(no subject)

[andrewducker]

Checking via the BBC's weather site, I noticed that my dawn is 8:27 and my dusk is 15:39. Wondering about my parents (400 miles south), I see that they have light from 7:47 to 15:50.

Can anyone explain to me how their dawn is 45 minutes different to mine, but dusk a mere 10? I'd expect the difference to be the same...

In fact, having just done a quick check, my "mid-day" is 12:03, while theirs is 11:47. What the hell's going on there???

Comments

[ex-aphonia179.livejournal.com]

It's the wobble of the earth.

I'm completely talking out of my ass... I don't know, hon. But that *is* rather weird.

Love,
A.

[derumi.livejournal.com]

You're pretty close, actually. IIRC, the earth's axis isn't tilted directly towards or away from the sun, this is why the sunrise/sunset doesn't change proportionally as you move north to south. Another big part of it is that the earth isn't perfectly round. It's sorta flat on the top and bottom.

Further mysteries of the sunrise

[(Anonymous)]

I've never noticed this mystery before, but a closely related question has driven me mad for years. If you watch the sunrise and sunset times over the next month or so, the sunrise times will continue to get later until after the solstice, but the sunset times will stop getting earlier and start getting later before the solstice. Also, the shortest day of the year is not (as they always told you) the solstice. The shortest day of the year actually falls several days before the solstice. I have no idea why this is the case, and would dearly love a clear and detailed explanation.

An anonymous reader who occasionally wanders in from blueheron's blog.

[octopoid-horror.livejournal.com]

It's due to you living in The Vale of Shadows

We -did- warn you about the terrifying space-time distortions and non-euclidean geometry to be found.

Just nail the Elder Sign to the door, make the Voorish Sign at the locals, and be sure to drink one (no more, no less) measure of the Wine of Pnoth before bed each night.

Is it safe?

Is it SAFE?