Thursday, January 21, 2016

Thirty Days Out from Winter Solstice

      January 21 signals that the winter solstice was 30 days ago. The winter solstice meant that it was dark and dreary with short days. We could satisfy ourselves by saying that from Dec 21 on the days will lengthen and we can look forward to spring.

     So I have a little comparison of Dec. 21 and Jan 21.


    Date            sunrise         sunset       hours of daylight

      Dec. 21              8:43                    4:23                       7:39

     Jan 21                  8:32                    4:59                       8:27

      
     So the sun rises 11 minutes earlier...not much is it?

    The sunsets 36 minutes later...nice gain.

    We get 47 minutes more sun than 30 days ago. 

     Not bad eh?  From now on the days start to lengthen at a faster rate and we start to notice the difference.

     How has your winter been going when it comes to hours of sunlight?

   

45 comments:

  1. My perception is that this winter has been much brighter and we've had more sunny days than the norm here in Vancouver. Yes, it rained a lot on the days it rained. But then we had long sunny spells. I enjoyed it a lot and it is good to know the daylight hours will accelerate. Have a great weekend.

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    1. We've had a nice winter. Not too much of anything like cold or snow. Just the right amounts.

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  2. It seems we are almost alike in the more sun every day !We have light until 17.00 a clock..but not light in the morning before 09.30..Here is a bit less cold now..but we are expecting a cold winther until easter.Beautiful snow covered trees Red!I hope you folks stay warm!Greetings Anita

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    1. Yes, more light everyday. I like the summer equinox when we have lots of sunlight and sun.

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  3. I'll be glad when we move the clocks hour ahead eh. My biological clock can not adjust to backward movement of time eh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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    1. I gues morning people like the hour ahead. It doesn't bother me either way. It seems easy to adjust.

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  4. i keep getting up earlier, the daylight savings plan doesn't work for me.

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    1. I do wake up earlier when it gets light earlier.

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  5. I have limited sunlight days. So gloomy

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    1. It's gloome her sometimes but we will get more sunlight and longer days.

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  6. I love that the days are getting longer. And we've had a pretty mild winter this year, which is a bonus! Spring will be here before we know it.

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    1. Yes, spring is close enough to start getting excited.

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  7. It makes such a difference. We had a marathon trip into Ottawa Hospital, but the sun was so warm, I could take my coat off in the car. Luxury!!!!

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    1. Yes, the sun is starting to have some power on south facing buildings.

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  8. It does seem like the days are getting a tad longer. I usually take a walk around dinnertime and there seems to be more light.

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    1. Hours of sunshine start to lengthen more more rapidly everyday.

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  9. I am enjoying the longer days, and yes I certainly notice it. The sun sets now at 4:49 instead of 4:15! And it rises before 8:00am, so we are going in the right direction all right. :-)

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    1. We are definitely going in the right direction. It seems very gloomy when we think back to Dec. 21.

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  10. First time visiting your blog :) I am enjoying the extra light we are getting in the evenings; haven't noticed too much of a difference yet in the mornings; but I finish work at 6 p.m. A month ago it was dark when I finished; now there is just a bit of light left and continuing to get lighter and lighter a bit more each day :) Definitely prefer that over the dark :)

    betty

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    1. Thanks for visiting Hiawatha House. I can enjoy either end. ..short or long days. It does make a difference if you're working.

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  11. Living in Scotland's Outer Hebrides I am always thankful for the shortening nights and our night is over an hours shorter now than it was on 21 December. By mid June we will have less than 6 hours of night however with a clear sky at midsummer we really have no night at all and the sun just dips below the horizon.

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    1. You must be at a much higher latitude than we are. I remember my Arctic time when the sun stayed up 24 hours a day for 6 weeks.

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  12. I don't really notice that much of a difference, though I tend to be indoors at sunset anyway most of the time. We have had more grey skies than clear days though.

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    1. Hey, you're an urban man! Outdoor people notice the light more than others.

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  13. Autumn sends me into hibernation mode and depression, yet when January arrives the extra hour of light entices me back into the studio to paint and as well grants me a sunnier disposition.

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    1. Tess, good to hear from you again. I'm fortunate that the changes don't bother me.

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  14. One still gets the impression that it has not yet changed much so it is interesting to see the actual data and realize what we have actually gained in daylight.

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    1. Outdoor guys like you should notice the difference!

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  15. And it's hot and steamy here, which is nothing out of the normal; it is summer here, after all. On the reverse side to you, our days are getting shorter, not that one would notice very much. I hope we get some rain over the weekend to cool things down a bit. As I'm playing almost every match in the Aussie Open Tennis, a cool breeze would be welcome! ;)

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    1. I'll have to look up your latitude to see how much change you will have.

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  16. New have noticed the lengthening evenings when the sun stayed up a bit longer. I appreciate it that the days have begun to lengthen again but not as much as when I lived in Minnesota.

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    1. With the cold in Minnesota, you'd hope to get the sun back with a little warmth.

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  17. Hi Red, It's funny that you asked the question about the daylight. Well, I was just at the grocery and the checker was mentioning how this had been a "darker than usual" winter. I guess that is a reflection on the fact that we've had a lot of cloudy, rainy days and when you put that together with the length of daylight at this time of year it does seem pretty dark. Today was nice and sunny and has me looking forward to the longer days and dryer season. Thanks for the comparisons of daylight to winter solstice.

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    1. All of us like to say the worst is over, better things are ahead!

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  18. Yes it has been a nice sunlight gain:) We are finally noticing that it is twilight longer:)

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    1. It's the same here...twilight is longer!

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  19. Weather was absolutely excellent here in Hawaii. :- )
    It is miserable in Pennsylvania where my son is living.
    We do notice the changes in the length of daylight even in Hawaii though.

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  20. As you know we are in the MIDDLE of a major snowstorm for the year. I will post a few of the millions of photos that we mid-Atlantic folks go crazy over

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  21. We are in the middle of our biggest snow storm this year. Photos later on my blgo when we get out.

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  22. Very interesting. I hadn't paid much attention to see but you can bet I will now. Thanks Red :)

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  23. Thank you, Red. For most of us slogging through the heart of winter, you performed a true public service of boosting morale.

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  24. Thanks for sharing. I hadn't noticed but now that I know for a fact, I'll be enjoying those extra few moments each day,

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  25. This is interesting Red, it seems we're getting much longer days but after that much time in the dark I guess any additional time spent with light seems to make a huge difference.

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