Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Wait for it . . . wait for it . . . just 60 more seconds

The winter solstice hits at exactly 2.38pm today, Pacific time.

We get one extra second of daylight today -- and, trust me, I'll be able to tell you exactly which one it is, because I've been counting every second of daylight for weeks now.

It starts slow, only a few seconds more each day right now, but by the third week in March we'll be gaining a little over 3 extra minutes of sunlight a day. Then the rate of increase will slowly back off again (those of you who took solid geometry can explain why to everyone else) at about the same rate until by the middle of next June we'll only be gaining a second or two of sunlight a day.

Then it'll balance on the knife's edge for a moment, and then . . .

But no -- that part's too awful to contemplate right now. Just enjoy that extra second today.

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