seasons


The Longest Night of the Year

Today is the Winter Solstice, commonly referred to as the shortest day of the year, although astronomers are more inclined to think of it as the longest night of the year, the time that (in theory) we get to spend the most time enjoying the night sky.  In practice, this is rarely the case because of weather.  Pretty much by definition, when the day is short and the night long it’s cold outside.  And here in the Pacific Northwest there’s a very good chance that it’s also cloudy and/or wet. But what is the solstice, and why does it happen?  […]