Two Liberal Arts Graduates Attempt to Explain the Setting Sun to a 2-Year-Old

Henry: “It’s gettin’ darker and darker.”

Me: “The sun goes away every night and then comes back in the morning.”

Sarah: “The sun is always moving, and sometimes it lights up certain parts of the earth, and other times it lights up the other parts. So when it’s nighttime here, it’s daytime somewhere else.”

Me: “Well, I think the earth is actually doing the moving.”

Sarah: “Right, yeah. Well, they’re both moving but the Earth’s movement is the relevant one to this particular issue.”

Henry: “It’s gettin’ darker and darker!”

Me: “The Sun is orbiting? Around what?”

Sarah: “Around the center of the Milky Way. I remember from Astronomy.”

Me: “You’re suggesting that we’re orbiting a sun that is itself orbiting the Milky Way.”

Sarah: “Yes, and in fact there is also a moon orbiting us.”

Henry: “The sun is moving?”

Me: “Well, the earth is moving; that’s why the Sun is going down.”

Henry: “We are moving?”

Sarah: “That’s correct, but the sun is also moving.”

Henry: “It’s gettin’ darker and darker.”