Winter Sun

It is nice to have Hawaii’s cooler winter temperatures. Although today seems to have the hottest temperature since we returned to Hawaii on December 29! Global warming causing a severe El Niño has led to a terribly warm year for those of us in Hawaii who feel the effects of being in the middle of the much warmer ocean. Simple guide to warmer ocean temperature and Berkeley research

In an earlier post, “Fall - October 1, 2015,” I talked about the change to the season of Fall in Hawaii. Many who come to Hawaii say we have no seasons; but every location on Earth has seasons. [FROM OCTOBER 1, 2015 POST: Every part of the world has seasons as the Earth revolving, and the changing tilt of the Earth in relation to the sun, create seasons. And we are all "traveling through space" on Earth!] Comparing Earth and Pluto regarding seasons

One just must be attune to the changes around you. One very subtle change to which I respond is the quality of light. Sometimes when I observe the quality of sunlight in a day it evokes memories of a particular event in my life, like fun days at the beach, which are in turn tied to a time of year. 

As I have taken courses on the movement of Earth and the sun, and also taught more about seasons, I have learned and correspondingly noticed more about the sun. Just this year, as I am retired and spending more time (full days at a time) at home, I realized the sun was always shining on our dining room table. It was shining through my east-facing windows and then the perpendicular south-facing windows. In the past, I could close the curtains in the east-facing windows for a short time in the morning and then later around four, close the curtains in the perpendicular south-facing windows. Now there is no time in a day when all the curtains can be open without sun shining bright on my dining room table!

Naturally, I had a question! Why was this happening? I saw that the sun was traveling in quite a different path during the winter months. The path was much lower and over a smaller curve of the sky! The sun was visible almost all day out our east-facing windows.

Sun at imprinted times / from my porch / January 2016

 
 

These photos chronicling the movement of the sun give evidence of the main cause for winter - no matter where you are on Earth. (It is funny that despite best intentions, I could not get the photos on a perfect two hour schedule. I guess it is proof that I am not just sitting around waiting to take photos!) It is winter when the portion on which you are situated on the Earth is tilted away from the sun. The angle of the sun relative to the Earth is changed and consequently sunlight, and the heat effect, is changed. Angle of sun and seasons 

This lower angle of the sun also would result in the different quality of light. The sunlight would be hitting at a less direct angle resulting in a seemingly duller sun. In addition, for more of the time the sun would be shining its light through atmosphere closer to the surface of the Earth which would also dull the visible sunlight, which always occurs whenever the sun rises or sets. 

So remember to look at the sun various times during the day in wintertime and observe evidence of the Earth, and its changing path and tilt, as it moves around the sun!