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Happy Longerdays!
Front-Ranger:
There is a ray of hope (literally). I'm told we've passed the earliest sunset of the season. The sun will continue to set at about the same time for a week or two, then afternoons will lengthen by about 4 minutes a day.
Sunrises--that's a different story. They'll continue to be later until December 21st. Keep that inner light burning bright until then!
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on December 08, 2022, 01:14:50 pm ---There is a ray of hope (literally). I'm told we've passed the earliest sunset of the season. The sun will continue to set at about the same time for a week or two, then afternoons will lengthen by about 4 minutes a day.
Sunrises--that's a different story. They'll continue to be later until December 21st. Keep that inner light burning bright until then!
--- End quote ---
Thanks for the update, FRiend! I've now reached the point where I have no sun shining directly into my apartment. Last week I got about 30 minutes a day of direct sun; now the sun doesn't climb above the other wing of the building. Then it disappears altogether by about 4:30 and it's pitch dark in less than an hour. Depressing!
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on December 08, 2022, 05:21:54 pm ---Thanks for the update, FRiend! I've now reached the point where I have no sun shining directly into my apartment. Last week I got about 30 minutes a day of direct sun; now the sun doesn't climb above the other wing of the building. Then it disappears altogether by about 4:30 and it's pitch dark in less than an hour. Depressing!
--- End quote ---
Depressing indeed! Right now, since my office is right inside my living room windows, I have to close the curtains for a couple of hours in mid-day because the sun is shining directly into the windows. After some time I can open them again because the sun has moved behind the new high rise next door. :(
This kind of speaks to why I like to put up Christmas lights outdoors. If the lights come on shortly after dark, I like to be able to look out a window and see the lights shining in the darkness. It's sort of like the lights are defying the darkness.
You wonder how the Ancients figured out how bit by bit the daylight began increasing after December 21. I mean, sure, eventually you would notice (by February at least, its really noticeable), but it's such a small increment at first. How did they figure out when the solstice was? It makes perfect sense to me that you would have a celebration of some sort to celebrate the coming return of the unconquered sun.
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti
https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/roman-religion/roman-feasts/dies-natalis-solis-invicti/
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on December 09, 2022, 09:39:48 am ---Depressing indeed! Right now, since my office is right inside my living room windows, I have to close the curtains for a couple of hours in mid-day because the sun is shining directly into the windows. After some time I can open them again because the sun has moved behind the new high rise next door. :(
--- End quote ---
My office is right inside my living-room windows, too. At this time of year I'll take all the sunlight I can get! In the summer it's too much in late afternoon and I'm forced to turn on the AC for an hour or two.
--- Quote ---This kind of speaks to why I like to put up Christmas lights outdoors. If the lights come on shortly after dark, I like to be able to look out a window and see the lights shining in the darkness. It's sort of like the lights are defying the darkness.
--- End quote ---
Do you have a balcony? I've thought about putting lights up either inside or on my balcony.
--- Quote ---You wonder how the Ancients figured out how bit by bit the daylight began increasing after December 21. I mean, sure, eventually you would notice (by February at least, its really noticeable), but it's such a small increment at first. How did they figure out when the solstice was? It makes perfect sense to me that you would have a celebration of some sort to celebrate the coming return of the unconquered sun.
--- End quote ---
Good question! At some point, of course, they fashioned some kind of time-keeping device. Certainly by the time Stonehenge was built. A sundial wouldn't be that precise though, would it?
I still don't quite understand why sunsets start getting later mid-month but sunrises keep going. I mean, I realize the result is that total hours of daylight continue shrinking until the 21st, but why would it be one-sided like that?
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on December 09, 2022, 11:55:09 am ---My office is right inside my living-room windows, too. At this time of year I'll take all the sunlight I can get! In the summer it's too much in late afternoon and I'm forced to turn on the AC for an hour or two.
--- End quote ---
The real problem that I have is that because of the way I have to situate things, I get sun on the computer monitor, and that, of course, makes it difficult if not impossible to work.
--- Quote ---Do you have a balcony? I've thought about putting lights up either inside or on my balcony.
--- End quote ---
I think I tried that once years ago, but I couldn't figure out how to run an extension cord except keeping the sliding door open a crack. Today I suppose there might be battery-powered lights that I could use. I had a large illuminated star that I hung in the dining room window until I went down to the street myself and learned that nobody could see it from outside anyway.
The place I really like to see the outdoor lights is at my dad's house. It's in a suburban neighborhood, so it's really dark at night, especially at this time of year when it gets dark so early.
--- Quote ---Good question! At some point, of course, they fashioned some kind of time-keeping device. Certainly by the time Stonehenge was built. A sundial wouldn't be that precise though, would it?
--- End quote ---
Maybe it's a chicken or the egg kind of thing. They had to know where and when the solstices were in order to build Stonehenge to tell them when the solstice was.
--- Quote ---I still don't quite understand why sunsets start getting later mid-month but sunrises keep going. I mean, I realize the result is that total hours of daylight continue shrinking until the 21st, but why would it be one-sided like that?
--- End quote ---
I don't understand that either.
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