Embed Notice

Occasionally, I ask my students what their favorite phone app is. By favorite, I mean the app they use the most. The answers are not what you would expect—if there is anything to be expected.

But what about me? It would be an exaggeration to call it my most-used app, but it's one I use frequently and can't do without. It shows the sun times: sunrise, sunset, hours of usable light, solstices, etc. It's terrible that I often have to plan my days according to how much sunlight is left. But that's due to the latitude at which I live. It's horrible; I hate it.

The winter solstice is only some seven days and three hours away. Then we'll be on the other side. But why does the period from September to December always feel so much shorter than the period from January to May?