For a long time, humanity has puzzled over how the change of day and night occurs. It’s hard to believe, but just a few centuries ago, no one living on earth had any idea how exactly this complex process worked. So, in times of uncertainty, people simply figured out how the sun hides, depriving everyone and everything around of its cozy light, and from where a lonely moon comes out in its place. Today we will try to talk about the most interesting fairy-tale explanations for the change of day and night, many of which are really hard to believe.
Hindu interpretation
The legend of the devotees of the god Krishna says that from the very beginning there was always a bright day on earth and darkness never came. The very first inhabitants on the planet were Yami and Yama, brother and sister who loved each other very much. One day, Yami died and his sister was inconsolable. She cried constantly until Krishna took pity on her and created night. God did this not by chance, but so that during oblivion, that is, sleep, Yama would let go of her grief and gradually come to her senses. By the way, in India they still remember this legend and tell it to their children to explain the natural phenomenon of the change of day and night in a fairy-tale form.
Interpretation of American Apaches
The ancient Mayan Indians, distinguished by their insight and ability to predict the future, were sure that the sun was swallowed at night by some huge creature living behind the mountains. When early morning comes, this monster spits it out, and the world is filled with light and warmth again. By the way, this fabulous explanation of the change of night and day is very reminiscent of the story of the luminary, which was swallowed by the famous crocodile Korney Chukovsky.
Egyptian theory
The ancient Egyptians were considered one of the most advanced civilizations on the planet, otherwise how to explain their truly divine buildings? So they, being pagans, believed that the wise Ra descends into the darkness at night and there each time wins the right to a new day. At the same time, with his terrible sword he fights to the death with ominous monsters and monsters.
Another fabulous explanation for the change of day and night refutes the presence of two luminaries in the system of the universe. It implies that only the sun lives in the sky, which during daylight hours gallops around the planet on white horses, and at night harnesses black horses to its troika. By the way, many children's fairy tales around the world use a similar allegory.
Russian truth
In Rus', they adhered to a theory regarding family ties. No matter how strange it may sound, our ancestors boiled down the fairy-tale explanation for the change of day and night to the family relationship between brother and sister, who were in a centuries-old quarrel with each other. They thought that the sister was day and the personification of life, and the brother was considered night and the product of death. None of them wanted to meet, so when they saw the outline of a relative from a distance, the other immediately hurried to leave. There is confirmation of this fact in Russian folk tales and riddles.
Perhaps these are all the most interesting fairy-tale explanations of the change of day and night, which could only be invented in ancient times, because now everyone knows how their alternation occurs.
MESSAGE ON THE TOPIC
"The change of night and day"
students of grade 4 "G" of secondary school No. 24
Angelica
Angeliki Gennadievna
Simferopol
2015
A day is a cycle of time during which the sun, rising from the east, passes across the sky and sets in the west, then, when night falls on our half of the earth, the sun makes a revolution from the other part of the planet and rises again from the east.
A day lasts exactly 24 hours. Each hour consists of 60 minutes. Every minute of 60 seconds.
How does the change of day and night occur on earth?
Due to its rotation around its axis, the Earth sometimes faces the Sun with one side or the other. Consequently, the sun's rays fall first on one side and then on the other side of the earth's surface. On the side facing the Sun we have day, on the opposite side we have night. This is how the change of day and night occurs.
Conventionally, the time of day is divided into several parts:
- Morning - begins with the dawn of the sky in its eastern part and the sun rising over the horizon.
- Day - the movement of the sun across the sky from east to west.
- Evening - sunset in the western sky and the gradually fading colors of the sunset.
- Night - Night time. At this time, the sun passes on the other side of the globe relative to us.
Since the Earth consists of continents located on both sides of the globe, the time of day in each part of the Earth is different. So, if the night is still lasting in New York, then in London it is already morning, in Moscow it is midday, and in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky it is already evening.
Changing the time of day
Many photographers tried to capture the change of day and night. By taking many pictures in a row from one position, it was possible to trace the smooth movement of the sun across the sky, see the movement of the stars, and get beautiful videos of sunrise and sunset. Features of time-lapse photography are when a camera mounted on a tripod in a stationary position takes a series of photographs at certain intervals over a long period.
If the length of the day is constant, then the duration of the components of the time of day varies depending on the time of year. This is due to the tilt of the earth and the movement around the sun along an elliptical path. So in summer, daylight lasts longer than night, and in winter, on the contrary, the night is longer than the day.
Moreover, in different parts of the globe the length of day and night is different. For example, in Crimea it gets dark quickly in the summer, the night is dark, and in St. Petersburg June is famous for its “white nights”, the sun sets not far below the horizon and therefore the nights seem bright.
