rise and shine... and set.

Well, let's try this again.

Yesterday I happened to be driving at just the right time to watch the sunrise, and also the sunset. I was pretty excited about it because I'm usually in class before the sun comes up, and at work when it goes down. Unfortunately, driving isn't the best thing to be doing when trying to observe details about the sun. Also less than ideal is that I was driving west in the morning and east in the evening... so I was only able to see the sun in my rear view mirror.

I'm sure as the days continue to get longer, I will be able to observe the sunrise and sunset in a more appropriate setting, and also be able to take some pictures - photographing the sun behind me while driving 55 mph didn't seem like a very smart plan.

For now, I will share what I was able to observe.

I was driving west on Lake Michigan Drive at about 7:50am on Monday, February 9. I had the news on before I left, which reported it was about 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Behind me, I could see the pink and orange glow of the sun fading into cloudy gray skies. Driving on an E-W road, I noticed that the rising sun wasn't directly behind me but slightly to my left. It was just barely visible above the horizon, at an altitude of less than 10 degrees. Later in the day, when I got out the Star & Planet Locator to verify my observations, I found that at 7:50am in Grand Rapids (6:05am LST) the sun would be at an azimuth of around 105 degrees. That's slightly south of east, just like I saw.

Later in the day, I was driving east on I-96 at about 5:4opm and I noticed the sun was beginning to descend, it was around 20 degrees above the horizon. It was about 23 degrees Farenheit with mostly clear skies, a few clouds here and there. As I continued driving and watching, the sun faded behind the trees and disappeared. Crossing under a N-S road helped me to get my bearings and I estimated that the sun was setting at an azimuth of around 255 degrees. This confirms what we learned last week in class - the sun rises the same amount south of east as it sets south of west.

I began this entry with a disclaimer about how I didn't really get a chance to look long and hard at the rising or setting sun. However, after exploring the different details about each occurrence and putting them into words, I realize that I observed a lot more than I thought I did. This reinforces what I've been learning in class... that astronomy isn't all that complicated. It's actually quite simple, and extremely interesting. Just driving (and in the wrong direction, even) allowed me to collect a number of specific observations. Pretty cool, huh?

Hopefully I will turn this revelation into motivation to go out into the cold night and see more of what the sky has to offer. One thing is for sure - I'm waiting until the blizzard-like conditions subside :)