GC3V76Q RPSEC - Earth (Multi-cache) in South Carolina, United States created by Sought and Found

GC3V76Q ▼

A cache by Sought and Found Message this owner

Hidden : 11/1/2012

Difficulty:

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Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Ruth Patrick Science Education Center Observatory
Our Solar System Series - Earth

The Earth cache is part of the solar system cache series centered at University of South Carolina Aiken. In this solar system model, the 5-meter (16.4-feet) dome of the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center (RPSEC) Observatory represents the diameter of the Sun known as Sol. This is a two stage multicache. Both stages are within the range of Earth's orbit around the sun using the scale of the Sun's diameter = 5 meters. You will be in a position to view the RPSEC Observatory, which will represent the Sun at the correct size and distance from Earth (where you will be standing) in our scale model of our solar system. The Earth printed on the container at stage two is also the correct size for this scale model.

First Day Found Logo All First Day Finders (FDF) received a prize of two complementary planetarium tickets and a FDF Award Card. Visit http://rpsec.usca.edu/planetarium/ for schedule information.

Earth Facts:

One of the Terrestrial Planets that include Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Distance from Sun: Average = 93 million mi. (150 million km.) Closest= 91.4 million mi (147 million km.) Furthest= 94.5 million mi. (152 million km.)
Diameter = 7,926 mi. (12,756 km.)
Temperature: Minimum = Russian Vostok Station in Antarctica on July 21st 1983 at -89.2 °C (-128.56 °F) Maximum = Al 'Aziziyah, Libya in 1922 at 57.8 °C (136 °F)

Earth Distances with Sun Diameter = 5 m.

Diam cm

Diam in

Orbit km

Orbit mi

Orbit m

Orbit ft

4.58

1.80

0.538

0.33

538

1,764

In Earth Science, the Earth, Sun and Moon are often considered as one system of objects that are studied together because of how their interactions impact planet Earth and the life found there. This is known as the Earth/Moon/Sun system. The effects of the interactions of the objects in this system range from direct impacts on living organisms to interesting phenomena for consideration of humans. The distance from the Earth to the Sun is 400 times further than the distance from the Earth to the Moon. The size of the Sun is also about 400 times larger than the moon. Therefore, from our perspective on Earth, the Moon and the Sun look to be nearly the same size. If you see a full moon and the setting Sun in the sky at the same time, you will notice that they appear to be about the same size. This is seen very clearly when there is a solar eclipse, which is discussed further below.

Seasons: Seasons on Earth are the result of the 23.5 degree tilt of Earth and its position in orbit around the Sun. On the first day of spring, the North Pole and South Pole are both illuminated by the Sun. The North Pole begins six months of sunlight when the sun does not set below the horizon while the South Pole begins six months of darkness. Three months later, on the first day of summer, the North Pole is tilted toward the Sun and the South Pole is titled away. On the first day of fall, the North Pole begins six months of darkness and the South Pole begins six month of sunlight. On the first day of winter, the North Pole is pointed away from the Sun and the South Pole is pointed toward the Sun.

Image from Team Straus Science Units

Phases of the Moon: The phases of the moon are determined by the position of the moon as it orbits the Earth. A full moon occurs when the Sun, Earth and Moon (in this order) are in a straight line. A new moon occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth (in this order) are in a straight line.The other phases occur during other portions of the Moon's orbit around Earth.

Phases of Moon image
Image from Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Eclipses: Eclipses occur when the Earth, Moon and Sun are aligned.

Solar Eclipse: People on Earth can see a solar eclipse when the moon passes beteween the Earth and Sun, which can only occur during a new moon. During a solar eclipse, people on Planet Earth can observe that the Sun and the Moon appear to be the same size. In reality, the Sun (1.392,000 km or 864,900 mi) is roughly 400 times larger than the Moon (3,475 km or 2,160 mi). The Sun and Moon appear to be the same size because the Moon (385,000 km or 239,000 mi) is also 400 times closer to Earth than the Sun (150,000,000 km or 93,000,000 mi.). Only a small portion of the Earth's surface experiences a total solar eclipse when one occurs, and it occurs only for a few minutes.

Lunar Eclipse: People on Earth can see a lunar eclipse when the Moon passes into the shadow of the Earth, which can only occur during a full moon. The shadow of the Earth in space is much larger than the size of the moon. Therefore, a total lunar eclipse is observable by most of the earth and can be seen for several hours.

Solar Eclipse Diagram
Image and more information from MrEclipse.com

Lunar Eclipse Diagram
Image and more information from MrEclipse.com

Scale of the Earth/Moon/Sun system: Scale models are often used to help in our understanding of the relationships between the size and distances of the Earth/Moon/Sun system. As mentioned in the Eclipses section, the Sun and Moon appear to be the same size when viewed from Earth. This is related to the fact that the Sun is about 400 times larger than the Moon but is also about 400 times further away. A proper scale model will have the same visual size as the Sun and Moon. If you create a scale model of the Sun and Moon and place them at the proper relative scaled distance from the Earth, the scale models will appear the same size as the real Sun and Moon. At the location of this earthcache, the size of the observatory against the sky is the same as the real Sun and real Moon in the sky. This is because the size of the observatory is to scale with the distance between the observatory and this earthcache's coordinates. One more example that you can try is to use a scale where the Sun = 2 feet in diameter. The Earth's orbit in this scale would be 215 feet. If you were 215 ft. away from a ball or disk with a diameter of 2ft., the 2-ft. diameter object would appear the same size as the real Sun from Earth or the RPSEC Observatory from GZ.

Below are some fun activities that you might like to try during your visit.

Extend your hand out in front of you by holding your arm so that your elbow is not bent. Close one eye and hold up your fingers so that they hide the observatory from view. How many of your fingers are required to just barely hide the observatory from your one open eye?
Keep your hand in position so that the required number of fingers hides the observatory from view as described above. Hold your head and hand in position. In your own words, describe what happens when you alternate which eye is open.
If the Sun is visible in the sky, compare the size of the Sun to the size of the RPSEC Observatory. If the Sun is not visible, speculate about the relative viewable sizes of the Sun and the RPSEC Observatory.
Assuming that the moon's orbit around the Earth in our current scale is equal to the length of your arm, what fraction of a finger or combination of fingers would represent the diameter of the moon.

This cache was placed with permission of university officials. Be sure to obtain the code from the cache container in order to find the final Sun cache location.

Congratulations to EarlyBigBird, The L Family and objuan who sought and were FTF Earth!

RPSEC Solar System Series: