22 December 2011 by Tristan Gooley
Happy Winter Solstice One and All!
Here’s an interesting solstice fact for you: the Earth is actually receiving more solar radiation at this time of year than at any other time. This is because the Earth does not orbit the sun in a circle, but in an ellipse. In the northern hemisphere winter the Earth is at its closest to the sun, a point called ‘perihelion’, but in summer it is at its furthest point, or ‘aphelion’.
The Guardian have published a little article on the timing of the winter solstice.
However, my favourite solstice image is on a different page. The same technique used in the photo on that page, from the same position, but on the summer solstice would probably not catch the sun at all, or perhaps just a glimpse of it in the top corners.
At this time of year the sun is always…
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Tags: aphelion, clouds, compass, cumulonimbus, cumulus clouds, find direction, midnight sun, moon, perihelion, solstices, summer, sun, winter solstice |
22 June 2009 by Tristan Gooley
Sticking with a midsummer theme for another day, I came across this picture today. It was taken in a place called Uttakleiv in northern Norway. The time lapse shows how the sun does get lower, the angle being directly related to the latitude, but at this high latitude even its lowest point is not below the horizon. I was fortunate enough to witness the midnight sun in Kiruna in north Sweden a few years ago, but my photos were a lot less dramatic than this. Something to do with the fact I had flown about ten hours that day in a tiny aircraft. That and the fact that I am not a very good photographer.
Tags: horizon, latitude, midnight sun, norway, uttakleiv |
Happy Winter Solstice One and All!
