14
votes
Accepted
Why does the intensity of sunlight depend on your latitude?
As noted in the comments, this answer applies to things like sun-bathing and solar panels, but it does not apply so much to a specific point-receptor like an eyeball. If all objects in question are ...
- 351
8
votes
Accepted
Why does more sunlight hits the equator than the ecliptic path?
The ecliptic path, is a well defined trajectory when displayed on the background of the fix stars like in the following figure
(taken from physics.csbsju.edu)
However, there is not such thing as an ...
- 17.6k
7
votes
Impossible or improbable? Hurricane crossing the equator
The Coriolis effect is necessary for FORMATION but NOT for MAINTENANCE of a tropical cyclone.
Once formed, in a full-fledged tropical cyclone of hurricane intensity the wind balance is cyclostrophic,...
- 748
5
votes
Accepted
Is the representation of Earth oriented correctly in this image?
The way "I see the diagram" it looks weird, but it is probably correct.
My perception is that it is about frames of reference. We are used to seeing the Earth with Earth's north at the top, not at 23....
- 24.6k
5
votes
Accepted
How much of one day can be considered nighttime, on average?
To further clarify, assume we are on the equator, I want to know how long a time, as a percentage, you could consider to be nighttime on Earth, with the points in time separating night and day being ...
- 23.1k
3
votes
If I stood on the equator and threw a stone in direction of rotation, how much farther would the stone go than if I threw it the other direction?
You, the stone, all locations on the equator, and the atmosphere a little above the equator are all moving with basically the same momentum initially. When you throw it, in the big picture, it gains ...
- 8,713
2
votes
Accepted
Easy homework questions about seasons and daytime
The figure depicts the Northern hemisphere summer solstice, given that, there is no information missing:
At which width circle does the sun shines perpendicularly?
The one labeled "13 1/2 uur" that ...
- 17.6k
1
vote
Is the representation of Earth oriented correctly in this image?
As I see it, the Earth is well oriented, but due to (over)simplification the drawing of the geographical features may be misleading. The aspects that show that the North Pole is not upwards but tilted ...
- 829
1
vote
Equator and Hours of Daylight
No.
There is a difference in daylight according to latitude, but it is not because of proximity to the sun, and nor is there a significant difference in the total number of daylight hours in a year.
...
- 5,800
1
vote
Equator and Hours of Daylight
The Earth's equator is about 0.006% closer to the sun than the Earth's mean spin axis, so the effect of proximity to the sun on daylight hours is so small that my calculator - which has a register of ...
- 14.2k
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