^^^ a little physics/geometry puzzle I made up as a teenager I suggest trying to answer yourself before checking the replies for spoilers.
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Quiz: It’s noon on the spring equinox and you’re standing at the equator; the sun is directly overhead. Suppose that light takes exactly 8 minutes to travel the distance between us and the sun. Where would you have to point a laser in order to hit the sun dead-center?
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The answer (near as I can reason): If we model the sun as stationary and the earth as doing all the movement, then to hit the sun, you just have to aim directly at it. The fact that the sun appears to move in the sky as light takes time to travel is a red herring.
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While the sun appears to be directly overhead, that’s where it was 8 minutes ago. Aim 2 degrees to the West (where the sun is at the moment you fire the laser). Once you fire, the movement of the Earth will not alter the path of the laser light.
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So I don’t think this is right. The sun isn’t actually moving (relative to us), so when its light hits us, the light is coming from exactly where the sun has been and will continue to be. Just aim right at it!
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That’s a good one. I’d hazard south side at noon, north side(?) at sunset.
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I think if it’s directly overhead the angle of incidence is 0, so it would not change direction, right?
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Directly up, right? Once the light leaves your laser, its trajectory won't be affected by the Earth's movements.
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Shouldn't it be 8 minutes off 'directly up'? Since the picture of the Sun you're seeing directly up is 8 minutes delayed?
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