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Equinox: the World Turns

Ad Astra

The Instigator
Summer has been long and miserable; come, blessed fall, and bring your life-enhancing cold fronts. 97 degrees the other day was really a bit much.

Cold fronts push away any hurricanes, and lower our a/c bills!

I'm marking today with some careful solar science experiments ... Meaning the occasional glance at an accurate sundial. The Equation of Time indicates we are running about 8 minutes slow on sundial time today.

For those who don't know what the Equation of Time or the analemma is, it might be fun to google.

Center yourself in the universe today! Observe the turning of nature's gears, and the great wheel. If you didn't watch the sunrise, at least watch the sunset and make a note where on the horizon.

For she is moving south, every day. The Starks were right.


AA
 
I'm way old fashioned: I think of the seasons changing between solstice and equinox. By that, today is the midpoint of autumn, and winter would fall on November 6 this year. Yeah, I know it's unconventional, but Shakespeare' A Midsummer Night's Dream takes place at the Summer Solstice, and the Christmas song In the Bleak Midwinter is a reference to Christmas near the Winter Solstice.

OTOH, for our European members, Fall Equinox doesn't happen until tomorrow.
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
I'm way old fashioned: I think of the seasons changing between solstice and equinox. By that, today is the midpoint of autumn, and winter would fall on November 6 this year. Yeah, I know it's unconventional, but Shakespeare' A Midsummer Night's Dream takes place at the Summer Solstice, and the Christmas song In the Bleak Midwinter is a reference to Christmas near the Winter Solstice.

OTOH, for our European members, Fall Equinox doesn't happen until tomorrow.

Yes- that is an old Celtic thing, the mid-season marking.

And yeah; not fussy about the exact time but it's 954 EDT.

AA
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
Indeed very interesting!
Unfortunately my Google of analemma directed me to flat earth who claim this is proof of a flat earth!
 

cleanshaved

I’m stumped
We don't use astronomical dates of the equinoxes and solstices for our seasons.

New Zealand seasons monthly calendar for all four seasons in NZ. Spring is from September to November, summer is December through to February, autumn is March to May, with winter being June through to August. July is usually the coldest month, and January and February are the warmest times of the year.

Three weeks into spring, with daylight saving starting next weekend.
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
We don't use astronomical dates of the equinoxes and solstices for our seasons.

New Zealand seasons monthly calendar for all four seasons in NZ. Spring is from September to November, summer is December through to February, autumn is March to May, with winter being June through to August. July is usually the coldest month, and January and February are the warmest times of the year.

Three weeks into spring, with daylight saving starting next weekend.

I envy your astronomical vistas down there ... Knew about the seasons, but not the dates. Interesting!


AA
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
Indeed very interesting!
Unfortunately my Google of analemma directed me to flat earth who claim this is proof of a flat earth!

It can be hard to wrap your mind around the analemma, but I was trying to prove those eight minutes slow today and couldn't, my instrument was showing the correct time.

I also do this at solstice, but on Dec. 21, the equation of time is zero! Making a sundial dead on.


AA
 
I follow and respect the official changes of seasons, especially the winter solstice. Although it certainly hasn't felt like it the last 20 years, September is a "fall" month, not summer. Living in the Southeastern U.S., October is my favorite month of the year in terms of weather and splendor.

Spring = March, April, May
Summer = June, July, August
Fall = Sept., October, November
Winter = Dec., Jan., Feb.

Honestly because of climate change, or at least a climate shift, the old seasons aren't what they were in my younger days.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
It can be hard to wrap your mind around the analemma, but I was trying to prove those eight minutes slow today and couldn't, my instrument was showing the correct time.

I also do this at solstice, but on Dec. 21, the equation of time is zero! Making a sundial dead on.


AA
It seemed interesting that the solstice doesn't match up with equal time on the chart
What kind / type of dial do you have?
 
It can be hard to wrap your mind around the analemma, but I was trying to prove those eight minutes slow today and couldn't, my instrument was showing the correct time.

