My Sun Doesn't Rise

Light heralds day, signifying that the night is ending. 

We see the world brighten gradually.  

The sun appears to us as creeping above the horizon in the east.  

But it doesn't really rise.  

It only appears that way.  

It's me that's coming into the sun's view while standing on this spot on the earth.  

Why don't we call it "earth spin" instead of "sunrise"?  

Depending on where we are located, we are moving between 500-700 miles per hour spinning eastward. 

It doesn't feel that way because everything else is moving with us.  But, if the earth were to stop spinning, the atmosphere would continue moving around at about 1,000 miles per hour. Dr. Sten Odenwald tells us that, "as a result, everything not attached to bedrock would pretty much be scoured clean".  

He doesn't believe that this could happen.  

But, he does tell us that it is possible for the earth to slow down gradually.

He says:

"If the process happened gradually over billions of years, the situation would be very different, and it is this possibility which is the most likely as the constant torquing of the Sun and Moon upon the Earth finally reaches it's conclusion. If the rotation period slowed to 1 rotation every 365 days a condition called 'sun synchronous', every spot in the Earth would have permanent daytime or nighttime all year long. This is similar to the situation on the Moon where for 2 weeks the front-side is illuminated by the Sun, and for 2 weeks the back side is illuminated. This situation for the Earth is not the condition of 'stopped' rotation, but it is as close as the laws of physics will let the Earth get." 

 So, earth's spin causes daylight.  

I think we may run the risk of misunderstanding what's actually happening if we don't stop to think about it.  There's a lot more to it, but this is enough for now.

I enjoy seeing the sun when it appears in the morning; it's good to know that it's still out there 93 million miles away doing it's job.