Arras (FRANCE)
The weather was so bad , that we just realized measurements between 9:10 am to 11:20 am (Central European Time).
We marked with a paint spot the extremity of the shadow of the gnomon.
Those 14 points were drawing a line: It happens only twice during the year, on the equinox days.
So we could make an estimation of the shadow length at solar noon:
120cm for a 100cm high gnomon.
The angle of the sun is 50°11’ = 50,184°
This angle is close to the latitude of our city : Arras (50°17’N)
We started calulating the circumference of the Earth with Equator as virtual partner.
The latitude of Arras is 50°17’=50.283°
So the calculated distance to the Equator is 50.283 * 111.1 = 5,567 km
We found for the circumference: 5,587 * 360 / 50.184 = 40,079km
by
Eric Vayssié
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last modified
2008-04-12 19:44