Sunset is defined as the instant that the top of the sun disappears below the horizon. How long is it from the time when the bottom of the sun hits the horizon until the instant of sunset assuming that you are standing on the equator on march 21. Call this time t(instant) & find it in seconds?

Question

anonymous · Answer

can any1 help me here??

anonymous · Answer

what's so special about the 21st of march?

anonymous · Answer

nothing it's just an assumption i guess!

anonymous · Answer

well in that case, you just need two pieces of data:
1. the period of the earth on that day (this would be 24 hours unless you're looking for high precision)
2. the angle the sun subtends on the eye of the observer:|dw:1358525983246:dw|
I would approximate this to 0.5 degrees.

If the sun takes 24 hours/86400 seconds to complete 360 degrees, how much time should it take to traverse though 0.5 degrees?
$$\frac{0.5 \times 86400}{360}$$

anonymous · Answer

ohh gr8! thnx a lot...

anonymous · Answer

yw :)