I also do this at solstice, but on Dec. 21, the equation of time is zero! Making a sundial dead on.
AA

The Franklin Mint in the 1970s had a hemispherical sundial with rings, IIRC, that would tell correct EST for the entire year. Each ring compensated for the equation of time and the angle of the sun. Best I can recall, you read the time indicated at the end of the shadow of the gnomon.

The book Bushcraft had a solar compass in it with a a central dial with solar declination marked off and the analemma traced and noted by month and faction of a month. You used a stick for a gnomon, put it in the spot indicated by the month, align it by local time, and you had a compass. Have been fascinated by solar compasses ever since.
 
I follow and respect the official changes of seasons, especially the winter solstice. Although it certainly hasn't felt like it the last 20 years, September is a "fall" month, not summer. Living in the Southeastern U.S., October is my favorite month of the year in terms of weather and splendor.

Spring = March, April, May
Summer = June, July, August
Fall = Sept., October, November
Winter = Dec., Jan., Feb.

Honestly because of climate change, or at least a climate shift, the old seasons aren't what they were in my younger days.

Since you said SE US, you might be interested in the following, almost forgotten, trivia:

At one time, the SE was home of the Lupine Belt. Farmers used to use cover crops like velvet bean to help build the soil, but they often took time to break down. Velvet bean was notorious for hanging on plows. Lupine was an alternative that quickly became popular in the South. It fixed nitrogen so well some farmers didn't have to buy it, and broke down so quickly it didn't hang on the plows. It quickly became popular in the SE as winter cover crop, hence the name Lupine Belt.

What happened to the Lupine Belt is right interesting: Weather turned too cold for lupine. Back to back hard winters pretty much did it in, both from farmer confidence and by practically destroying seed stock. Farmers returned to buying nitrogen, and for the most part have every since.

I don't know how this fit in with my father's truck. He lived in the SE then and said that when he bought his first vehicle, heaters were extra and he didn't see a reason to spring for one, as the winters weren't that cold. He recalled some consecutive winters where it didn't freeze. Then one night he got in late, felt a nip in the air, and figured he better drain th radiator (apparently, anti-freeze wasn't that common then). He did and went to bed. Next morning there was a hard freeze, and several neighbors had cracked engine blocks. After than, it was common to get to freezing in the winter again.

I also don't know how any of this fits with something called Dougherty Gold. Dougherty Gold was a small banana grown in Dougherty County, Georgia. There were also some bananas grown in Florida. Colder winters destroyed them. Now, to the best of my knowledge, Dougherty Gold is no more.

Compare this to the story told by a great uncle who talked about coming in late working, hanging his clothes on a chair for the night, and waking the next forming to find them frozen stiff. That was before my father bought the truck without the heater.

I'm not passing this along to start an argument, but because it's all just about forgotten, and I'd like others to know about it, too.
 
People thought I was crazy when at construction this winter, I tripled my external wall insulation, insulated all my interior walls and sound proofed them, then quadrupled my attic insulation.

My electric bills in the heat of summer in 100 degree days never broke $90 a month with our thermostat set 24/7 at 71 degrees and today the temps are 75 and our AC hasn’t turned on at all. This is a 2,400 sq foot house and insulated 600 sq ft garage. $85 average electric bill at 3,000 sq ft tickles me to death!

Best investment I ever made was in insulation and listening to people say “you’re crazy, nobody does that!!”

I’m loving this weather.
 
Mike, indeed it is blessed fall. We have not had a decent autumn in three years. 80s on and off til October and last year on 3 October it was 90F. RIDICULOUS. Our average high this time of year is supoosed to be 75-78F and fairly low humidity. What did we get? Snow first week of April. Then by the third week of that month it was mid to upper 80s every day. When highs should have been 65-70. It stayed that way and climbed to 89-99 until the last week of July. Then back to normal 95 in August. One cool stretch first week of September then right bacl to 90-95. Until yesterday.

One ruddy day before the first of autumn it finally broke. Woke to 50F this morning and it barely passed 70 today. JOY. Dry north breeze, clear, clean air. Breath deep and no pollen or mold. I love it. I always look forward to the first day in autumn when I stick my nose out the door and smell fresh linen or someone's campfire. Distant but the air is so dry and light it carries for miles. I always mentally note that day each fall when the air clears and the ridiculous heat and humidity subside. It makes me want to grab up some Thoreau and disappear to Walden pond.
 
