27 October 2011 by Tristan Gooley
Have you had that feeling recently that the season has not so much shifted to autumn, as snapped?
There is a time each year when we get this feeling and its suddenness not purely psychological, it is because we witness the most dramatic changes in the Earth-Sun relationship at two times in the year: spring and autumn.
Some of the things that we tend to assume change gradually, actually don’t at all. On this blog I have mentioned that the bearing of sunrise and sunset change most dramatically at the equinoxes, in March and September, and briefly stand still at the solstices.
There are other things that change with varying speed over the course of the year and they follow a similar pattern. The length of day hovers at the same length at each solstice, but changes rapidly in spring and autumn. For example, in London (latitude is important),…
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Tags: autumnal, autumnal equinox, bearings, equinox, length of day, solstice |
23 September 2010 by Tristan Gooley
Happy Equinox All!
At nine minutes past three this morning, GMT, the sun was overhead the equator. To celebrate, here are a few things that you may or may not know about the equinox. Only one of them is not true.
The sun will rise due east and set due west for everyone today.
The direction (bearing) of sunrise and sunset changes by more each day at this time of year than at any other time.
On the December side of the equinoxes the sun is always overhead the southern hemisphere, on the June side it is always overhead the northern hemisphere.
Everyone on the planet shares an equal length day and night on the equinoxes.
Satellites that appear stationary and stay over the same spot on the Earth’s surface are called geostationary or geosynchronous and they remain in orbit over the equator. As the sun passes over the equator…
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Tags: autumnal equinox, bearings, Chumash, Druids, due east, equator, finding direction, sun, trivia |
27 July 2009 by Tristan Gooley
Once I’ve got my bearings in a new area I like to look for features that will act as friendly reminders. This woodland on the opposite hillside in Wensleydale reminded me of a turtle. For the rest of my walk that day I looked to the turtle and knew that it ‘swam eastwards’.
Tags: bearings, wensleydale, woodland |
Have you had that feeling recently that the season has not so much shifted to autumn, as snapped?
