FOR SOUTHERNERS, today is the winter solstice—the year’s meanest portion of daylight. But the shortest day does not bring the earliest sunset or the latest sunrise.
Those records fall on different dates: the sun set earliest on June 4th (at 5.27pm), and it will rise latest on July 8th (at 6.28am).
The reason lies not with the calendar but with the clock. The sun is not a punctual timekeeper.
Because Earth orbits the sun in an oval path, not a perfect circle, and because its axis leans, the sun’s daily high point drifts by a few minutes relative to our watches. That drift separates dawn and dusk from the solstice’s midpoint.
Hence today offers the fewest minutes of light, yet the mornings will continue to darken for another two weeks, while the evenings have already been creeping later since June 4th.
The solstice is merely the pivot, not the finish line, of winter’s gloom.
A nod to Tony Alegria of ZimAstro for the celestial clue.
Do you have something to explain? Email bchiketo@gmail.com