[ICanScienceThat]

This is a comment I see from time to time, and I wondered if anyone here holds this same idea... It goes like this...
If the Earth really works the way science tells us, then the night sky in the summer is pointing in the opposite direction from the night sky in the winter. If that were true, there would be no way to see the same stars in the winter and the summer.
Such was a comment on one of my videos, and I was thinking of addressing it, but I wasn't sure how common a belief it is.
Is that an idea that anyone here holds?

Short version, we don't see the same stars... but does everybody here already know that? Is that a mistake we only see out in YouTube land?

[Tumeni]

It goes like this... 
If the Earth really works the way science tells us, then the night sky in the summer is pointing in the opposite direction from the night sky in the winter. If that were true, there would be no way to see the same stars in the winter and the summer.

I think those that propose this are only thinking in a limited fashion. They're looking at the cardinal direction of the planet, and impying that those on that side of the planet can only look one way. But someone at the mid-point of that cardinal direction can look directly up (in that cardinal direction), and also all around (360 degrees) down to their horizon (90 degrees or so from the cardinal direction)



Zoom in on the Earth, and

[ICanScienceThat]

I thought that too, but I've actually discovered that they think we see the same stars every night. The guy who posted most recently cited Orion as his example. Orion isn't even visible in the night sky in the northern hemisphere right now, but that's the one he cited as "in the same place every night". So maybe he's just trolling. But Phuket Word (who lives in Thailand so presumably is observing from near the equator) made a video claiming to see the same stars in the same place every night. He showed some stars above his roof at different times of the night at different times of the year. Naturally, they were different stars each night, but that was his claim.

Anyway... maybe nobody here on TFES makes that mistake.

[Tumeni]

Phuket Word (who lives in Thailand so presumably is observing from near the equator) made a video claiming to see the same stars in the same place every night.

I've tried to have reasonable interactions with PW to point out the errors of his ways, but it's a lost cause.

[Science Supporter]

The reason we do see the same stars every night is because of the vast distances in space. They are like hundreds of light years away, so the paralax angle is very insignificant. Therefore, we don't see much difference. Earth's orbit is 180 miles in diameter, compare that to the distance to the nearest star.

[ICanScienceThat]

Science Supporter, you make a fair point about the vast distances. That is certainly part of the misunderstanding here. However, I want to stress once more, that we do NOT see the same stars every night.

Consider Orion. Where is Orion going to be in the sky tonight? Which way should I look to find it? From here in LA, Orion will be setting due west at 8 pm tonight, and won't rise again until 9 am. That's going to make it pretty hard to even see, and yet I distinctly remember seeing Orion in the night sky. How is that possible? That's because I live in the northern hemisphere, and Orion is in the night sky in the winter here. In the summer, it's in the daytime sky.

We see different stars at different times of the year - exactly as predicted by the orbit of the Earth.

[Auditor]

This would seem to only be a problem with people who have trouble recognizing the difference in what they are looking at. The folks here may not have that misconception, hopefully.

It is a very low gradient observation skill level.

[tellytubby]

Consider Orion. Where is Orion going to be in the sky tonight? Which way should I look to find it? From here in LA, Orion will be setting due west at 8 pm tonight, and won't rise again until 9 am. That's going to make it pretty hard to even see, and yet I distinctly remember seeing Orion in the night sky. How is that possible? That's because I live in the northern hemisphere, and Orion is in the night sky in the winter here. In the summer, it's in the daytime sky.

Entirely correct. Last night at around 11.30pm local time to me in the UK the stars of Ophiuchus were rising in the SE. Right now at a little after noon the following day, so the stars of Orion will occupy the same region of sky. Being broad daylight I cannot of course see any of the stars in Orion with the naked eye. But I have a telescope set up permanently in my garden which is lined up with the sky.  I will turn on the mount and my camera very shortly and providing I can see a clear patch of sky I should be able to find both Betelgeuse and Rigel quite clearly.