ZME Science
  • CoronavirusNEW
  • News
  • Environment
    • All
    • Animals
    • Climate
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
    • Pollution
    • Renewable Energy
    • World Problems
    Huge tanker at risk of collapse in the Caribbean — officials say situation is “stable”

    Huge tanker at risk of collapse in the Caribbean — officials say situation is “stable”

    Electric cars will likely be as cheap as regular ones by 2024

    Electric cars will likely be as cheap as regular ones by 2024

    Scientists resurrect mysterious missing tectonic plate beneath Canada

    Scientists resurrect mysterious missing tectonic plate beneath Canada

    It’s not just a health concern: air pollution is costing European citizens $190 billion per year

    It’s not just a health concern: air pollution is costing European citizens $190 billion per year

    We should expect long-term ice loss even if we stop climate change today, according to a new study

    We should expect long-term ice loss even if we stop climate change today, according to a new study

    World’s largest solar farm will produce 10GW of power in Australia — but most of it will end up in Singapore

    World’s largest solar farm will produce 10GW of power in Australia — but most of it will end up in Singapore

    This white paint cools rooftops below the surrounding temperature, even under direct sunlight

    This white paint cools rooftops below the surrounding temperature, even under direct sunlight

    The Great Plains could be drying down into a new Dust Bowl

    The Great Plains could be drying down into a new Dust Bowl

    This beetle’s armor can survive being run over by a car. Here’s why it’s nearly indestructible

    This beetle’s armor can survive being run over by a car. Here’s why it’s nearly indestructible

    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • All
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
    The pandemic has messed up our sleep, eating habits, and mental health, a new study reports

    The pandemic has messed up our sleep, eating habits, and mental health, a new study reports

    Electromagnetic fields treat type 2 diabetes in mice

    Electromagnetic fields treat type 2 diabetes in mice

    FDA approves first Ebola treatment

    FDA approves first Ebola treatment

    This protein explains why you get acne — and may offer a new way to cure it

    This protein explains why you get acne — and may offer a new way to cure it

    After scanning canine brains: “Dogs are people, too,” says neuroscientist

    After scanning canine brains: “Dogs are people, too,” says neuroscientist

    Infant feeding bottles may release millions of microplastics during formula preparation

    Infant feeding bottles may release millions of microplastics during formula preparation

    Do you like cheese? You can  thank the Indus Valley Civilization for it

    Do you like cheese? You can thank the Indus Valley Civilization for it

    Men and women are responding differently to the pandemic. Here’s how

    Men and women are responding differently to the pandemic. Here’s how

    Three coffees a day bring headaches your way — stick to one or two and you should be fine

    Three coffees a day bring headaches your way — stick to one or two and you should be fine

    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    Time Travel Without the Paradoxes

    Time Travel Without the Paradoxes

    Sir Roger Penrose has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics for his work revolutionising our theories regarding black holes and reshaping general relativity. (Robert Lea)

    Singularity Minded: The Black Hole Science that Won a Nobel Prize

    The spicy history of how pumpkin spice got so popular

    The spicy history of how pumpkin spice got so popular

    The mental health of PhD students is at stake: scientific journals should take the blame

    The mental health of PhD students is at stake: scientific journals should take the blame

    Why leaves fall down — and why it happens during Autumn

    Why leaves fall down — and why it happens during Autumn

    These are the best drone photos of the year — and they will blow your mind

    These are the best drone photos of the year — and they will blow your mind

    Why do days get shorter and darker with autumn?

    Why do days get shorter and darker with autumn?

    21 experts you should follow if you want to make sense of the pandemic (and a bonus)

    21 experts you should follow if you want to make sense of the pandemic (and a bonus)

    a Representation of the quantum teleport of information from the surface of Earth to space--a sci-fi's fan's dream, almost. ((IMAGE BY CAS))

    Quantum Teleportation: Separating Science Fact from Science Fiction

    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Other Feature Post

Why do days get shorter and darker with autumn?

It's time to leave behind the sunny and longer days of summer

Fermin Koop by Fermin Koop
October 3, 2020
in Feature Post, News, Other, Science
A A

It’s autumn, the season of change! Trees are turning to brilliant colors, marking the time for hot cocoa and warm coats. The long days of summer are past us, and each day will be shorter than the last. But… why does this happen? Why are days getting shorter in the autumn (and winter), as opposed to the summer? Turns out, it’s all about the Earth’s axis and its path around the sun.

Credit Flickr Chris Gin

It’s worth noting that people in the northern and southern hemispheres experience opposite trends. Those living in the northern hemisphere experience longer days and shorter nights in the summer and the opposite in winter — while for those in the southern hemisphere, the exact opposite is happening. This isn’t a random phenomenon, there’s a specific reason behind it. It happens because the Earth’s axis isn’t perpendicular (straight down at a 90-degree angle) to its orbit, but it’s instead tilted just a bit.

So, as the planet orbits the sun every 365.25 days, sometimes the Northern hemisphere is closer to the sun (summer) while sometimes it is farther away (winter). To explain why days are longer in summer and shorter in winter, let’s first take a look at the two ways our planet is rotating all the time and the consequences behind it.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Earth spins around its axis, or the imaginary line running through the North and South poles, every 24 hours. This means that at any given moment, one part of the planet is facing the sun and experiencing daytime, while the opposite side is not, and experiences nighttime. The Earth also orbits the sun, completing a revolution every 365.25 days.

