Sun Size Difference Perihelion & Aphelion
Taken by Peter Lowenstein on June 29, 2017 @
Mutare, Zimbabwe
Click photo for larger image
| |
Camera Used: Unavailable Unavailable
Exposure Time: Unavailable
Aperture: Unavailable
ISO: Unavailable
Date Taken: Unavailable
|
|
| More images
Details:
A comparison of photographs taken on 07/01/2016 and 29/06/2017 show the angular size change of the sun as viewed near perihelion on 02/01/2016 and aphelion on 03/07/2017 (animation and first picture). Although taken 18 months apart, and a few days from the events due to adverse weather conditions, they show that there is an unmistakable size difference of the Sun as viewed from Earth when it is closest at perihelion and furthest away at aphelion. Measurement of the images results in a July sun that is 96.4% the size of the January sun or a difference of 3.6%. Expressed as a decimal, this is 0.036. Divide by two gives a value of 0.018 which is close to the accepted value for Earth’s orbital eccentricity of 0.017. The remaining two images show side-by-side comparisons of the setting sun near perihelion (left) and aphelion (right) and then its position on the local horizon at December 2015 (left) and June 2016 (right) solstices. At present P,A and the solstices are separated by about two weeks. The camera used was a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ60 in sunset scene mode with up to x60 magnification. An improvised solar filter was required to reduce glare for the aphelion photograph.
Photographer's website:
No URL provided.
|
|
|