Different times of day look and feel different. This is connected with the biological (internal) clock by which a person is accustomed to living (day - wakefulness, night - sleep) and with the variety of color contrast, as well as with mood. By the morning, strength increases, the day passes in study, business, work, and in the evening there is fatigue, gradual withdrawal, rest and sleep.
Twice a year the Earth is in such a position relative to the Sun that its surface facing it is illuminated completely from the north to the south pole. Twice a year the Earth is in such a position relative to the Sun that its surface facing it is illuminated completely from the north to the south pole. At this time, all over the globe, day is equal to night. These are the days of the spring (March 21) and autumn (September 23) equinoxes. This time throughout the globe, day is equal to night. These are the days of the spring (March 21) and autumn (September 23) equinoxes.
For the inhabitants of the Earth, the constant change of day and night is a common occurrence. All life on the planet is subject to the rhythmic alternation of dark and light times of day. However, this does not happen on all planets. For example, on Venus, which rotates very slowly around its axis, a year lasts less than two Venusian days. Jupiter rotates on its axis in about five Earth hours, and Saturn in ten.
The Earth makes a complete revolution around its axis in 23 hours 56 minutes 4.1 seconds, during which time day gives way to night - the sidereal day passes. The sidereal day is understood as the time of a complete revolution of our planet around its axis relative to the stars, considering them to be infinitely distant.
The alternation of day and night creates favorable conditions for all life on Earth. As you know, the Earth has the shape of a ball, and its axis of rotation is constantly inclined to the orbital plane at an angle of 66°33"22". Because of this, the sun's rays illuminate different parts of the earth's surface differently, therefore the length of day and night is different everywhere. It depends on the geographic latitude and time of year.
Only twice a year - on the days of the spring and autumn equinox (March 20-21 and September 23 - approx.) the length of day and night is the same at all latitudes of the Earth and is equal to 12 hours. The sun at this time is at its zenith above the equator, and the terminator - the line separating light and shadow on the surface of the planet, passes through the poles, coinciding with the direction of the meridians. The sun's rays fall on the equator these days at an angle of 90°, and the Northern and Southern Hemispheres heat up evenly.
On the days of the summer and winter solstice (June 22 and December 22 - note from the site), the planet experiences the longest night and the shortest day. For example, on June 22, the Sun is at its zenith over the Tropic of the North (23°07" N). In the Northern Hemisphere on this day at all latitudes, the day is longer than night. North of the Arctic Circle (66°33" N). ) polar day is established - the Sun does not set below the horizon for days. At the Arctic Circle, the polar day lasts a day, and at the poles it lasts up to six months. The Southern Hemisphere is less illuminated on June 22 than the Northern Hemisphere. Here, at all latitudes, the day is shorter than the night, and in the southern polar region the polar night sets in.
The Earth moves around the Sun, but the tilt of the planet's axis of rotation remains constant. Gradually, the height of the Sun above the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere decreases, the days become shorter and the nights longer. Finally, September 23 arrives - the day of the autumnal equinox, when the length of day and night is equal at all latitudes. From this moment on, the Sun begins to illuminate the Southern Hemisphere more. On December 22, the day of the winter solstice, the hemispheres seem to change places. On this day in the Southern Hemisphere at all latitudes, the day is longer than the night, and there is a polar day beyond the Antarctic Circle. At the same time, polar night reigns in the northern subpolar regions.
White nights occur south and north of the polar circles in both hemispheres. At this time, evening twilight turns into morning, and darkness does not come. Beyond the Arctic Circle, white nights precede the polar day - approx. At different latitudes, white nights differ in duration: for example, in St. Petersburg they last from June 11 to July 2, and in Arkhangelsk - from May 13 to July 30.
The satellite of our planet, the Moon, rotates around its axis at such a speed that when moving around the Earth, it is constantly turned to one side. If the Earth moved around the Sun like the Moon and was constantly turned to it with one side, the natural conditions on the planet would change enormously. One hemisphere of the Earth would be illuminated all year round, while the other would be constantly in shadow. The illuminated hemisphere would heat up to a temperature of more than 100 ° C, which means that all rivers, seas and oceans would evaporate. On the dark side of the planet, the temperature would be below -100 ° C, here all the water would turn into ice. At the border of light and shadow, due to large temperature differences, hurricanes would rage, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions would occur.
The reasons for the change of day and night are the constant and cyclical rotation of the Earth around its axis. This process is quite rapid, but we manage to notice it on dark evenings or watching the morning dawn. Thanks to the rays of the Sun, the surface of the planet warms up, and we can see the changing darkness and light.