Now, imagine a plane that connects the middle of the sun and of the Earth. If the axis of the planet was straight up and down at 90 degrees to this plane, the length of time each hemisphere spent facing the sun would always equal the length of time facing away. But this isn’t the case. Instead, the axis is tilted slightly, at 23.5 degrees to be exact.

This tilt is always pointed in the same direction in space, toward Polaris (the so-called North Star), even as the planet travels in a circle around the sun. This translates into the Northern hemisphere being closer to the sun (summer) or farther away (winter) throughout Earth’s yearly orbit.

Depending on where you are on the planet, the difference in the length of the day from season to season can be larger or smaller. That’s also related to latitude, which says how far a point on a planet is in relation to the equator.

Get more science news like this...

Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

Higher latitudes are closer to the poles, while 0 degrees in latitude is the equator itself. But as the Earth is a sphere, the higher latitudes near the poles are already curving away from the Sun and therefore receiving less sunlight every 24 hours. That’s the reason for the poles staying colder than the rest of the planet. With an extra 23.5-degree tilt away from the Sun, a pole receives less light and will only experience a short window of daytime.

Equinox and solstice

Equinoxes and solstices are not only key dates in the calendar but also in the journey of Earth around the Sun.

They are used to outline the transitional periods between the seasons — when winter changes to spring, summer to autumn, and so on. How long days and nights are will depend on the position of the Sun in the relation to the Earth.

Credit Flickr Paukrus

The equinox happens twice a year and marks the when the amount of day-time we get is equal to the amount of night time we get — the day is equal to the night. This takes place when the sun is positioned right above the equator. It happens usually around the 20th of March, which is the spring equinox, and again around the 22nd of September, known as the autumn equinox.

The word equinox actually comes from two Latin words, “equi-” which means equal and “nox” meaning night. So, from the day of the spring equinox, the day is longer than the night and from the day of the autumn equinox, the night becomes longer than the day.

The equinox, by definition, falls on the day when the center of the sun is at the horizon, and both day and night last 12 hours each. However, the top edge of the sun (not its center) is visible first on sunrise. In spring, this means that the time when day and night are actually equal comes before the equinox — it’s known as the equilux, from the Latin word “lux” meaning light.

Meanwhile, the solstice also takes place twice a year. There’s a summer solstice around the 21 June in the Northern Hemisphere and a winter solstice around the 21 December. During the summer solstice, the Northern hemisphere experiences its longest period of daylight in a year. During the winter solstice, it sees the longest night of the year. So while the equinox marks the date when the day and night are equal, the solstice marks the biggest difference between the day and the night.

Credit Flickr Taro Taylor

The sun is at its highest point in the sky in the middle of the day during the summer solstice. This is reversed during the winter solstice — at noon the sun is at its lowest of the year.

In northern areas this change is extreme, and some areas can experience continuous daylight (or night time) for months.

Every September, the Northern hemisphere officialy enters autumn, and from that point on, each day has one less minute of daylight, culminating in the winter solstice. It might not seem like a lot, but over the course of a month it adds up to half-hour of lost daytime. Then, as in most of the US, you might be setting your clocks back an hour for the end of daylight savings time.

Dealing with shorter days

Understanding why days are shorter in autumn is one thing, but another thing is dealing with its practical consequences. It’s not an easy task, the changing day length has marked effects on your physical and mental health. We get long stretches of daylight and late sunsets during the summer, but all that is set to change. Adjusting can be tough, but there are ways to make it easier.

  • Exercise. There’s nothing that boosts the mood like endorphins. It’s the first line of defense against seasonal and clinal depression. Doing any sort of exercise can work wonders for your disposition. If you want to make the most of the daylight, the best bet is to find time for an outdoor workout during your lunch hour or early in the morning.
  • Go to bed early and set up a routine. If you are going to wake up early to exercise you should discipline yourself to an earlier bedtime. Even if you’re not planning to wake up early for a workout, getting enough sleep is always important to keep you in a good mood and healthy mental state, but even more so in the winter with less sunlight.
  • Plan a holiday once in a while. It might be good to get some summer somewhere south of the equator. If you need more sunlight, then plan a beach holiday for the darkest time of the year. Chilly places don’t necessarily mean dark places. You could plan a ski or snowboarding holiday out West in Colorado or Utah and still have to pack your sunscreen.
  • Get outside, even when it’s cold. There’s no such thing as cold weather, only weather for which you haven’t dressed appropriately. You can still have lunch in the park or a morning run, even if it’s cold. Or even spend an evening with friends. We might feel like entering hibernation if it’s too cold, but that doesn’t have to be the case — we can still keep ourselves active throughout.

Tags: autumn
Fermin Koop

Fermin Koop

Fermin Koop is a reporter from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He holds an MSc from Reading University (UK) on Environment and Development and is specialized in environment and climate change news.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

This is a demo store for testing purposes — no orders shall be fulfilled. Dismiss

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?