This question involves physic/math.
2006-07-06 10:15:34 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The simplest method is to find the length of arc the sun takes up along the sky. The sun takes 24 hours to revolve 360 degrees. It takes two minutes to travel its diameter. Its diameter is 1/2 of a degree. It is 9300000 miles from the Earth to the Sun.
You can use trig functions on an Excel work sheet if you don't have a calculator with trig function. A tangent of a degree is the relationship of the two sides of a right triangle that are not the hypotenuse. Take the tangent of half a degree and use the following equation to find its diameter.
Tangent of a degree= dia of the sun / radius of the orbit.
2006-07-06 10:34:43 · answer #1 · answered by eric l 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How about sighting on some fixed star references during rotation around the sun in a year... by observing the eclipse of these stars at the sun's horizon, you should be able to determine the position of the earth, the distance to the sun, and the solid angle of the sun from the earth. You could use the last two to calculate the sun's diameter... there would be some correction factors for the eccentricity of the earth's orbit and an assumption that the sun is spherical... ??
2006-07-06 10:37:14 · answer #2 · answered by bitnet_baby 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look it up on the internet.
Seriously, you would need a mind-boggling physics problem that would contain pretty advanced calculus, if you want to get an accurate diameter by just looking at the sun from earth.
2006-07-06 10:20:34 · answer #3 · answered by infernomanor 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you know the distance to the sun, you can easily estimate its diameter by covering it exactly with a coin
then you can measure the distance from your eye to the coin and the diameter of the coin
the rules of similar triangles tell you that the ratio of the width of the coin to its distance from your eye will be the same ratio as the sun's distance to its diameter
2006-07-06 11:18:54 · answer #4 · answered by enginerd 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i fly to the sun, and i ask the sun to turn around, then i put a measuring tape around her and i measure.
oh i have to get a longer one than usual.
and i will wear oven gloves...............
2006-07-06 10:18:25 · answer #5 · answered by crispy chicken 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Find and astronomy book
2006-07-06 10:21:18 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
you cant, you will go blind
2006-07-06 10:20:21 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