 from Sambia, Russia, A total solar eclipse seen from California in 1992, Read all the articles in our Unknown Solar System special. Eventually, the Moon will never be large enough to completely cover the Sun, and total eclipses will no longer be visible from Earths surface. So, it's like believing the earth a sphere, when it is an oblate spheroid, close, but not entirely accurate. Sun or, alternatively, just The GOES-16 weather satellite captured this imagery of water vapor moving into the U.S. Southwest in August 2018. Orbit of the Moon: Tidal evolution of the lunar orbit, Wikipedia: Sun: There are no riddles or oddities in this. But a total solar eclipse is worth the wait. The difference between the size is huge of Moon and Sun which makes this coincidence even more amazing. and solar angular radii, S. A. Balbus, 2014, Sun angular diameter: from the Earth's center, but (Though perhaps at that time, only dinosaurs would have been around to see it.). the exact prediction of whether there will be Is there a simple yet accurate formula for where on Earth the Sun and Moon are directly overhead? While many of the most well-known monsoons are in Asia, monsoons can happen anywhere there is a seasonal difference in temperature between the land and water. What would a potion that increases resistance to damage actually do to the body? No, because the Sun remains close to each node for a little longer than a month. Scientists have also carried out experiments to determine if the perceived drop in temperature reported by many eclipse observers is real or a psychological effect, he added. Earth-Moon system might well have The variability in the apparent size of the Sun and Moon doesnt preclude a monthly solar eclipse. It has evoked both fear and awe through the ages, and no wonder! Recall Answer (1 of 33): The angular size of the Moon and the Sun are almost the same: about 30 arc minutes. Wikipedia: 8.3167463973 light-minutes Is the DC of the Swarmkeeper ranger's Gathered Swarm feature affected by a Moon Sickle? You can't solve this problem by starting out with a faster rotation at formation because gravity isn't strong enough. @jcohen79 Maybe, practically anything is possible when talking about life, but I don't find it compelling at this time. And what's more, there is no apparent physical reason why this has to be the case. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The Moon viewed from Earth at perigee (closest approach at 356,700km on October 26 2007) and apogee (farthest approach at 406,300km on April 3 2007). About Us | Contact Us | Terms & Conditions | Copyright & Permissions | AAS Home | NSF Home | NOAA Home | NASA Eclipses Home, How to Shoot Solar-Eclipse Images & Videos. Silently, remorselessly, the Moon takes bigger and bigger bites out of the. There would be even more total solar eclipses if the Moon were closer, and therefore appeared larger in the sky than the Sun does. Cookie Notice A more complex pattern of two tides could be too difficult for primitive organisms to develop predictive mechanisms, and so would not be able to develop internal clocks to cope with migration on the beach, and so would wash away. = 1.282 light-seconds) It is otherworldly and awe-inspiring on a scale never seen before. The amateur hobby of humanity since the dawn of time and scientific study of celestial objects. Let me be clear that these are not understood well, but that's the job of exo-biology among many other sciences. (The same mechanism is causing Earth's rotation to slow down, making the days longer by a very small fraction of a second each year. For more information, please see our The false field from acceleration can be found from the rotational potential $d/dr 1/2 \omega^2 r^2 = \omega^2 r$, and the divergence of this goes to a constant $\omega^2$. its mean distance edited 2 yr. ago I read a sci-fi short story about this, where because it's so rare, solar eclipses are like tourist attractions for aliens. Of course, we do NOT observe Interesting subject but I'm not sure this addresses the question at all. This truly remarkable coincidence is what gives us total solar eclipses. Monsoons are caused by a change in the direction of the wind that happens when the seasons change. Astronomy Why Total Solar Eclipses Are Total Coincidences News By Tom Metcalfe ( livescience.com-interesting-person-plain-button ) published 26 June 2017 The Hinode spacecraft captured this. This is usually in tropical and subtropical climates. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. But they do, and it turns out this celestial phenomenon that has changed human history, and our perspective of the universe, may be a sheer coincidence. The real value of the moon vis-a-vis life is that its large mass stabilizes the earth's obliquity (the 23.5deg tilt to the sun that stabilizes climate). The Moon and Sun have virtually the same angular size in our sky because the Sun is about 400 times wider than the Moon, but it's also about 400 times farther away. We perceive it to be rare because the total effect can only be seen in places located on the totality path, where the moon-sun axis is virtually a straight line. Over time (astronomical time, millions and millions of years) it will appear smaller and smaller in the sky. It should also be added that it is possible that in the case of Moon, there is a selection error. For example in mean Her latest book, "Being in the Shadow: Stories of the First-Time Total Eclipse Experience" (Being in the Shadow, 2017), was released earlier this month. The farther away the moon is from Earth, the smaller its diameter will be in comparison to the suns, resulting in a larger, more visible ring of fire. He has also written for the BBC, NBC News, National Geographic, Scientific American, Air & Space, and many others. What accounts for this mysterious phenomenon? 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(2013); [Physics] Can the apparent equal size of sun and moon be explained or is this a coincidence, [Physics] If the moon had a mirror surface, would the earth be equally illuminated as by the sun during full moon, or would it require a different mirror shape. Moreover, we not only know what it was, but we also understand the physics of the processes that led to the separation of the moon from the earth, and to the gradual increase in the size of the sun. Winter monsoons in these regions near the Indian Ocean are usually dry. It will still always be roughly the size of the Sun but total solar eclipses will become rarer and rarer (they will be more and more annular or partial). Can the apparent equal size of sun and moon be explained or is this a coincidence? And when might this sad prospect come to pass? angular diameters After core hydrogen exhaustion). brother-and-sister Read also: In 2022, An Asteroid 15 Times Stronger Than Hiroshima Bomb Can Hit Earth. great coincidence and Artemis, There exists transfer of angular momentum in the solar system's long term dynamics. implies the Here, at last, a solar eclipse is possible, though the Moon can pass through a node without the eclipse being total or annular a partial eclipse can occur instead. This doesn't happen very often. Even though the Sun is about 400 times bigger than the Moon, it is also about 400 times farther away. All I can say is that it must be a considerably high order effect, similar to tidal forces.
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