Today's Report Includes:

• Read ALL about It! Most Recent Data
• Clues from the Mystery Classes
• A Sneak Peek from Space
• Good Questions Spring Up on the Equinox: CQ #5
• Seasonal Cycles vs. Daily Cycles: CQ #6
• Eggstraordinary Events and Reminder
• Are More Clues on the Way? Check the Calendar
  

The eighth set of Sunrise/Sunset data has now arrived from your Mystery friends, and so too has the second set of Clues.

** Be sure to read the other sections of the Update too because you never know where other "sneak peeks" might be hiding.

This Week's Sunrise/Sunset Data Need to Catch Up? All Sunrise/Sunset Data to Date

Would you like to see your Mystery sites a little early? Here's a sneak peek. The locations of many of the secret sites are shown in this recent image of Earth from Space, captured about the time of sunrise at Greenwich, England on the equinox.

But where are the Mystery Classes? Of course we can't tell you their EXACT locations, but see if this gets you a little closer...

Get a Sneak Peek

A few weeks ago, we asked you to think about what your photoperiod graphs would look like on the equinox. It is said that every place on Earth has the same amount of daylight and night on the equinox, twelve hours each. Is that what you discovered with this week's data? As some of you may have observed, many locations do not appear to have EXACTLY twelve hours of equal day and night on the equinox. This made us wonder:

Challenge Question #5:
"Why don't all locations appear to have EXACTLY twelve hours of day and night on the equinox?"

SEASONAL Cycles vs. DAILY Cycles
A 5th Grade Class in New Jersey raised a good question. They wondered if the equinox happens at the same time in New Jersey and California. Their question points out a very common confusion between Earth's SEASONAL and DAILY cycles. Let's see if we can explain the difference:

* Moments in seasonal cycles (e.g., spring and fall equinox, summer and winter solstice) occur everywhere on Earth at the same time. They relate to the Earth's location in space as it revolves around the sun. Everybody is on the same Earth!

* Moments in daily cycles (e.g., sunrise, noon, sunset) occur at different moments in different places on Earth. They relate to Earth's spinning (rotating) on its axis. (As Earth rotates each day, the sun hits different areas.) Everybody is NOT on the same place on Earth!

Now try this:

Challenge Question #6:
"Try to explain in your own words or with a diagram why the equinox occurs everywhere on Earth at the same time. Then explain why sunrise and sunset happen at different times in different places on Earth."

To respond to these Challenge Questions, please follow these instructions