Difference between revisions of "Talk:1371: Brightness"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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Funny. But of course, while this technique, when applied to the sun, correctly infers the earth, it would also infer a planet around pretty much any star except Polaris; presumably incorrectly in at least some cases. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.24|108.162.212.24]] 13:39, 21 May 2014 (UTC)
 
Funny. But of course, while this technique, when applied to the sun, correctly infers the earth, it would also infer a planet around pretty much any star except Polaris; presumably incorrectly in at least some cases. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.24|108.162.212.24]] 13:39, 21 May 2014 (UTC)
 
: I like that - good point... though, there should be a small sliver of Earth where Polaris will be visible during the "day" and will sink ''slightly'' below the horizon for the "night", so I would think you could even toss that star into the group, right? It's not EXACTLY above the north pole (it's off by almost 1 degree, I believe) [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 15:08, 21 May 2014 (UTC)
 
: I like that - good point... though, there should be a small sliver of Earth where Polaris will be visible during the "day" and will sink ''slightly'' below the horizon for the "night", so I would think you could even toss that star into the group, right? It's not EXACTLY above the north pole (it's off by almost 1 degree, I believe) [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 15:08, 21 May 2014 (UTC)
I'm not sure if I agree with that. The stars continue to shine during the daytime, but are washed out by light scattering in our atmosphere. Only the Sun, Moon and Venus are brighter than the blue sky. [[User:Jim E|Jim E]] ([[User talk:Jim E|talk]]) 15:45, 21 May 2014 (UTC)
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Polaris is not visible at all in the southern hemisphere. Someone who lives exactly on the equator would in theory see it rise and set, but it's tough to observe something that's one degree above the horizon. [[User:Jim E|Jim E]] ([[User talk:Jim E|talk]]) 15:45, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

Revision as of 16:01, 21 May 2014

Funny. But of course, while this technique, when applied to the sun, correctly infers the earth, it would also infer a planet around pretty much any star except Polaris; presumably incorrectly in at least some cases. 108.162.212.24 13:39, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

I like that - good point... though, there should be a small sliver of Earth where Polaris will be visible during the "day" and will sink slightly below the horizon for the "night", so I would think you could even toss that star into the group, right? It's not EXACTLY above the north pole (it's off by almost 1 degree, I believe) Brettpeirce (talk) 15:08, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

Polaris is not visible at all in the southern hemisphere. Someone who lives exactly on the equator would in theory see it rise and set, but it's tough to observe something that's one degree above the horizon. Jim E (talk) 15:45, 21 May 2014 (UTC)