Wednesday, 20 September 2023

Does the Sun always rise in the east and set in the west?

 The Earth is divided into the Southern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere by the equator


About 23,50 above and below the equator are the Tropic of Cancer and the

Tropic of Capricorn respectively. The path followed by the Earth

around the Sun is called the ecliptic and a perpendicular line from the ecliptic

plane makes an angle of 23,50 to the earth’s axis of rotation.

This tilt is the primary source of the seasons on Earth.


The earth is rotating around its axis from west to east making the sunrise from

the east and set in the west. The question is, Does the sun always rise in the east

and set in the west?


Due to the Earth’s tilt, the sun crosses the celestial equator from north to south

around September 22nd or 23rd (23rd Sep 2023 @8H50 SAST)


From there the sun seems to move towards the south each day until on 
summer solstice (Dec 22 2023 @05H27 SAST) where it rises and sets 23,5
South of the East. From there the sun seems to move back toward the east and 
will cross the celestial equator on March 20th, 2024 at 05H06 towards the 
Northern Hemisphere to reach the Tropic of Cancer, our winter solstice 
(June 20 2024 at 10H50). From there it will be returning back south. 
To answer the question posed, the sun rises from the east and sets in the west 
only two days a year.


 

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