Saturday, May 14, 2011

Getting it the right way around

Moving from one hemisphere to another can really mess with ones internal mapping. OK, so I'm no homing pigeon, but for years now I could not understand certain things from when our family traveled overseas to the northern hemisphere. It all has to do with the sun changing sides. So we headed along a coast in Italy and the sun said that you were heading up the coast to the north. Firstly your brain is confused as the sun is coming up and yet it is where you would expect it to be if the sun was setting. Only years later did I notice that our trip was to the south and a rising sun, it's just that my brain had not changed hemispheres with me.
Now sailing along many years later as the Big Dipper sinks into the sea and can no longer point to Polaris, we cross the equator again into the southern hemisphere. At zero degrees Polaris glides below the horizon never to be seen again should we not venture north. Now it's time for the southern sky to rise up out of the ocean as we slowly head south. The moon is still lazy and is lying on its belly. It still needs to stand up and bend out and reach towards the southern constellations. At least it is now no longer the wrong way around. And if you are coming south from the north... remember, you are now down under so your world will be upside down.

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