Earth has a shadow in space, just as people do on a sunny day. The darkest part of the Earth's shadow is a conical region in space known as the umbra. A representation of Earth's umbra is shown in the figure below. Earth has a radius of about 3960 miles, and the umbra ends at a point about 860,000 miles from Earth. The moon is about 239,000 miles from Earth and has a radius of about 1100 miles. A total eclipse of the sun occurs when we are in the umbra of the moon. The size of the moon's umbra on Earth's surface is so small† that we can consider that the umbra reaches its apex at Earth's center. The sun is 93,498,600 miles away from Earth. What is the radius of the sun? (The actual radius is 434,994 miles. Because of our simplified assumptions, you will get a slightly different, though relatively close, answer. This question simplifies the model by assuming the tangents are perpendicular to the vertical radii of the Sun and Earth. Distances given are from the centers of the bodies.) ________mi
Earth has a shadow in space, just as people do on a sunny day. The darkest part of the Earth's shadow is a conical region in space known as the umbra. A representation of Earth's umbra is shown in the figure below.
Earth has a radius of about 3960 miles, and the umbra ends at a point about 860,000 miles from Earth. The moon is about 239,000 miles from Earth and has a radius of about 1100 miles. A total eclipse of the sun occurs when we are in the umbra of the moon. The size of the moon's umbra on Earth's surface is so small† that we can consider that the umbra reaches its apex at Earth's center. The sun is 93,498,600 miles away from Earth. What is the radius of the sun? (The actual radius is 434,994 miles. Because of our simplified assumptions, you will get a slightly different, though relatively close, answer. This question simplifies the model by assuming the tangents are perpendicular to the vertical radii of the Sun and Earth. Distances given are from the centers of the bodies.)
________mi
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