Monday, January 6, 2020

Winter Sky

Late Afternoon Sky - January 4, 2020  3:55 PM

Winter days ... The more north from the equator, the shorter the daylight. Seattle is 47.6° N. On January 4 sunrise was at 7:57 AM and sunset at 4:31 PM. Length of daylight was 8 hours 34 minutes. Home for me, while growing up, was in a location much further south, where the annual variation in daylight was much less than Seattle. Over all the years I've come to appreciate the variation and how it affects life.

The very best website for keeping track of the sun, as it moves through the seasons, is timeanddate.com. A couple of graphs from that website can make clear the difference the length of day makes depending on location.

Sun Graph for 2020 for Honolulu, Hawaii, which is 21.3° N ...

From timeanddate.com

Sun Graph for 2020 for Seattle, Washington, which is 47.6° N ...

From timeanddate.com

The bottom line on all this is ... I love the dynamics of the variation in length of day. Right now, on January 6, I am looking forward to a little more brightness. But I have no doubt that by the end of August I will be sick of the long days and ready to get back to the tranquility that darkness seems to bring.

17 comments:

  1. I hear you, John. For me, the long days in the summer are the only time that I wish I lived further south. I end up going to bed before sunset, often. And in the winter, I snuggle into my down comforter and fall right asleep. :-)

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    1. I hear you too ... going to bed before sunset just isn't right. :-) And you are so right about the down comforter this time of year.

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  2. I am keeping track of both sunrises and sunsets. It is interesting to watch the gradual changes.

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    1. Hi Ruth, Great to see you. I know you love to watch the sky like I do. I'll be looking forward to some of your sky photos.

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  3. Pretty sunset! I am not a fan of winter or the short daylight.
    I am looking forward to Spring. I hope you are well. Happy New Year, I wish you all the best in 2020!

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    1. Hi Eileen, Great to see you. Spring will be here before we know it and I'm looking forward to it as well. Thank you for the new year wishes and may I return same to you. All the best in 2020!

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  4. How interesting! And yes, I make the most of the shorter days to make my home cozy and enjoy my evenings inside. Happy New year!

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    1. Hi Lavender Dreamer, Always good to hear from you. Thank you for stopping by and your kind comment and Happy New Year to you!

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  5. Nice to see you blogging again John. I do like that first photo and know what you mean about the short days we have at the moment, the low sun is not goot for taking photos in

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    1. Hi Bill, Sure nice to see you too. You are so right ... outside photos are tough this time of year with the limited light. I hope you'll keep an eye on the blog here for some photos of churches I saw while traveling last fall.

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  6. What a beautiful sky. I'm looking forward to lighter mornings. sunrise still at 7:38 here for the next couple of days and then it starts getting lighter! :)

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    1. Hi Happyone, Thanks for stopping by and the kind words. I am also looking forward to those lighter mornings ... sure makes the walk a lot more fun.

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  7. Varying seasons and day length are supposed to be good for us.

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    1. Hi Red, Maybe that is why they used to tell us, people from northern latitudes are more productive?

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  8. glorious skies dear John

    wishing you happy new year filled with grace of Lord ,love of family and health!,amen!

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    1. Hi Dear Baili, Always good to hear from you. Happy New Year to you! Thank you for the kind words. Peace to you and your family!

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  9. A beautiful looking sky.
    My good wishes to you for 2020.

    All the best Jan

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