So the days are getting RAPIDLY darker as we hit mid September here in the UK.
At this time of year at around latitude 51-52 (that's between London and Birmingham where I spend most of my time!) we are loosing 4 minutes of daylight a day....
And as we speed towards the equinox (22nd September) the rate of daylight loss per day accelerates...
So all around the equinox we are loosing 4.16 minutes of daylight a day.
That's the fun fact I already knew, and have been consistently amazed by how many people simply don't know this, that we lose more daylight per day as we approach the equinox and move away from the solstice, and vice-versa.
What I didn't know is that shortly after the equinox, the rate of decreasing daylight (in this case) accelerates EVEN MORE, only from 4.16 minutes a day to 4.17 minutes a day for four days, and then the rate starts decreasing again....
And by the time we hit the soltice...
December 20th is only 20 seconds shorter than December 19th and the 21st is only 2 seconds shorter than the 20th.
And by Christmas day we are already gaining 26 seconds more light per day, which is hardly noticeable, but actually more of a difference earlier on that I'd thought...
And then back into daylight we go!
Everyone knows this but few have realised...
I mean you can feel it, right, by late August it's getting darker earlier, then late September is when the days are really 'closing in' - at that point we are loosing 30 minutes of daylight per week, so 15 minutes roughly at each end, you can't help but notice that the sunrise is at 7.00 one Monday and then 7.15 the next Monday!
And then it's much more still around the winter soltice, and then Spring just feels alive with change and then into still high summer in June.
It's all down to this change in pace of daylight loss and gain, but very few people I've ever met know about the pace change between solstice and equinox, I say very few, I've mentioned this to well over 100 people and about 5 have already known it!
Well, so now you know, the days are drawing in, and that's because statistically we really are losing daylight hand over fist ATM.
At least at this latitude, things work differently higher and lower up and down!
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
