Sister, Sister, Where Does the Sun Go at Night?

Sister, sister, I wonder... What do you wonder, little brother, What do you wonder? I wonder, I wonder, Where the sun goes at night. Where do you think, little brother, Where do you think? I think, I think... Tell me, little brother, What do you think?

I think That maybe, a demon. The terrible black demon Of Darkness Eats up the sun each night For dinner. See how the blue sky, at sunset, Is stained red with his blood?

But the sun The glorious brave shining golden sun He fights the Darkness demon All night, every night And by morning, He’s whole again and back to rule. That’s where I think the sun goes at night. Into the mouth of a monster After a terrible fight. I’m clever, aren’t I, sister?

Oh yes you are, little brother, oh yes you are And maybe you are right, too... But in the books that I have read That is not what they said. Then what did they say, sister, What did they say? What do you think, little brother, What do you think? I think, I think... Tell me, little brother, what do you think?

I think That maybe, while it is night Here on earth, It is a glorious day in The ocean's darkest depths. And the mermaids come dancing out Of their undersea caves To frolic with the sharks.

We have seen it ourselves When we went to Mumbai last summer. Remember How the sun lets go of the sky Each evening at dusk And slides soundlessly into the sea? That’s were I think the sun goes at night To flood the underwater With golden light. I’m clever, aren’t I sister?

Of course you are, little brother, Of course you are And maybe you are right, too... But in the books that I have read That is not what they said. Then what did they say, sister, What did they say? What do you think, little brother, What do you think?

I think, I think... Tell me, little brother, what do you think? I think That maybe there is no mystery. That maybe the sun is just like Father. He goes home tired each night After a long day At work.

And his wife, like Mother, Fusses over him, shushes the kids, Covers him with a night-dark blanket of stars, And hopes his snoring will not keep her awake all night.

And every morning, the sun Shrugs off his star-blanket, Paints the dawn sky red with his sleepy eyes And gets back to work. That’s where I think the sun goes at night. Home to bed until it is light. I’m clever, aren’t I, sister?

I know you are, little brother, I know you are, And maybe you’re right, too... But in the books that I have read That is not what they said. Then what did they say, sister, What did they say? Come here, little brother, I’ll tell you what they said. They said, they said... Tell me, sister, what did they say?

They said That the earth is like a ball That the ball goes around the sun Spinning like the red top Mother got you from the Saturday market, But slower.

And they said Every spin of the earth Is as long as a day And a night. I asked about the sun, sister, I asked about the sun. I am coming to that, little brother, Be patient now.

They said When our part of the earth The half where we live Is turned towards the sun We have day. And when the other half Is turned towards the sun And ours Is turned away We have night.

They said That’s where the sun goes at night To bathe the other half in glorious light. Can it be true, sister, can it be true? I can’t say, little brother, I can’t say. But in all the books that I have read That is what they said.

FIND OUT MORE!

Where does the sun go at night? The earth is a sphere that revolves around the sun, along with the seven other planets of the solar system. One revolution of the earth around the sun takes one calendar year.

While it is going around the sun, the earth also spins on its own axis. Each ‘spin’ takes 24 hours, that is, a day and a night. Whichever part of the earth is facing the sun has day. At the same time, the other half of the earth (the part turned away from the sun) has night. Then the earth slowly spins around and the half that was in darkness (that is, the half that was turned away from the sun) now faces the sun. So this half has day, and the other half, which turned away from the sun has night. So, in reality, the sun does not really go anywhere at night!

Try this experiment!

To understand how the earth’s rotation causes day and night, try this simple exercise.

You need: A small rubber ball A big torch Some felt pens A friend

What to do: Imagine that the rubber ball is the earth. Using the felt pens, draw the map of the world on the rubber ball. Now, imagine that the torch is the sun. Ask your friend to switch on the torch.

Place the ball (the earth) directly in the path of the torch beam (sunlight), so that India is facing the sun. Turn the ball around slowly. What do you see? When India is facing the sun, the Americas are in darkness.

As India begins to turn away from the sun, Europe and Africa come into the ‘sunlight’. Then, as the ‘earth’ continues to turn, the Americas come into the light and India becomes dark.

Keep turning the ball till India faces the sun again. This is what happens every time the earth turns around on its axis. During each rotation, India (and every other place on earth) has one day and one night.