People thought I was crazy when at construction this winter, I tripled my external wall insulation, insulated all my interior walls and sound proofed them, then quadrupled my attic insulation.
The crazy part is that this isn't more common. If you understand the value of an insulated travel mug, you should understand the value of a well-insulated home.
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
I follow and respect the official changes of seasons, especially the winter solstice. Although it certainly hasn't felt like it the last 20 years, September is a "fall" month, not summer. Living in the Southeastern U.S., October is my favorite month of the year in terms of weather and splendor.

Spring = March, April, May
Summer = June, July, August
Fall = Sept., October, November
Winter = Dec., Jan., Feb.

Honestly because of climate change, or at least a climate shift, the old seasons aren't what they were in my younger days.

October is when the heat here on the gulf coast finally snaps, so I definitely agree with you!


AA
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
It seemed interesting that the solstice doesn't match up with equal time on the chart
What kind / type of dial do you have?

I have a few books on sundials, itself a fascinating topic.

If one have a dial, and think it a liar, remember the gnomon must be set for your latitude... Got one at a thrift shop and was set for 40N ... We live at 30N.


AA
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
People thought I was crazy when at construction this winter, I tripled my external wall insulation, insulated all my interior walls and sound proofed them, then quadrupled my attic insulation.

My electric bills in the heat of summer in 100 degree days never broke $90 a month with our thermostat set 24/7 at 71 degrees and today the temps are 75 and our AC hasn’t turned on at all. This is a 2,400 sq foot house and insulated 600 sq ft garage. $85 average electric bill at 3,000 sq ft tickles me to death!

Best investment I ever made was in insulation and listening to people say “you’re crazy, nobody does that!!”

I’m loving this weather.

Best investment you can make! Wish we had the "half-underground" house plan.


AA
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
Mike, indeed it is blessed fall. We have not had a decent autumn in three years. 80s on and off til October and last year on 3 October it was 90F. RIDICULOUS. Our average high this time of year is supoosed to be 75-78F and fairly low humidity. What did we get? Snow first week of April. Then by the third week of that month it was mid to upper 80s every day. When highs should have been 65-70. It stayed that way and climbed to 89-99 until the last week of July. Then back to normal 95 in August. One cool stretch first week of September then right bacl to 90-95. Until yesterday.

One ruddy day before the first of autumn it finally broke. Woke to 50F this morning and it barely passed 70 today. JOY. Dry north breeze, clear, clean air. Breath deep and no pollen or mold. I love it. I always look forward to the first day in autumn when I stick my nose out the door and smell fresh linen or someone's campfire. Distant but the air is so dry and light it carries for miles. I always mentally note that day each fall when the air clears and the ridiculous heat and humidity subside. It makes me want to grab up some Thoreau and disappear to Walden pond.

This, and this! I had a Navy buddy with kids, and we made it a tradition for a few years to go camping on the first real cold front! The return of cold, a celebration. He hated the heat even more than me.


AA
 
People thought I was crazy when at construction this winter, I tripled my external wall insulation, insulated all my interior walls and sound proofed them, then quadrupled my attic insulation.

My electric bills in the heat of summer in 100 degree days never broke $90 a month with our thermostat set 24/7 at 71 degrees and today the temps are 75 and our AC hasn’t turned on at all. This is a 2,400 sq foot house and insulated 600 sq ft garage. $85 average electric bill at 3,000 sq ft tickles me to death!

Best investment I ever made was in insulation and listening to people say “you’re crazy, nobody does that!!”

I’m loving this weather.

Yes. This. We have a customer we were sure was stealing electricity, but we discovered he'd superinsulated his home and weatherized his windows and doors. His heating and cooling bills were just that low.

That said, when I used to work part time in construction, one cold Saturday morning I helped my old boss bore weep holes at the base of some storm windows of a house we'd worked on. The customer had insisted on insulated winsoes and storm windows, and had severe moisture build-up. I think some homes in the UK ran into similar problems making them super tight. There has to be some air exchange. They make air exchanges specifically for this, but my info is decades out of date.
 
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