Solstice sunsThe sun on its annual cyclical journey between solstices changes in the sky. One obviou
Solstice sunsThe sun on its annual cyclical journey between solstices changes in the sky. One obvious difference arises in terms of how far northeast (summer in the northern hemisphere) or southeast (winter in the northern hemisphere) it rises. I’ve stood on my balcony corner on 21 June and 21 December and marked the sunset point against familiar landmarks, and used the angular spread between the two to estimate my latitude. It also rises higher in the sky during summer and lower during winter, while shining for more or less hours a day in each season. Today marks the peak of the orb’s southward journey, as seen from Earth’s northern half, and marks a wintery shortest day in boreal climes. The photos were taken in Maine at 43 degrees north of the equator, where seasonality is pronounced (the closer one gets to the equator, the more equal day and night become). One snap was taken every hour during the two solstice days at opposite ends of the year. The summer solstice shows 14 hours, with the sun rising much higher (68 degrees) above the horizon on June 21st, while the winter photo has only 9 suns, rising to only 22 degrees.LozImage credit: John Stetson via APOD -- source link
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