A year in sunsets, from April 2023 to March 2024, track
along the western horizon in these stacked panoramic views. The well-planed sequence is constructed of images recorded near the 21st
day of the indicated month from the same location overlooking Cairo, Egypt. But
for any location on planet Earth the yearly extreme northern (picture right) and
southern limits of the setting Sun mark the solstice days. The word solstice is from Latin for “Sun”
and “stand still”. On the solstice date the seasonal drift of the Sun’s daily
path through the sky appears to pause and reverse direction in its annual celestial
journey. Of course the Sun reaches
a stand still on today’s date. The 21 December 2024
solstice at 09:21 UTC is the
moment of the Sun’s southernmost declination, the start of astronomical winter in the north and summer in the south.
Image and info via APOD
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