sun and moon

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understandinguncertainty.org was produced by the Winton programme for the public understanding of risk based in the Statistical Laboratory in the University of Cambridge. The aim was to help improve the way that uncertainty and risk are discussed in society, and show how probability and statistics can be both useful and entertaining.

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I have always thought that one of nature's greatest coincidences is the fact that when the moon passes in front of the sun, the relative distances are such that the discs are of almost identical size when viewed from earth, thus enabling us to see the outer corona of the sun. I am not aware of any physical square-law or such-like which explains why this should be so. V J P
Total votes: 293
Date submitted:Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:54:53 +0000Coincidence ID:4152