One in four Americans doesn't know Earth revolves around the Sun, survey says

Eleven years in the life of the Sun, spanning most of solar cycle 23, as it progressed from solar minimum to maximum conditions and back to minimum (upper right) again, seen as a collage of ten full-disk images of the lower corona. Of note is the prevalence of activity and the relatively few years when our Sun might be described as “quiet.” Credit: SOHO EIT, ESA/NASA

National Science Foundation (NSF) conducted a survey to 2,200 people in America. The result: 26 percent of Americans didn't know that the "Earth revolve around the Sun." And 39 percent knew that the "universe began in a huge explosion."

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What is a Sundog?

Watch: Celestial 'Sun Dog' Illuminates Moscow Sky

While browsing the web, I landed to a page which features a "Sundog." Since I'm living in a tropical country, the chances are low for me to see this wonderful natural phenomenon.

Credit www.wunderground.com

A sun dog (or sundog), mock sun or phantom sun, scientific name parhelion (plural parhelia), is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun.

Sundogs may appear as a colored patch of light to the left or right of the sun, 22° distant and at the same distance above the horizon as the sun, and in ice halos. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any season, but they are not always obvious or bright. Sundogs are best seen and are most conspicuous when the sun is low.

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