Happy September Equinox
Happy September Equinox! The sun is passing over the equator, from northern hemipshere to the south. For the next six months, until the next equinox…
Tag: sunset
Victor Hugo and Nature’s Signs
My thanks to Lucy Johnson for this fascinating email and permission to share: Dear Tristan, Have you read Victor Hugo Toilers of the Sea? It’s a…
The Exact Time of Sunrise and Sunset
We can work out when the sun will rise or set using tables and by understanding our location well. If you look online or at…
Is this a Sunrise or a Sunset?
Is this a sunrise or sunset? And Why? Spoiler alert… answer below… Moss on the roof suggests that is more likely the north side of…
Happy March Equinox!
Happy March Equinox! The sun will rise and set north of east and west from tomorrow. In the northern hemisphere this means its arc in…
BUMPER HOLIDAYS PUZZLE
Here is a bumper photo puzzle that went out in my newsletter email earlier this month (you can sign up for that at the bottom…
I Had to Reach Out
My thanks to Betsy from Corvallis, Oregon, USA, for this email: Hi! I don’t know if the author has time for such small excitements, but…
Which Way Are We Looking – Night Walk
I went for a very enjoyable night walk in the South Downs last night. What direction are we looking in the photo above? Answer… We…
What are Anticrepuscular Rays?
If there was no atmosphere the daytime sky would like the nighttime one, but with a fiercely bright star where the sun was. Air is…
Why does the Gnomon on a Sundial Point South?
The pointy bit of a sundial is called a ‘gnomon’. It is the part that casts the shadow and in the northern hemisphere it points…
The Darkest Two Months of the Year
The sun is well over the southern hemisphere now. Sunrises and sunsets are well south too. In the northern hemisphere we have entered the darkest…
How To Tell If You Are Looking at a Full Moon
A lot of people see a big round moon in the sky and confidently call it a full moon. And then wonder, is it really?…
Red Sky in the Morning, Shepherd’s Warning
Latest News: The Secret World of Weather book contains hundreds of weather signs. As the shepherds warn us, a red sky in the morning is…
The Difference Between Sunrise and Sunset
Have a look at this photo and see if you can tell whether it is a sunrise or sunset? Yes, it’s tricky. Sunrises and sunsets…
Scorpius Returns
In this image the three brightest objects in the sky are, from left to right, Venus, the moon and Jupiter. But look carefully to the…
Sun Dogs and Leaping Lambs
I’m just back from an evening stroll in the Peak District, catching the last of the sun. On my walk I met some leaping lambs…
Sharpening Skills at the Start and End of the Day
Just before you see the sun rise in the morning or just after it has set for you in the evening, try to work out…
The Equinox. It’s as clear as night and day.
When does the line between day and night become vertical? By which I mean, when does it run from the North Pole straight down to…
Chankillo and the Solar Triangle
In the desert of western Peru there are the remnants of a civilization that still holds many mysteries. Archaeoastromomers are able to deduce a few…
Sunrise and Sunset Direction
It would be true to say that I would not be writing this blog if the sun rose in the same place each day. In…
The Supermoon
Just managed to snap the ‘supermoon’ as it rose above the woodland to the east of me. This photo was taken tonight at 19.03 GMT.…