Page 140 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

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CHAPTER 8 EARTH, MOON, SUN, PLANETS
CHAPTER 8 EARTH, MOON, SUN, PLANETS 119
The sun and the moon do appear, to an earthly observer, as of equal size.
For an innocent observer of the moon and the sun (when the latter is observed,
hopefully, with some eye protection), there is no way of knowing, unaided by a
telescope, that the sun is indeed larger than the moon. The reason for this peculiar
phenomenon is made clear by Figure 8.1: the observation angles of the circumfer-
ential edges of the moon and the sun are equal.
This peculiar coincidence is caused by the sun’s diameter being about 400
times larger than that of the moon; however, the sun is also about 390 times fur-
ther away. The exact ratios are given below.

Ratio of diameters (sun to moon, km):

1.391x10 / 3474.8 = 400.3
6

Ratio of distances (“sun to earth” vs. “moon to earth,” km):

149,597,890 / 384,401 = 389.17

(Source: the NASA Web site, http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook, and also

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/the_universe/uts/intro.html.)

Figure 8.1. Observation angle of the moon and the sun (from Earth).