Editing 2792: Summer Solstice
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This comic was released on the day of the {{w|summer solstice}} in the Northern Hemisphere. | This comic was released on the day of the {{w|summer solstice}} in the Northern Hemisphere. | ||
| β | The summer solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. Although the summer solstice is the longest day of the year for that hemisphere, the dates of earliest sunrise and latest sunset differ by a few days. This is because of two different effects. First, Earth's axial tilt means that at some points in the year, the Earth is slightly ahead in its total rotation, whereas at other parts it is behind. Second, Earth orbits the Sun in an ellipse, and its orbital speed varies slightly during the year. These two effects combine to give the {{w|Equation of | + | The summer solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. Although the summer solstice is the longest day of the year for that hemisphere, the dates of earliest sunrise and latest sunset differ by a few days. This is because of two different effects. First, Earth's axial tilt means that at some points in the year, the Earth is slightly ahead in its total rotation, whereas at other parts it is behind. Second, Earth orbits the Sun in an ellipse, and its orbital speed varies slightly during the year. These two effects combine to give the {{w|Equation of Time}}, which relates variable solar time to steady clock time. Near the summer solstice, the two have competing effects, with the axial tilt making the days later and the orbit making days earlier. The axial tilt is the faster changing of the two at the summer solstice, so it wins out, meaning that sunsets are still getting later for a few days after the solstice, despite the days getting shorter. White Hat, a layman not aware of this correction, assumed that the latest sunset would occur on the summer solstice. |
Similarly the earliest sunrise already happened before the solstice. This is given since the day (time the Sun is over the horizon) was longest on the solstice, but the Sun will set later for the next six days, meaning that during those six days the Sun will rise later than previous days by an even greater margin to make the days get shorter after the solstice. | Similarly the earliest sunrise already happened before the solstice. This is given since the day (time the Sun is over the horizon) was longest on the solstice, but the Sun will set later for the next six days, meaning that during those six days the Sun will rise later than previous days by an even greater margin to make the days get shorter after the solstice. | ||
