KenMankoff

Solstice is Almost Here

Solstice is almost here. This year it occurs at 18:06 UTC on June 21. That means the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest in the Southern, which is also the maximum tilt by the poles toward and away from the Sun.

In McMurdo right now it is quite cold, and although todays forecast shows a Sun icon, I don't think the sun shines there at all. Maybe they get a few hours of dawn and dusk light. The degrees are in Celsius, so it is actually a bit warmer (around -20) in degrees Fahrenheit.

For those of you in New York City, solstice is nice, but July 12th and May 28th are more special. Those dates are symmetric around Solstice and they are the days that the Sun lines up perfectly with the NYC street grid just as it sets.