Rays of the Sun and Light of the Moon
The reasons for the change of day and night is that the Earth rotates around an axis that we can mentally imagine. But it simultaneously rotates relative to the Sun. This happens as it moves in orbit around the star.
The reasons for the change of day and night lie in the movement of the Earth along an axis passing through the poles of the planet. She manages to turn around in 24 hours. But around the Sun there is a slower rotation - every 365 days.
The reason for the change of day and night is the rotation of the planet. It's different on different continents. For example, in St. Petersburg there is a season of white nights, and polar days can last more than a month.
What causes uneven daylight hours?
The length of day and night is not the same everywhere due to the fact that the imaginary axis of the Earth is slightly tilted relative to the Sun. Therefore, the rays fall differently on different hemispheres. Thanks to the redistribution of heat, life exists on the planet.
Having time to cool down overnight, the planet warms up during the day. Vital metabolic processes take place. We see the Earth in such a familiar way thanks to the unique movement of the planet. On different continents, flora and fauna differ due to the length of the day.
The pole can be in the shadow for six months - this time is called the polar night. Then comes the day at the pole for the next six months. While it is night at the North Pole, it is day at the South Pole, and vice versa.
If there were no usual days?
Due to the fact that the Earth is evenly illuminated by the Sun, life exists on the planet. Let's imagine that it would stop rotating, and on one side there would always be day, and the other would be forever deprived of light. The hemisphere under the Sun would heat up to a temperature at which all living things would dry out.
The second part of the planet would begin to freeze due to lack of sunlight. So in the present we have an ideal planet for life. The diversity of living things is amazing, and this is only possible due to the rotation of the Earth. The change of both day and night is important, as are the changes in weather due to the arrival of different seasons.
The change of day and night is explained by the rotation of the earth around its axis. Why does the change of day and night occur? Once upon a time, in ancient times, people asked themselves this question and did not find an answer. Thousands of years passed before man understood and explained this phenomenon. The ancient Indian myth “The Tale of the Creation of Night” gives an idea of some of the features of the beliefs of the ancient Indians, who in their own way sought to interpret the origin of certain phenomena, for example the change of day and night, and talk about the meaning of time in human life. According to this myth, the first people on earth were a brother and sister named Yama and Yami. When his brother died, his sister endlessly mourned him, “shed inconsolable tears, and there was no end to her grief,” because then there was neither day nor night, and to all persuasion she answered: “But he died only today! “The gods realized that she would never calm down this way, and said: “So she will never forget him! Let's make the night! "And they created the night. And when the night passed, the morning came. In the morning, Yami was comforted and forgot about her grief. That’s why the Indians say: “The sequence of night and day brings oblivion of grief.” The wisdom contained in the myth “On the Creation of the Night” echoes Russian proverbs and sayings: “The morning is wiser than the evening,” “Time heals.” Such proverbs, like myths, arose in ancient times as one of the types of verbal art. And they also reflect the people’s attempts to understand and explain various phenomena of reality. And myths are also very similar to fairy tales, but if fairy tales are fictional embellished stories, then myths talk about what our distant ancestors sacredly believed in. The change of day and night in ancient times was explained as follows: some underground underwater monster with two heads - in front and behind - swallows the Sun in the evening, and spews it out in the morning. Day and Night, constantly warring brother and sister, are the embodiment of Light and Darkness. They seemed to the ancient peoples to be the highest, immortal beings: the deity of light - Day and the deity of darkness - Night. Appearing in the early morning at the edge of the sky, covered with the veil of night, the Sun seemed to be born from darkness, and its setting in the evening was likened to death; hiding to the west, it surrendered to the power of Morena, the goddess of night and death. At night, the Sun in a boat, drawn by swans, ducks, geese and other waterfowl, sails through the underground ocean. In the morning it sails to its golden palace in the east and soon leaves it in a chariot drawn by white golden-maned horses. This is how the daily cycle continues forever. Some legends say that the Sun travels around the firmament, changing horses: it rides light or white during the day, and black or black at night. The Morning and Evening Dawns harness one or another horse to his chariot. The likening of Night to black horses is found in fairy tales. Let us remember how a girl goes to get fire from Baba Yaga, the enchanting ruler of heavenly thunderstorms. Two riders fly past one by one - one is all white, on a white horse, the other is red on a red horse. The night, usually identified with dark clouds, is also called a black cow in myths. Even riddles are dedicated to this: “The black cow overcame the whole world”, “The black cow stabs people, and the white one resurrects” - that is, the night puts people to sleep, and the day awakens them. In Egyptian mythology, it was believed that the sun god Ra flies around the earth in a chariot, and when night falls, he passes through the underworld, fighting monsters, so that a new day can come! =)