Spinning Earth

The Spinning Earth - Help

The picture above shows you what all the parts of each Movie are showing you. Each part is explained in more detail below.

Sky Map

Sky Map The main part of the Movie shows the positions of the Sun and stars.
Because the sky is not flat, but is rather like a big dome over us, it is difficult to draw the whole sky in one go on a flat piece of paper or on the computer screen.
In these Movies, we have solved this problem by putting the sky inside a circle, with the horizon around the outside and the bit of the sky that would be right overhead in the middle of the circle.

Clock

Clock Each Movie covers 24-hours. The clocks in the bottom left hand corner show you the time as it changes.
There are two clocks, one with hands and one a "digital" clock. The digital clock is a 24-hour clock so you can tell the difference between the first lot of twelve hours and the second.
Both clocks give the time in GMT or Greenwich Mean Time. This is about the same as the time in the UK (although it is an hour out in the Summer) and is used all over the world as a Standard time. This means that you can easily compare the sky in different parts of the world at the same time.

Place on Earth

When you chose your Movie, you clicked on part of a map of the world. This part of the Movie reminds you where you clicked.

Month (Time of Year)

Month You also had to select a particular Month you were interested in. Again, this part of the Movie reminds you what you picked.

Sky Map
	The main part of the Movie shows the positions of the Sun and stars. Because the sky is not flat, but is rather like a big dome over us, it is difficult to draw the whole sky in one go on a flat piece of paper or on the computer screen. In these Movies, we have solved this problem by putting the sky inside a circle, with the horizon around the outside and the bit of the sky that would be right overhead in the middle of the circle.
Clock
	Each Movie covers 24-hours. The clocks in the bottom left hand corner show you the time as it changes. There are two clocks, one with hands and one a "digital" clock. The digital clock is a 24-hour clock so you can tell the difference between the first lot of twelve hours and the second. Both clocks give the time in GMT or Greenwich Mean Time. This is about the same as the time in the UK (although it is an hour out in the Summer) and is used all over the world as a Standard time. This means that you can easily compare the sky in different parts of the world at the same time.
Place on Earth
	When you chose your Movie, you clicked on part of a map of the world. This part of the Movie reminds you where you clicked.
Month (Time of Year)
	You also had to select a particular Month you were interested in. Again, this part of the Movie reminds you what you picked.