WEATHER TRIVIA + FIRST DAY OF SUMMER 6/21/06
The first moment of summer came on Wednes
day
6/21 at 8:23am. That is the time that the sun shined directly down onto 23.5
degrees north latitude, (the tropic of cancer, just south of Florida)
and about to turn the other way, back to the south. (so it appears
highest in our sky on the 21st of June as well) It is also the longest
day of the year. The diagram on the left shows what is going on. The
Earth's axis is tilted 23.5 degrees so as the Earth makes a revolution
around the sun, in December the southern hemisphere is receiving the
direct sunlight, and in June the northern hemisphere is receiving the
direct sunlight. The Equinoxes occur on approximately March 20th and
September 21st, when the rays of the sun shine directly down upon the
equator.
WEATHER TRIVIA QUESTION: REGARDLESS OF THE ABOVE, WHAT DATE IS THE EARTH CLOSEST TO THE SUN? THE ANSWER IS: AROUND JANUARY 4TH!!! THE EARTH IS ACTUALLY FARTHER FROM THE SUN IN THE SUMMER--->MOST DISTANT ON JULY 4TH.
IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE, YOU WILL NOTE THAT THE SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES DO NOT EXACTLY MATCH WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT FROM THE CALENDAR. (you would think the latest sunset would be June 21st!) TODD GROSS SUPPORT TEAM MEMBER ERIC WERME HAS WRITTEN AN ARTICLE EXPLAINING WHY.
Cloest to the sun January 7
Posted by:Burt Fisher | June 23, 2006 at 10:07 AM