Yesterday, a little part of the Sun barely made it above the low mountains in the south at noon. Today, it didn't.
Living at almost 70° northern latitude (northern part of Norway) the Sun won't be seen again until late January (or early February depending on weather of course). Actually this year, we were lucky to see the sun at all this late, as this is usually a period of snow, rain and bad weather.
Now we enter the "dark time" or "dark season", when the brightness at noon never exceeds twilight. Of course all of this will be made up for by the midnight sun in the summer.
In fact, this behaviour can also be seen in other celestial objects. Each month the Moon is constantly above the horizon for several days, and half a month later it is below the horizon for several days. The lunar phase at which this happens is gradually shifted over the course of the year. In the summer, when the sun is constantly above the horizon, the moon is too, when it is close to the sun (as they both follow the ecliptic), and below the horizon at the opposite phase. Therefore, we've never had a visible full moon at summer solstice. In the winter it's the other way around. The full moon hangs low over the norhtern horizon at noon and rises high at night, while the new moon is where the sun is - below the horizon. At spring it's the waxing moon that's constantly above the horizon, while in the autumn it's the waning moon.
This also happens with the planets. Saturn was constantly above the horizon for a couple of years before starting to move lower in the sky. Now it will be many years before it gets high enough for any useful telescopic observations again. Jupiter is on the rise after being lost for the last year or two. But since Jupiter has a shorter orbital time, all of this happens faster than with Saturn.
When the sun is gone, a lot of people experience sleep problems, and some even experience depressions or other psychological problems. But most people cope with the darkness quite well. Won't be needing any sunglasses until well into 2010, however. :lol:
Just a little report from Space Dot Com's outpost in the far north.
Living at almost 70° northern latitude (northern part of Norway) the Sun won't be seen again until late January (or early February depending on weather of course). Actually this year, we were lucky to see the sun at all this late, as this is usually a period of snow, rain and bad weather.
Now we enter the "dark time" or "dark season", when the brightness at noon never exceeds twilight. Of course all of this will be made up for by the midnight sun in the summer.
In fact, this behaviour can also be seen in other celestial objects. Each month the Moon is constantly above the horizon for several days, and half a month later it is below the horizon for several days. The lunar phase at which this happens is gradually shifted over the course of the year. In the summer, when the sun is constantly above the horizon, the moon is too, when it is close to the sun (as they both follow the ecliptic), and below the horizon at the opposite phase. Therefore, we've never had a visible full moon at summer solstice. In the winter it's the other way around. The full moon hangs low over the norhtern horizon at noon and rises high at night, while the new moon is where the sun is - below the horizon. At spring it's the waxing moon that's constantly above the horizon, while in the autumn it's the waning moon.
This also happens with the planets. Saturn was constantly above the horizon for a couple of years before starting to move lower in the sky. Now it will be many years before it gets high enough for any useful telescopic observations again. Jupiter is on the rise after being lost for the last year or two. But since Jupiter has a shorter orbital time, all of this happens faster than with Saturn.
When the sun is gone, a lot of people experience sleep problems, and some even experience depressions or other psychological problems. But most people cope with the darkness quite well. Won't be needing any sunglasses until well into 2010, however. :lol:
Just a little report from Space Dot Com's outpost in the far north.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram