RE: So how DOES our solar system work?

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From: Ronald Wong (ronwong@inreach.com)
Date: Wed Feb 02 2005 - 00:07:25 PST 

Message-Id: <l03102800be24788519c4@[209.209.14.107]>
Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2005 00:07:25 -0800
From: Ronald Wong <ronwong@inreach.com>
Subject: RE: So how DOES our solar system work?

In December of last year Ben made the following comment:

>>In preparing a last-day-before-the-holiday lesson on the solstice
>>I happened upon the webpage noted below.
>>...
>>
>>http://www.fearofphysics.com/SunMoon/sunmoon1.html
>>
>>No wonder the site is called fear of physics.
>>
>>Ben

Eric responding by saying:

>Ben,
>
>If we are supposed to be viewing the earth from the typical north-is-up
>frame of reference, they were sloppy with the direction of the spin of
>the earth and orbit of the moon!

which is perfectly correct.

>If we are looking from the frame where south-is-up, everything looks
>fine.
>
>...

The direction of the sun's rotation, the earth's spin, it's orbit around
the sun, and the moon's orbit around the earth are all the same.

If we are willing to accept the direction of the earth's spin and the
moon's orbit around the earth as correct in this animation (i.e.
south-is-up), then the earth should be orbiting the sun in the opposite
direction to that shown in the animation (picky, picky, picky!).

ron

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