Long Days, Short Nights. Long Nights, Short Days.

Ah!  The days of our lives...

No, not the "Days of Our Lives" drama!  Save the drama for your llama!

Have you noticed that the days are getting shorter?  I know, school doesn't seem to get shorter, in fact some days seem SO LONG!  But, last you checked, isn't it darker and cooler in the evening when you go out to slam dunk that last basketball or kick that last field goal, or scooter down the street?  Yep.  You aren't going crazy.  The days are getting shorter.  

In the Northern Hemisphere we are going from Summer to Autumn to Winter.  Because the Earth is tilting away from the Sun, the angle of the Sun's rays are becoming less direct. Light is making longer shadows and the Sun is not getting as high in the sky as it used to.  

The diagram above shows us how the Sun moves on June 21st.  It's path is high in the sky.  By December 21, the Sun's path is low in the sky and the rays of light are hitting the Earth at an angle, not directly.  

When the Sun is at a lower angle in the winter, it doesn't have as far to travel and our days are shorter, our nights are longer.  Can you hardly wait for the Sun to go down at 4:45 pm?  

It's all about the tilt.  If our Earth wasn't tilted we would have the same amount of time in the Sun and in the shadow every day all over the world.  Just a wee 23.5 degree tilt can change our environment dramatically.  

Watch this short video about Day and Night hours.  It will help you to understand why we have longer hours of daylight some places compared to other places on Earth.  

Well, I guess I better go pull out my long johns, fur coat and gloves.  Winter is coming whether I like it or not...