by Nitpicker » Mon Sep 30, 2013 5:09 am
Anthony Barreiro wrote:Northward, Northern, Southward, and Southern are fine for those who already understand what you mean by them, but are likely to befuddle those who don't, and would be ambiguous for those who aren't sure if you're talking about the movement of the Earth's noontime equator relative to the ecliptic or the apparent motion of the Sun in Earth's sky.
Most people know the difference between North and South. For those that don't, it is easy: to find North, face South, then turn around.
If that doesn't help in the slightest, not even to raise a smile, then there's not much to be done I'm afraid. Enjoy the sunshine.
I don't see the ambiguity though. Whether you think of the position of the Sun relative to the Ecliptic [
Edit: sorry, relative to the Celestial Equator], or just its position in the sky for that time of year, the North/South descriptors still hold true, for everyone on the planet.
[quote="Anthony Barreiro"]Northward, Northern, Southward, and Southern are fine for those who already understand what you mean by them, but are likely to befuddle those who don't, and would be ambiguous for those who aren't sure if you're talking about the movement of the Earth's noontime equator relative to the ecliptic or the apparent motion of the Sun in Earth's sky.[/quote]
Most people know the difference between North and South. For those that don't, it is easy: to find North, face South, then turn around. :) If that doesn't help in the slightest, not even to raise a smile, then there's not much to be done I'm afraid. Enjoy the sunshine.
I don't see the ambiguity though. Whether you think of the position of the Sun relative to the Ecliptic [[i]Edit: sorry, relative to the Celestial Equator[/i]], or just its position in the sky for that time of year, the North/South descriptors still hold true, for everyone on the planet.