Sostice Soon

On December 21, solstice will occur and mark the both the end of the Sun's apparent movement toward the south and the beginning of its apparent movement north.

If you have clear skies, go out at noon on the 21st and note just how far south of the zenith the Sun is.  Also, note how short the paths back to its rising point and ahead to to its setting point are.  This will make clear the reason the lighted portion of each day is so much shorter this time of year.

My neighbor Larry pointed out that the solstice is a particularly good time because from it forward we--in the northern hemisphere at least--are moving toward better weather.

Day by day, we have more light and ultimately this leads to more heat and much more human-friendly temperatures.