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7. Click on the Sun to bring up its Info Panel. Under the General tab, see Figure 4-2,
note the time the sun Transits. Reset your clock (to within the nearest minute) to this
time. This is the time of day that the Sun has its highest altitude in the sky. Record
the Suns transit time, altitude and its rise and set times for March 21 on the
RESULTS sheet.
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passed. The pattern you see, the Suns path observed once a day, at the same time of
day, for a whole year, is called the analemma. Draw the pattern you see on Figure 43 on the RESULTS sheet.
2. Now open the settings below to observe another analemma.
File | Open Settings | Earth and Moon | Analemma
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RESULTS SHEET 4
Date
Transit
Altitude
Rise
Time
Set
Time
Hours in
the Sky
Rise
Position
Set
Position
March 21
June 21
Sept. 21
Dec. 21
From inspection of your table, name three ways in which you can observe the passage of
a tropical year.
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What do these observations suggest about the Suns effect on weather and climate?
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How long was the Sun up at the North Pole on June 21? On December 21?
About how long was the Sun up at the equator on these two dates?
Based on your answers to the last two questions, which is a more important cause of
warm or cold weather, the amount of time the Sun is in the sky or its altitude?
Compare the motion of the Sun you observed from your home latitude to that of the
comparable southern latitude on the two dates. What difference did you see and what
does this suggest about seasonal variations in the Southern Hemisphere compared to
those in the Northern Hemisphere? (Hint: This could be answered in one word.)
CONCLUSION
In the space below, write a conclusion for this activity. Briefly explain what you did and
what you learned from it.
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OPEN-ENDED ACTIVITY
Use the skills you learned in this activity to gather the data to fill out the table below.
Plot a graph of the Hours of Sunlight on all four dates. Plot a line on the graph for each
location.
March 21
Hours of Sunlight
June 21
September 21
December 21
North Pole
Equator
South Pole
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