A day in the sky, a year on the earth? If an astronaut stays on the moon for one day, how long has it been on Earth?
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Legend has it that in ancient times, there were ten suns that dried up the earth and made it difficult for the people to survive. The marksman Hou Yi decided to save the people. He climbed a high mountain and shot down nine suns with an arrow, warning the last sun:You must rise and fall on time every day, benefiting the people.
Hou Yi's efforts to eliminate harm for the people were deeply loved by the people. As a result, the Queen Mother of the West on Kunlun Mountain gave him an elixir of immortality, which he could take to ascend to heaven and become an immortal.However, Hou Yi deeply loved his wife Chang'e and did not want to fly alone, so he hid the elixir in his family's treasure chest.Hou Yi's disciple Pang Meng somehow learned about this matter, so he took advantage of Hou Yi's absence to steal medicine. This happened to be encountered by Chang'e. Faced with Pang Meng's threats and temptations, Chang'e, who was kind-hearted, thought to herself: If such people were to take the elixir, would the common people soon suffer great misfortune?As Pang Meng was about to find the treasure chest, Chang'e grabbed the medicine and took a sip.
As a result, Chang'e flew up to the moon. After Hou Yi returned, he was heartbroken, but he could not catch up with the moon in any way.The villagers mourned Chang'e and placed her favorite mooncakes in the courtyard, praying for her and Hou Yi to reunite as soon as possible. Therefore, the 15th day of the eighth month became a symbol of reunion during the Mid Autumn Festival.
Regarding the Moon Palace, the ancients said that there was a day in the sky and a year on the ground.Many people believe that this is just a myth, but the experience of astronauts on the moon tells us that this may be a misunderstanding.
The beginning of human lunar landing
The beginning of human lunar landingThe Soviet Union successfully launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957, which shocked the entire United States.Afterwards, in 1961, the Soviet Union sent the first astronaut, Yuri Gagarin, into space, becoming the world's first human to enter space. This series of events has put pressure on the United States' technology and reputation in space exploration.
In this context,US President John F. Kennedy delivered an important speech to Congress on May 25, 1961, in which he said, 'I believe this country should achieve a goal within this decade: that Americans will safely land on the moon and return to Earth.'.Regardless of its significance for science or for humanity in times of peace, this goal should be achieved This declaration sparked the enthusiasm and determination of the entire country, becoming a landmark moment in the history of American space exploration. Subsequently, NASA began a large-scale research and development program.
The Apollo program achieved great success on July 20, 1969. Astronaut Neil Armstrong from the Apollo 11 mission became the first human to land on the moon. At the moment he landed on the moon, he famously said, "This is a small step for me and a big step for humanityThis historic moment has been witnessed by television audiences around the world, becoming one of the most iconic events in the history of space exploration.
Afterwards, the United States continued its lunar missions, conducting a total of six manned missions, the last of which was in 1972. The lunar landing program is a highly challenging technological achievement for the United States, not only showcasing its leadership in space exploration, but also making significant contributions to scientific research and technological innovation, making it one of the most glorious periods of American history.
Time on the Moon
The most important task after landing on the moon is various detection work, with various soil, water sources, environmental and other data within the detection range, and time is no exception. Some people may have doubts, what can be detected by time, isn't it all 24 hours a day? The fact is not.
Copernicus proposed the heliocentric theory in the 16th century, believing that the sun is the center of the universe, while Earth and other planets orbit the sun. In heliocentric theory, the rotation of celestial bodies is an important viewpoint. According to this theory, planets and other celestial bodies have their own axis of rotation, similar to the rotation of the Earth. This means that they will rotate around their own axis, completing the cycle of one day. This viewpoint is of great significance for understanding the motion of celestial bodies and astronomical phenomena.
Subsequently, Einstein proposed the theory of relativity in the early 20th century, which revolutionized the scientific community's understanding of time and space.Relativity states that time and space are interrelated and depend on the observer's state of motion and the strength of the gravitational field.This leads to an important viewpoint: the concept of time on different planets is relative and completely different. This means that Earth's day is about 24 hours, but other planets are probably not.
Through on-site testing and scientific research, it has been found that one side of the moon always faces Earth because it is a satellite of the Earth, locked in by the Earth's tides, and its rotational and orbital velocities are completely consistent, with a period of approximately 27.32 days. That is to say, its day is equivalent to 27.32 days of Earth, and its day is also its year.This leads to a paradox, is a 26 year old person living on the moon for a year, and is he returning to Earth at the same age as the son he gave birth to a year ago?
Wrong perception of time
To be sure, this is a common misconception. In human daily life, we usually use the sun, moon, clock, and other reference objects to perceive and measure the passage of time. These celestial bodies and tools provide a relatively stable reference framework that enables us to organize and measure time.
However, time itself is an abstract concept, which is the way we describe the sequence and persistence of events. In physics, time is described as a dimension that, together with space, forms the framework of spacetime.According to the perspective of general relativity, time and space are closely connected and influenced by the gravitational field and the motion state of objects.Therefore, when we leave Earth, the solar system, and even the Milky Way, the passage of time will be affected differently.
The Earth's one day (24 hours) is divided based on the phenomenon of Earth's rotation.Specifically, the Earth's rotation refers to the time it takes for the Earth to rotate around its own axis once. The Earth's rotation cycle is approximately 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1 seconds, known as a stellar day or stellar day.The calendar time we usually use is divided based on the observation of the sun on Earth, that is, the position of the Earth relative to the sun and the movement of the sun in the sky. This is called solar day or daily time.
Due to the simultaneous rotation of the Earth around the sun, the sun's height and lighting patterns remain similar to some extent every day.In order to match the Earth's orbital period, we divide a day into 24 hours, each hour into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds.This time division system is called the International System of Units (SI) time. On the moon, if it still revolves around the moon for one day, then one hour on the moon is equivalent to more than 20 hours on Earth, and the time spent is the same. One lunar day is equivalent to approximately 27.32 Earth days, which means that from the perspective of the moon, a 27.32 Earth year old person is equivalent to just one lunar year old. It can be considered that they are different units of time, just like 1 meter equals 100 centimeters.
The global average life expectancy in 2021 is 71.3 years. Taking this as an example, if a person is born on the moon, they can only live about 2.6 lunar years. Of course, this assumption is not valid now because we have not yet been able to establish a base on the moon, and even after the United States, no country has sent people to the moon.
epilogue
The ancient saying 'one day in the sky, one year in the sky' is actually a very accurate statement.Because this sentence originally described the time that the sun travels on the ecliptic for one day, which is equivalent to one year of Earth.
Looking at the sun from Earth, we will find that the sun will move in the background of the starry sky, passing through 13 zodiac constellations in sequence and orbiting exactly once. The required time is approximately 365.25 days, which is one year of Earth. When ancient people observed this phenomenon, they easily had the view that "the Earth is the center of the universe" and "the sky is one day, one day, and one year". But later we learned that the Earth revolves around the Sun, and the ecliptic itself is caused by changes in the Earth's position. However, in any case, the ancient saying 'one day in the sky, one year in the sky' is very accurate.
Even from a narrow perspective, it cannot be ruled out that there are celestial bodies in the universe with a rotation period of 365.25 days, such as Venus, which is very close to Earth, with an astonishing rotation period of 243 days. The vastness of the universe is truly remarkable.
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