Shadow Measurements for Schenectady High School
Dr. Eric Christian of NASA GSFC is in Antarctica for the launch of the balloon-borne instrument, TIGER. These are measurements of the shadow length for a flag that sticks 1.00 meters above the snow.
The accuracy of these measurements is hampered by a couple of things. The edge of the shadow can probably only be determined to about 0.5 cm. Small scale irregularities in the snow surface also might add 0.5 cm of error. Large scale sloping of the ground could affect the overall measurement. The time of measurement is probably within about 3 minutes, although the Nov. 22, 0800 measurement may have been as late as 0812 because of set up problems.
The pictures were really hard to take, because I had to line them up somewhat blind, since neither the optical or digital viewfinders were much good with the sun in the image. And I still haven't found a level place in McMurdo that I can take evening and nighttime measurements from.
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Date & Time
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Shadow Length
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Image
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November 22, 2001, 0800
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272.1 cm
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November 22, 2001, 0900
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240.0 cm
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November 22, 2001, 1000
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208.7 cm
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November 22, 2001, 1100
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190.8 cm
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November 22, 2001, 1300
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166.5 cm
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November 22, 2001, 1400
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163.7 cm
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November 22, 2001, 1500
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164.7 cm
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November 22, 2001, 1600
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173.4 cm
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Dr. Eric R. Christian
Eric's Featured Scientist Profile
This page was last modified on December 19,
2002
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