General Chat

i know that this question is going to make you laugh, but its been bothering me. So if any of you can answer, in a nut shell, in words that i can understand, lol.
I know that we all see the same sun and moon wherever we are in the world, so how come we don't see the same stars?
I look at the stars at night and watch them travel across the sky, but when i see American skies, they are full of stars unlike our skies. Can any one tell me why? i know its got something to do with the hemosphere but,,,, lol?

Hi Crunchy.......In North America you'll see the same constellations as here in the UK.
But as you move south, the southern constellations will move northward in the sky........... If your are in Australia, constellations such as Orion, will appear upside down......& I assume so will the moon

This shows how Orion is seen in both northern & southern hemispheres;
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100115.html

Steve
:o)

Here's another daily thing to visualise..........In the northern hemisphere, ie UK...When the sun rises in the east, it ascend in a southerly direction.

But below the equator though, ie Aussie land. It ascend in a northerly direction.

:o))

Thanks Stevie,,, thats as clear as mud to me,,,,,, sorry but im quite dim in this respect, lol
xxx

the thing is,,, (call me dim, i dont care) , if we all see the same sun and moon, why not the same stars?

(in a nut shell) LOL
xxx

Can you think of a tennis ball spinning through space? A flea on the top part of the ball will see things that are above it while a flea on the bottom part will see things below the ball. I hope that explains it.

Huia who is a flea at the bottom!

Hahahha, thankyou Huia, your from down under i expect? lol

i still need explaing too though, im sorry, it takes me a while to grasp things!
sorry, i know im a pain :(
xxx

Hi Crunchy, Think of it this way. In the UK the sun rises in the east & at noon, it is high in the southern the sky.

If your on the equator it also rises from the east & at noon it's directly overhead.

So if you then go south of the equator. The sun again rises in the east, but noon is in the northern sky.

Therefore to the viewer........In the northern hemisphere facing southward. The sun rises from the left of the viewer, to noon in the southern sky.
But to a viewer in the southern hemisphere. The sun rises from the right of the viewer to noon in the northern sky.

i know that we see different, down under and up here, but i want to know why we see different?
In a nut shell lol
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ohhhh, blinkin elle Stevie you just confused me more! lmao
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Sorry its looking like one of those maths questions in an exam, i cant do those!
ok, dont worry, it was like this at school when i asked anything:(

xxx

Huias' flea on a tennis ball analogy is good...........Imagine you are the flea sitting on the top of the ball (north pole). You'll see the stars above you all the way in each direction to the horizon

But as you hop southward. The stars that you couldn't see beyond the southern horizon, will start to come into view. Whilst the stars that where seen close to the northern horizon will drop below the horizon.

So as the flea hops from the north pole to the south pole. The sky above will rotate about you.

:o))

Its not an easy thing to visualise or explain Crunchy......It took me ages to work out , how come those pictures of Orion appear so differently. lol

:o))

OK, i got that bit,
but how come we see different stars?
Ok i know now that northen and southern hemospheres see different skies, but why dont we see the same? i thought the world rotated?
I know you lot are laughing as i type but lol i know im dim on this aspect.
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The world rotates - East- west
But doesnt rotate North - south


xxxxx mick

Well thats in a nut shell Mick lol,
so we only see half the sky, but the sun and moon we all see?
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I dont know why i said that cos i know we all see the same sun and moon , ggrr lol

No I'm not laughing.......Its a good question.

Back to Huias' tennis ball. Although we're rotating. The flea sitting on top of the tennis ball will see the stars above it.

Whilst the flea sitting on the bottom of the ball will only see the stars below.

:o)

So Steve we are only seeing half the sky realy? so the sun and moon are on the same track?

sorry, you wouldnt believe i got "A" level english lol!
its just maths and science i was a **** at! lol
xxxx

ok, i think i have exhausted this subject, and bored everyone reading, so ill bow out gracefully lol
xxx

Thank you for trying to explain it to me :)
xxx