Ep 274: Ellipses, Rotations, and the Equation of Time

Rafe discusses the impact of (1) the earth's elliptical orbit and (2) the tilt of the axis of the earth's axis of rotation on setting clocks.  It turns out that even though the earth is spinning at the same rate, the length of a day varys considerably over the course of a year and failure to account for that can lead to errors as big as 15 minutes.Rafe explains why the days are different length due to these two issues and how the Equation of Time allows you to reconcile your shadow-based sundial and the clock on your phone, and encourages you to use permanent marker on your flows when taking astronomical observations, especially if you have carpet.#ellipticalorbit #meansolartime #equationoftime #analemma*****As always, you can reach the Buf at [email protected]*****As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carry all the expenses of running this podcast.  As such, some of you have asked how you can help out.  Well, here's the answer: support us on Buy Me a Coffee:https://buymeacoffee.com/bufnagleOn this page, you can do a really nice thing like send us a couple dollars to help cover the cost of recording and hosting and microphones and research and all that.  Any little bit really helps!  Thank you in advance!!!