March 21, 2010
Another birthday means another year in which the universe got to experience itself through your particular combination of wonder and will.
Equinox + 1
Birthday · March 21, 2010
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published March 21, 2010. Credit: Joe Orman. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Twice a year, at the Spring and Fall equinox, the Sun rises due east. In an emphatic demonstration of this celestial alignment, photographer Joe Orman recorded this inspiring image of the Sun rising exactly along the east-west oriented Western Canal, in Tempe, Arizona, USA. But he waited until one day after the northern Spring equinox, in 2001, to photograph the striking view. Why was the rising Sun due east one day after the equinox? At Tempe's latitude the Sun rises at an angle, arcing southward as it climbs above the horizon. Because the distant mountains hide the true horizon, the Sun shifts slightly southward by the time it clears the mountain tops. Waiting 24 hours allowed the Sun to rise just north of east and arc back to an exactly eastern alignment for the photo. Today is another Equinox + 1 day, with the Sun crossing the celestial equator yesterday at about 17:32 Universal Time.
Image credit: Joe Orman