Thursday, June 22, 2017

Happy "official-first-day-of-summer"

Yesterday was the official first full day of summer soltice-the longest day of the year-15 hours and 18 minutes to be exact. That's the good news. The bad news is that today it is 1 minute shorter and by the end of this month daylight time will be down to 15 hours and 14 minutes.

It doesn't sound like a lot until you look at the length of day tables in an almanac and realize the inevitable.

However, we all know it's part of that never ending seasonal cycle and to me it's part of what keeps life interesting.   I wouldn't want to live somewhere where there were no seasons like the equatorial belt where there are only two.

Many children and, I suspect,  adults don't fully understand why our climate is seasonal.  Back in my teaching days I would explain by showing them a model of the earth, sun and moon.  The tilt of the earth on its axis is of course the cause so showing a model of how it actually happens is very helpful.

Anyway, happy summer.  To learn more about the summer season, click here georgeswebpage.com/almanac

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