uppose you are on a strange planet and observe, at night, that the stars do not rise and set, but circle parallel to the horizon. Next, you walk in a constant direction for 6000 kms, and at your new location on the planet, you find that all stars rise straight up in the east and set straight down in the west, perpendicular to the horizon. How could you determine the circumference of the planet without any further observations? What is the circumference, in kms, of the planet?
Suppose you are on a strange planet and observe, at night, that the stars do not rise and set, but
circle parallel to the horizon. Next, you walk in a constant direction for 6000 kms, and at your
new location on the planet, you find that all stars rise straight up in the east and set straight down
in the west, perpendicular to the horizon. How could you determine the circumference of the
planet without any further observations? What is the circumference, in kms, of the planet?
When the stars neither rise nor sets but circles parallel to the horizon, the person must be at the pole. When at the equator, the stars rise and set perpendicular to the horizon.
Thus, the person walks from the pole to the equator which is a quarter of the circumference.
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