Lengthening days, but by how much?

oldtimer

Full Member
Sep 27, 2005
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Oxfordshire and Pyrenees-Orientales, France
Our recent various rites, rituals and sacrifices have succeeded in lengthening the days and shortening the nights, but by how much?

SWMBO asked me yesterday how much longer each day is until we get to midsummer and I realised that not only did I not know the answer but didn't know either how to work it out or even where to go for information. The builders of Stonehenge would have fired back the answer in a jiffy and SWMBO was quite surprised that there was something I didn't know. This must have been a shock to her as she is always telling me that I know it all.

She has already worked out that by checking the sunrise and sunset daily on her smartphone over the coming week she can find the answer. Can you help me beat her to it so I can re-assume my mantle of omniscience?
 
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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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I think it depends on where you are and also when ( day of year) .
The closer to Equator, the less lengthening/shortening. I know that for a fact. Not so sure about how close to the soltices influences it though. If it does.
Logically it should not, as the Earths moving is a constant, fluid motion?
 

Janne

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Feb 10, 2016
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If the increase is constant, Just take the number of daylight minutes at the longest day, minus the number of daylight minutes at the shortest day, then divide with number of days between those..
Then you get the number a minutes change each day.

(or something like that? :) )
 

Tengu

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Jan 10, 2006
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Wiltshire
Well, thank you for doing all that; I was getting quite weary of rising BEFORE sparrows fart to get to Uni.

As a promoter of Classical Civilisation I have a big brass machine of cogs and gears that can give you the answer...No astrologer needed.

You get a slave to turn the handle and the answer comes up in a window. Truly `deus ex machina`.

<looks around>

But I cant seem to find my slave to do it at the moment. Sorry about that.
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
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Mid Wales
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The actual change follows a sinusoidal curve - so there is virtually no change in December then maximum change around the 21st March (I believe 2.8 minutes?) then no change again in late June. If you plot a sinusoidal curve with daylight hours against day of the year for wherever you are in the world it is reasonably straight forward to work out a) how many daylight hours there are in a particular day and, b), (by calculating the gradient) the rate of change of daylight hours on a day - :)
 
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Robson Valley

On a new journey
Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
Our days lengthen in the afternoons faster than they do as earlier sunrises.
The change is not linear any where, but can be plotted as a 2 lobed "annalemma" = the equation of time.
You actually should carve one to act as the gnomon for a serious sun dial if accuracy matters.
 

Robson Valley

On a new journey
Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
I see that as the lop-sided annalemma.
Maybe by Jan 15, I notice the afternoons lengthening.
Mid Jan to mid March can be coldest of all (-30C does wrinkle your nose.).
Nothing seems quite so bad in daylight. Leaving work in daylight of an evening is an annual thrill.

Today is big S wind and +1C. What's called the "Pineapple Express."
An air stream which starts in the region of Hawaii. A day closer to spring
but hellish driving in the 12" wet snow we got.
 

Janne

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Feb 10, 2016
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Winter sucks here too. Around 10 hours of daylight only. I only get one hour of light after I come home from work to work in the garden.....
Pool is a tad to cool too. Have been thinking of designing a sun heating system for it though.
 

Robson Valley

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Nov 24, 2014
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I'm at 53N so the day length swings are substantial enough to use black-out curtains in the bedroom windows in the summer.
I have seen shade air temps from -35C up to +47C at my house.
The west side of the house is entirely covered with grape vines for substantial relief in the summer.
That's 40' long, 14' high and 2' out from the house wall. Best ever was 35 lbs per vine.

I have family in Dawson City, YT who get a month+ for daytime and a month+ of winter night time.
Big celebration when the sun clears the horizon each spring!
 

Woody girl

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Mar 31, 2018
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Exmoor
Winter sucks here too. Around 10 hours of daylight only. I only get one hour of light after I come home from work to work in the garden.....
Pool is a tad to cool tooHave been thinking of designing a sun heating system for it though.
Oh dear living out there is so hard.pool too cool? Try mine.. it's frozen over tonight. Bracing! Oh wait... it's a large puddle, best I can do though. :):D. I'd love a pool but I do have a river within a ten minute walk.
 

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