With the sun set to rise at 6:54 a.m. and set at 4:45 p.m.,
Friday will see only nine hours and 56 minutes of daylight. This
phenomenon is caused by the angle of the sun as it shines on the
earth. As winter approaches, the angle of the earth’s light is
less direct, the sun appearing at its lowest altitude above the
horizon all year. It may be compared to light coming through a
set of blinds versus light coming from a spotlight directly
overhead. “A solstice is actually a moment in time, rather than
a whole day, when the sun’s angle stops diminishing and begins
growing.” said Professor Bob Swanson, who teaches astronomy at
Itawamba Community College. “On the solstice, the sun seems to
stand still in the sky.” The summer and winter solstices hold
between them the summer and winter equinox, days in which the
hours of daylight and darkness are equal. But Swanson said the
winter solstice bears the greatest influence on Earth’s people.
“In ancient agrarian civilizations, cultures thought less
daylight meant the sun