httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mxjbip6y04&feature=player_embedded

On Saturday, March 26, 2011, at 8:30 p.m. local time, is Earth Hour—an event led by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in which millions of people around the world will unite by turning out their lights for one hour to make a bold statement of concern about our planet and climate change.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour. To see it for yourself, check out this video.

In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

On Saturday 27 March, Earth Hour 2010 became the biggest Earth Hour ever. A record 128 countries and territories joined the global display of climate action. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Asia Pacific to Europe and Africa to the Americas switched off. People across the world from all walks of life turned off their lights and came together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet.

But Earth Hour isn’t just for national landmarks and big cities—anyone can participate, whether it be individuals like you and me or schools, businesses, organizations, and our state and local governments. I hope you will join me for this amazing event and help send a message that the time for action on climate change is now. To sign up and start spreading the word, visit www. EarthHour.org.

“The March equinox is the movement when the sun crosses the true celestial equator – or the line in the sky above the earth’s equator – from south to north, around March 20 (or March 21) of each year. At that time, day and night are balanced to nearly 12 hours each all over the world and the earth’s axis of rotation is perpendicular to the line connecting the centers of the earth and the sun.

The March equinox will occur on March 20 in 2011, marking the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere and fall (autumn) in the southern hemisphere from an astronomical viewpoint. The March equinox will occur in New York on Mar 20th @ 7:21pm (or 11:21 pm Universal Time) on this date.

This illustration, which shows an example only of the March equinox, is not to scale.

Twice a year, around March 20 or 21 and September 22 or 23, the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night are nearly equal in all parts of the world. These two days are known as the March(vernal or spring in the northern hemisphere) equinox and the September equinox.” (From TimeandDate)

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Astronomy Spring Break Extra Credit #2 Due Apr 5(T):
-> If you are thinking about doing this assignment – you have to email me by Monday (Mar 21) at noon.

1. Where is the Sun?

Find out how far from zenith and the horizon, the sun is at 12 noon today… the noon solar zenith angle? It’s really simple to figure out. Find out your latitude on the globe… Ok, now use this simple formula to determine the sun angle with respect to your location:

Sun angle = Latitude or solar noon zenith angle  –  zenith angle on a specific date

Example: Imagine we were are at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida where the latitude is 28.4*N… so, the Solar noon zenith angle is your latitude (28.4 N) –  March 21 noon zenith angle (0 degrees). Simply put, the sun at Noon today will be about 28 degrees from directly overhead. So, how far from the horizon does this make the sun at high Noon? Remember from math class there are 90 degrees in a right angle, so subtract the number you just got (28 degrees) from 90 to get 62 degrees from the horizon.

2. Can you balance an egg on end on the equinox? as the urban legend says. Read 3 articles: about the Urban Legend, Egg Spin by Bad Astronomy & Vernal Equinox Views.

• Take a picture of your balanced egg
• Be ready to present your findings to the class on Apr 5th.

For us in New York City, the moon will rise at 7:27pm (in about 30min) on March 19th and it will be full moon! It is closer to us today, than in that past. It should be a spectacular view, especially since we have clear skies.

Some Related Articles:
NASA – Super Full Moon
Sky&Telescope.com – The March 19th “Supermoon”: Hardly Super
Space.com – What Makes a ‘Supermoon’ So Super?
UniverseToday.com – March 19, 2011… “SuperMoon” or “SuperHype”?

Astronomy Spring Break Extra Credit #1 Due Apr 5(T):
-> If you are thinking about doing this assignment – you have to email me by Sunday (Mar 20) night.

1. Observe the moon on Mar 19th (any time during the night)
2. Read the 4 articles and any others
3. Write a 1-2 page summary
4. A sketch of your view of the moon and any stars/planets