It’s autumn, it’s the season of change! Rather than marking time for warm cocoa and warm coats, the trees are turning to bright colors. The long days of summer have passed us by and each day will be shorter than the last. But why does this happen? Why are the days getting shorter in autumn (and winter) as opposed to summer? Turns out, it’s all about the Earth’s axis and its way around the Sun.
It is worth noting that people in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres experience opposite tendencies. People living in the Northern Hemisphere experience long days in summer and short nights and the opposite in winter – while for those living in the Southern Hemisphere, the exact opposite is happening. This is not a random event, there is a specific reason behind it. This is because the Earth’s axis is not perpendicular to its orbit (at a 90 degree angle straight down), but it tilts slightly instead.
Therefore, as the planet orbits the sun every 5 365.75 days, sometimes the northern hemisphere is closer to the sun (summer), while sometimes it is farther away from winter. To explain why days are longer in summer and shorter in winter, let us first look at two ways that revolve around our planet all the time and the consequences behind it.
The earth spins around its axis, or imaginary line passing through the North and South Poles every 24 hours. This means that at any given moment, a part of the planet is facing the sun and experiencing the day, while not the opposite side, and experiencing the time of night. The earth also orbits the sun and completes a revolution every 5 365.75 days.
Now, imagine a plane that connects the center of the sun and the earth. If the axis of the planet were straight up and down at 90 degrees in this plane, the length of time that the sun would face in each hemisphere would always be equal to the length of time it would face. But this is not the case. Instead, the axis is tilted slightly, it is at 23.5 degrees to be precise.
This tilt is always shown in the same direction in space towards Polaris (the so-called North Star) even when the planet is traveling in a circle around the Sun. This translates to being closer to the Sun (summer) or farther away (winter) during the Earth’s annual orbit in the Northern Hemisphere.
Depending on where you are on the planet, the difference in length from day to season can be large or small. It also relates to latitude, which tells how far the point on the planet is with the equator.
The higher latitudes are closer to the poles, while the 0 માં latitude is the equator. But since the earth is a sphere, the lat latitudes near the poles already take a turn away from the sun and therefore receive less sunlight every 24 hours. This is the reason why the poles are colder than the rest of the planet. With an additional tilt of 23.5 degrees from the sun, a pole receives less light and will only experience a shorter window of the day.
Equinox and ion
Equinoxes and solstices are the main dates not only in the calendar but also in the earth’s journey around the sun.
They are used to outline the transition period between the tuo – when winter varies from spring to tuo, summer to autumn and so on. The number of days and nights will depend on the position of the sun in relation to the earth.
Occurs twice in a lunar year and marks the same number of nights as the time of day – the day is the same as the night. This happens when the sun is located above the equator. It usually occurs around March 20, which is the spring equator, and again around September 22, which is known as the autumn equator.
The word equinox actually comes from two Latin words, “equi-” meaning equal and “knox” meaning night. Therefore, spring equ tu day from equinox, day is longer than night and autumn equator day, night is longer than day.
Equinox, by definition, falls on the day when the center of the sun is on the horizon, and lasts 12 hours both day and night. However, the top edge of the sun (not its center) first appears at sunrise. In spring, it means the time when there is night and night Really Equinox comes right before – the Latin word “lux” means light, known as equilibrium.
Meanwhile, solstice also occurs twice a year. In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice around June 21 and the winter solstice around December 21. During the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere experiences its longest daylight in a year. During the winter solstice, it sees the longest night of the year. When the equinox marks the date when the date and night are the same, the solstice shows the largest difference between day and night.
The sun is at its highest point in the sky in the middle of the day during the summer solstice. This recedes during the winter solstice – at noon the sun is at its lowest level of the year.
This change is extreme in the northern areas, and some areas may experience continuous daylight (or night time) for months.
Every September, the Northern Hemisphere officially enters autumn, and since then, there has been less than a minute each day, ending in the winter solstice. It doesn’t sound like much, but over the course of a month it adds up to half an hour of the lost day. Then, in most parts of the U.S., you’re probably setting your clocks back an hour to finish daylight saving time.
Dealing with short days
It’s one thing to understand why days are short in the fall, but another thing to do with its practical consequences. It is not an easy task, the changing length of the day has affected your physical and mental health. During the summer we get an abundance of lights and mountains, but it is all set to change. Adjusting can be difficult, but there are ways to make it easier.
- Exercise. There is nothing that stimulates endorphin-like mood. It is the first line of defense against seasonal and clinical depression. Doing any kind of exercise is a wonder for your nature. If you want to make the most of the day, the best bet is to find time for an outdoor workout during your lunch time or early in the morning.
- Go to bed early and make a routine. If you are going to wake up early to exercise, you should discipline yourself at bedtime first. Even if you are not thinking of getting up early for a workout, it is always important to get enough sleep to keep you in a good mood and in a good mental state, but even more so in winter with less sunlight.
- Plan a vacation once in a while. It would be nice to get summer somewhere south of the equator. If you need more sunlight, then plan to make a beach holiday for the darkest time of the year. Chili spots do not necessarily mean dark spots. You can plan a ski or snowboarding vacation west in Colorado or Utah and still have to pack your sunscreen.
- Get out even when it’s cold. There is no such thing as a cold weather, just the weather for which you are not dressed appropriately. Even if it is cold you can have lunch in the park or in the morning. Or even spend an evening with friends. It feels like entering hibernation if we’re too cold, but it doesn’t happen – we can still keep ourselves active.
