Coming To Scandinavia

Today gives us four seconds longer sunlight than yesterday. The winter solstice (see explanation below), which was yesterday at 1:04 p.m. here in Sweden, marked the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Each day since that time will be progressively longer. It’s quite fascinating to watch. Today, as noted, we gain four seconds sunlight over yesterday; tomorrow, we gain 15 seconds sunlight over today; Christmas Eve gains 25 seconds over tomorrow; and Christmas Day gains 36 seconds over Christmas Eve.

The pattern continues with each day gaining more than the preceding day. New Year’s Day gains 1 minute 46 seconds over New Year’s Eve. In February, we’re gaining 4 to 5 minutes each day; we continue to gain around 5 minutes each day through the first of May, then the pace slows to four minutes per day.

The days, however, are quite long by then. On May 1, sunrise is at 4:49 a.m. and sunset is at 8:43 p.m., giving us 15 hours 53 minutes and 44 seconds of sunlight.

On June 21, the longest day of the year, the sun rises at 3:31 a.m. and sets at 10:09 p.m. The sky never darkens completely, as the length of the day is 18 hours 38 minutes and 26 seconds.

Just thought those of you in Sweden would want to know as you watch the sun set today at around 2:49 p.m.

Winter Solstice
The Winter Solstice occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, it is when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. Depending on the Gregorian calendar, the December solstice occurs annually on a day between December 20 and December 23. On this date, all places above a latitude of 66.5 degrees north are now in darkness, while locations below a latitude of 66.5 degrees south receive 24 hours of daylight.

Click Summer Solstice for an explanation.