Explanation: Tomorrow is the autumnal equinox -- should eggs be able to stand on end? This long-standing myth loses much of its mystique after a demonstration that eggs can be made to stand on end during any day of the year. Pictured above, Dr. Phil Plait, acting as the Bad Astronomer balanced three raw eggs on end in late October 1998. Later, more modestly, his wife balanced five more. The little-appreciated fact that most eggshells have small bumps on them makes this seemingly impossible task achievable. Although, during an equinox, every place on Earth experiences an equal length day and night (12 hours each), this fact has no practical effect on egg stability.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
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& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: equinox
Publications with words: equinox
See also:
- APOD: 2024 September 22 Á Chicagohenge: Equinox in an Aligned City
- Sunrise Shadows in the Sky
- APOD: 2024 March 19 Á A Picturesque Equinox Sunset
- APOD: 2023 March 19 Á Equinox at the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent
- Equinox Sunrise Around the World
- September Sunrise Shadows
- A Picturesque Equinox Sunset