Frazz by Jef Mallett for December 28, 2024

December 21 was the longest night of the year.

In early December and when the sun (in my area) is setting at 4pm, I keep telling everyone to buck up! That the days will soon be getting longer. It actually helps all the grumps around me.

Actually the sunrise continues to be later for a bit after the winter equinox in the northern hemisphere. The sunsets come later than the sunrises after Dec 21 so the days themselves are still longer after that point.

“I exist” said (Caulfield)… and the universe replied “that does not cause in me a sense of obligation!”

The earliest sunset is around December 7. After that, the sun starts setting later.

Enjoy the little things.

Me me me me…

Whatever or whenever, I enjoy the sun and miss it most during what is called winter. Felt that way for 89 Novembers plus 45 days. I hope to see a few more and wish the same to everyone.

The “turnaround” dates for sunsets and sunrises depend on your latitude; that’s why different readers here are stating different dates. For me, almost exactly 45° N latitude, the earliest sunset takes place around Dec. 7, and the latest sunrise around Jan. 7. Since I’m more awake in the evening than in the morning, the days SEEM to start getting longer in mid-December, but they’re really not.

Of course, one could go south of the equator for the winter…

I suspect the universe has it’s eye on him.

I note the discussion, but fail to ascertain any pertinence to me since I only venture outside to pick up dog poop and have a regular schedule for the job and it’s NOT based on any vagarity of the sun…

It takes a big ego to think the universe is moving just for you.

In Fairbanks, they’re getting 2 or 3 more minutes of daylight every day.

As each day passes from this point on I know that the Arizona summer is coming, hopefully it’s not as bad as last year and the year before that was even worse, the hottest I ever had to deal with was 117 F. Then there’s the haboobs, the biggest was a mile and a half high and 5 miles wide.

Or it’s the earth getting closer to the sun in it’s orbit.

Due to the ‘equation of time’ phenomenon, in the north the earliest sunset comes before the winter solstice and the latest sunset comes after. In summer, the latest sunset comes after the solstice and the earliest sunrise comes before. This is due to the tilt of the Earth and its elliptical orbit.

Just what Caulfield needs – an ego boost.