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 |
02 November 2009 by Tristan Gooley
This just in from Richard Webber, Natural Navigator alumnus, researcher and correspondent:
‘After a long walk round Mam Tor and Lose Hill near Castleton, we
rested in a café for tea and slices of Derbyshire curd pudding.
Having been infected with the “Which Way Is South” Virus I was drawn
to the tree near by – see the pic. Half still had leaves while half
didn’t. My hypothesis was that the south facing side would hold its
leaves longer – given more light and warmth. I checked the map to get
a feel for where south was and, indeed, the leafy side was facing due
south. Looking at the branch structure I think this points to the
north being on the left of the picture where the branches seem to
growing more upwards than outwards – as on the leafy,…
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Tags: branch structure, castleton, derbyshire, leaves, length of day, lose hill, mam tor, map, tree north south |
Have you had that feeling recently that the season has not so much shifted to autumn, as snapped?
