Long nights, short days

[Jim Colyer]

We are in for some long nights and short days. There are scientific and astronomical reasons for them, so there is no use getting depressed or letting the prolonged darkness bother us. Planet Earth is revolving around the sun at a speed of 67,000 miles per hour. Our planet's orbit is 585 million miles long. One trip around the sun (our star) is what we call a year. Our seasons result from the 23 1/2 degree tilt of Earth's axis. And since Earth's axis always points in the same direction, there is a stretch in our orbit during which the Northern Hemisphere leans away from the sun. Receiving less sunlight means less energy, less light and heat. Plants and animals compensate. Humans generally take the sun for granted, but it is the source of all life on Earth, indeed the source of the earth itself as the planets, asteroids and comets all formed from stuff left over when the sun formed. Do not despair! Earth will race through our dark months and once more return to the part of its orbit where our hemisphere leans toward our life-giving star. This will be the spring and summer of 2015!